The much-awaited Ashutosh Gowariker film 'Swades' has finally released. Has Ashutosh delivered what he was expected to after 'Lagaan'? Then, the answer is YES. Though the film again revolves around a village, this time its Charanpur instead of Champaner.
A modern setting, depicting the brain drain in India, the film addresses issues like electricity, education and poverty.
It looks at all these things in a very interesting story. Kudos to Ashutosh, as he has incorporated light moments in the film, without making a serious arty kind of an issue- based film. The issues are looked at in a micro perspective.
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Ashutosh Gowariker has proved once more, that he is a good storyteller. However, his fetish for making long films has to be curbed. Unlike 'Lagaan', the second half of 'Swades' drags a bit, with some unwanted songs. But when you come to think of chopping a few things, you wonder where and how, as everything seems to be going right. Though it could have certainly been a little pacer, yet it still holds your attention.
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Talking about versatility in acting, Shah Rukh has certainly come a long way. And his role in "Swades" endorses just that. A true touch of patriotism is what one experiences as the story unfolds. A NASA project manager based in USA, Shah Rukh tries to touch base with his roots after many years, and makes a two-week trip to India to meet his governess, Kaveri, who had brought him up as her own child.
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There he meets Gita (Gayatri Joshi) who looks after Kaveri in a small village in Uttar Pradesh, where she runs a school for the poor village children. Shah Rukh helps Gayatri to have more parents enroll their children in the school as the panchayat is not pleased with the progress and wants to allocate less land to the school.
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The film shows us how he creates a revolution in the village, encouraging the villagers to educate their children, eradicating the caste system and become self- sufficient by implementing his ideas to generate power in the village. In due course love blossoms between Mohan (Shah Rukh) and Gita. But Gita is firm about not leaving the country.
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Talking about Gita, Gayatri Joshi as a debutante has portrayed her character very well. A stiff, snobbish and idealistic young woman, who is well educated but chooses to teach children in a village, is a strong character. Being a model earlier, it was expected that she would be a little stiff, but surprisingly she was completely in her character.
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The supporting cast, some of them being repeated from 'Lagaan', has done extraordinarily well. And A.R. Redman proves once again that he is a versatile composer. With Jaaved Akhtar's lyrics, the songs take the film forward. Though some of the songs are not needed in the film and sometimes hinder the story.
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All in all, a must watch film. You should go in with loads of popcorn, as its a little over three hours. And for Shah Rukh, I think it's his best film this year Does it deserve nomination for Oscars?
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