A new century& the 101st review on Swades. Review on Swades

The premise:

A rocket scientist in NASA visits his home on a mission, stays back for a larger mission.

The crew:

The Oscar nominated Lagaan had the similar crew and yes, those special touches are there.

The plot:

Mohan Bhargava (Shahrukh Khan) is a project manager on Global Precipitation Measurement in NASA and is about to launch a satellite for monitoring global rainfall patterns. Feeling homesick, he decides to take a 2-week holiday to India to meet and bring back his nanny, Kaveriamma (Kishori Ballal). After a not-so-harrowing search, he lands up in a far flung village, Charanpur (somewhere in UP) where Kaveriamma has been brought in after a years stay at an old-age home by Geeta (Gayatri Joshi) and her young brother Chikku (a roly poly Master Smith Seth). Mohan brings in his friends caravan to stay in.

Geeta teaches at the local school which is under threat of closure and relocation due to a panchayat dictat. The panchayat allows time for Geeta to populate her school failing which they would implement their decision. Kaveriamma is reluctant to leave Geeta without getting her married off, Geeta is already married to her school. Finally, Mohan decides to help out and sermonizes villagers on caste and literacy. The villagers enthusiastically fall in and the school is saved. A trip by the local passenger train and ferry to another village to collect land dues results in an awakening in Mohan. He decides to extend his stay and enlists the help of villagers to get hydroelectricity in the village. And well, you can guess the rest?

What is wrong with the movie:

The solutions are too simplistic. The problems are swept away by bhaashan maaroing and caste based rigidities are quelled smoothly. While Mohan quips ?Mujhe sau aadmi chahiye? (I need 100 people) to work on his hydro-electric project, most of the equipment which is finally seen seems to be branded products purchased in Delhi electric stores. While problems of caste differences and illiteracy certainly do plague rural India, there are a host of other obstacles. Corruption, vested interests, self-serving politicians, incompetent bureaucrats, government red-tape, finances, middle-men do not seem to figure anywhere on his problem map.

Even operationally, the only technical glitch in the entire hydro-turbine project seems to be a heap of hay which finds its way into the pipe of the reservoir. This is swiftly set right by the gallant Mohan himself, who strips off his shirt, jumps underwater and yanks off the truant hay heap out of the way and lo! the village is electrified (in more ways than one!)

Another simplistic treatment is of the rather irresponsible leave extensions that Mohan keeps seeking from his NASA boss, John (who incidentally is supposed to be quite a grim person). If I had requested an extension of my 2-week leave to 5-week plus, my ever-smiling boss would have couriered my termination letter to my door.

The good points:

The sincerity of purpose clearly shines through every frame. There are no embarrassing monologues or US bashing. Infact in one of the discussions, Mohan squarely cuts short the villagers who wax eloquent about Bhartiya sanskriti and parampara and tells them not to deride US culture since we cannot compare the two. However, in this same discussion, another simplistic treatment is of Mohan explaining the cause of US prosperity. The reasons he gives are that it is a land rich in fertility and minerals. While this is certainly true, the moot point of the strong capitalist culture and the democratic institutions which are the primary reasons for the wealth creation is not at all touched upon.

The songs ?Yun hi chala chal rahi?, ?Yeh jo des hai tera? and ?Yeh tara, wo tara, har tara? are excellent in their music, rendition, philosophy as well as picturisation. However the other three songs seems like a drag. Although ?sawariya sawariya? is quite pleasant to the ear, the Ramleela song is forgettable and by the time the last song appears, you are waiting to get out of the auditorium.

Music:

AR Rahman?s music is excellent with many innovative tunes and beats. The lyrics by Javed Akhtar are philosophically moving, particularly in ?Yun hi chala chal rahi?, the parts picturised on Makarand Deshpande.

Performances:

Shahrukh Khan sheds off his superstar image as well his designer ware. Dressed in normal attire, he steals the show with his sincerity. He looks the part of a NASA engineer as well and his moments with reality are brilliantly portrayed. He pulls off the dramatic scenes with characteristic élan without going over-the-top or using melodrama.

Kishori Ballal is outstanding as the understanding Kaveriamma. We may have seen her often as the dadima in commercials, but atleast I have seen her for the first time on the big screen. She is terrific in the emotional scenes as well.

Gayatri Joshi in her debut displays a pleasant screen presence and is competent, however, her lack of experience is apparent in some of the dramatic show-down scenes.

Master Smith Seth is lovable without being precocious. His eyes shine with excitement and his body language is of eager enthusiasm. He will surely win you over.

The other supporting cast is fairly competent with many familiar faces from the Lagaan ensemble making appearances.

Direction:

Ashutosh Gowariker has the habit of over-simplifying things. In Lagaan, a contrived plot gave a last-ball victory to the underdogs. In Swades, the waters give way and all obstacles fall apart to let our hero make his way ahead. But due credit must be given for his brilliant handling of the scenes. Using just one superstar, (like in Lagaan), he makes for realistic characterization. The panchayat heads, the postmaster, the local cook, the poor farmer, the old village schoolmaster all look real. The scenes of NASA too look real and there is no sign of any tackiness.

The movie could have been dismissed as a fairy tale for everyone to enjoy ? the only problem is that it isn?t. It tries to be a message and a mission as a call for NRIs to return to their motherland. Virtuous agenda no doubt, but let us not fool them of the hurdles that lie ahead. Else, this will only lead to further disillusionment.

If only we could have had some realism in the plot, this one could have been a winner!