''The difference between true and false,'' Birbal had said to Akbar, ''is of four fingers!'' Then Birbal made Akbar place four of his fingers between his eyes and ears and explained, ''What you hear from other people is false. What you see for yourself is true!''
Great story. Great piece of advice. And probably the reason why I never watch a movie based on what Taran Adarsh or Khalid Mohammad say in their reviews (which I must say are completely off-target most of the time). I have always believed in myself, but a few movies made me have second thoughts - Veer Zaara, Mughal-E-Azam, Hulchul, and finally Swades.
Because when Taran Adarsh gave Veer Zaara 1/2 stars, and everyone around me seemed to have liked the movie, I did a somersalt! Whats more, I went for it a second time. And still my verdict remained unchanged. Sure, when you compare it to the crap 'show-skin-n-earn-some-quick-dough' movies that are churned out today, VZ is a class apart, but on its own, the film is terribly slow and uninteresting.
For me, the difference between an 'okay' movie and an 'outstanding' movie lies in two things. First, the moments - scenes, dialogues, characters, that stay with you years after you've seen the movie. Yes, VZ has those moments. Which should make it a great film, right?
Which brings me to the other point - if the movie can hold your interest for its 3-hour duration, and if it makes you want to see it again. And that's where VZ fails, miserably. Ditto with Mughal-E-Azam.
And this makes me finally come to Swades. Agreed, Swades is very slow, and it does thread the line between a movie and a documentary. Agreed, it has sermonizing scenes which make your school Moral Science lectures sound more interesting. But it definitely is not as bad as the *1/2 rating that it got.
And yes, inspite of its lethargic pace, it is entertaining, it keeps you interested, it makes you feel for its characters, it makes you want to watch it again, and also recommend it to others (the way I'm doing now). Many reasons why I feel Swades is a great movie; one of the best this year, and a worthy successor to Lagaan.
Swades is the story of Mohan Bhargava (SRK), an NRI working in NASA, who returns to India in search of his childhood nanny, Kaveri Amma. He finds her in a remote village named Charanpur, but what was supposed to be a month-long stay changes the course of his life, as he comes across the various problems faced by the villagers. And of course, no Bollywood movie would be complete without a love story; and so we have a village teacher, Gita (Gayatri Joshi), who falls in love with Mohan.
Many people, myself included, were of the view that Ashutosh Gowariker was purely a namesake in Lagaan, that the movie was Aamir Khan all the way. But Swades proves that Ashutosh is in a league of his own, and that Lagaan was not just a fluke.
Not saying that Swades does not have its flaws, but the treatment of the subject is just wonderful. What could've been a lengthy, boring documentary, is made into a touching film. Also, inspite of a serious subject, what's appealing is the way humour has been infused in the movie.
Swades also establishes Ashutosh's reputation as a good technician. The mood of Swades is blue, just like Lagaan's was completely yellow. The camerawork is brilliant, and it captures the differences between the clean streets and posh flats of Washington, and the narrow lanes and straw hutments of the Charanpur villages brilliantly.
My only complaint is the editing. Post-interval, it seems that the editor fell asleep listening to one of Mr. Vajpayee's speeches! The film unnecessarily touches 3+1/2 hours, when a few songs and scenes could easily have been excluded.
The dialogues do get preachy at times, and there are those typical dialogues about how ''India is the best country in the world because of its sanskriti...'' But in the context of the entire scenes, they turn out to be rather practical (especially when SRK talks sense into a village leader, as to why India is not the best country...that takes guts, doesn't it?!).
The costumes and sets fit in perfectly with the movie. I have always resented extravagant costumes and sets, especially when they overshadow the characters in the film (Devdas being one of them). In Swades, however, every one of SRK's semi-formal clothes look befitting a well-dressed NRI, while Gayatri Joshi's staple salwar kameez apparel is extremely simple and unattractive, which in fact, works to its advantage of giving the actress the look of a village simpleton.
A.R. Rahman's music is decent, better than the pedestrian music that is dished out nowadays, but a shade below his own high standards. Most of the songs are situational, so they sound better in the movie than on the album; Yun Hi Chala and Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera stand out from the rest. The background score is masterful, powerful, beautiful! Hear it to believe it!
Which brings us to the performances...
The best performance in the movie is, well...not by SRK, but by Gayatri Joshi. She clings to her role like Shahid and Kareena do in real life, and fully justifies her casting. And the best part is that she does not let a superstar like SRK overshadow her, and manages to keep her ground even in the emotional scenes.
Shahrukh Khan performs great, though he does get repetitive with his 'eyes welling up with tears' in the emotional scenes. But considering that we haven't seen him in a role different from his 'kuch-kuch-hota-hai-for-someone-else's-fiance!' stereotype, this is an outstanding performance. SRK has a reputation of sharing amazing chemistry with his co-stars, and Swades is no exception.
..::: Contd. in Comments Section :::..
