SWADES (2004) - HINDI

One of the most important spirit-lifting and patriotic films of the last decade.

It follows John F. Kennedy's line "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for the country". Apart from working in a job, be it private or government, then going home to have a wife/husband, so to take forward the legacy, producing population and calling it as our babies, what are we doing for the country? Setting up institutions is not enough we must be doing something to make this a better place to live, I want to do something but before I begin, I need money so I must earn money good enough to be able to spare for a few outside my very own family. It brings questions like should I be contributing to the huge population by producing one or should I adopt and fight for removing orphans and make my place a better place to live in.

Who would agree to my thoughts in society as hypocritical as ours is what I always ask myself, having said all about my thoughts, this is a movie that I always loved since the first time I saw it in Sangeet Theatre with a big group of my friends. It made a few of us say "Bijli, Bijli" at the climax, like Lagaan made us say "Bhuvan, Bhuvan". Ashutosh Gowariker had proved with this film, that films can be long enough if there is a real need for it, this was extremely long and it had to be a long movie because there are so many issues within a country as diversified as us. The prime purpose that I love the film is it lifts my spirit and fills in the "can do" spirit that is vaguely missing. 

Now, the technical departments except for editing are sublime. A.R. Rahman gave a score that stood even today as a great. One can never get bored of "Yunhi Chala Chal" or "Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera" and the whole background score is just apt to the visuals. The writing and screenplay are meticulous, be it keeping off the glass when offered in the beginning and then taking a sip at the railway station and feeling the water for the first time, or be it the nuances of love between Geeta (Gayatri Joshi) and Mohan Bhargav (Shahrukh Khan). 

Performances are exemplary from each and specifically, Shahrukh Khan gave the most composed performance of his life, his emotions were natural, when I saw this in theatre, I was very apprehensive coz I do not like Shahrukh's choice of movies, but went for this solely because of Ashutosh and ARR. I was happy and in the process of the movie, I learned that actually, Shahrukh is a good actor who is spoilt by his choices of films. This is the only film that Gaytri Joshi was a part of, and she made Geet her own, by becoming the character. She is the epitome of a perfect Indian woman who is traditionally progressive. She knows the traditions and she knows the purpose of her life too. Rare to find a strong-willed woman like her. Also, Kishori Balal as Kaveriamma and the huge supporting cast did an excellent job. 

Ah, so proud to have seen this so many times and I love this movie each time I saw it. It's not flawless,  no one simply agrees to hand over 100 men for work. You cannot produce electricity just like that, creating some basic apparatus. Yet, the energy behind it, the resolve, the spirit are what made this movie a great one. With nearly 3 and a half hours of running time, it makes us ask so many questions to ourselves. 

Finally, I am again asking myself the same question, am I born, to earn a job, marry, have kids, work for their school fees and education, pass on my assets to my kids and die. Or is there a bigger purpose to life, if so am I doing it? 

A 5/5 for this, no less than that ever to one of my favorite movies ever.