Swades Review

[McMurphy]

Swades revolves around an internal crossroads of Mohan Bhargava (played by Shah Ruhn Khan), who is a non-resident NASA scientist working in the United States. After feeling emotionally stagnant towards both his career and his personal life (or lack there of), Bhargava travels back to his home country of India to bond with his childhood nanny. He soon finds out that she has moved to a smaller village that has been forced out of a properly funded educational system and, above all things, electricity by a corrupt government. What starts out as a simple emotional vacation turns into an life alternating experience after he is unable to resist his impulse to answer the village's plea for help, become a proper role model for local children, and fall in love with a self reliant and progressive female teacher. Ultimately, Bhargava must chose between his duties at NASA in America and his newly surfacing prospective of what is important in life.

This 2004 Indian film has been hailed as "one of the most socially relevant commercial Hindi films to have emerged in the last decade" by Times of India. It is directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, who helmed LAGAAN, which was the first Indian movie to be nominated for an Oscar award. Swades is written by Ashutosh Gowariker and K.P. Saxena.

This 195 minute masterpiece is filled with wonderful music, laughter, social unrest, and love in a manner that never drags. There is a natural beat in which the conflicts and resolutions play out, and the pace never seems forced into a quick tie-up or dragged out by unnecessary melodrama. Heck, I have seen hour and a half films that have seemed longer than this one. The subtitle work is above average thanks to the addition of quick definitions of common Indian slang and terms that sometimes pop up in the dialog. If you have the chance, do yourself a favor and see this film.

Reviewer Grade: A