Swades
Encyclopedia
Swades: We, the People is a 2004 India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n film written, produced and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
Ashutosh Gowariker
Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is known for directing the films Lagaan , Swades , Jodhaa Akbar , What's Your Raashee and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey...

. The film stars Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

 and debutante Gayatri Joshi
Gayatri Joshi
Gayatri Joshi is a model turned Bollywood actress. Her first film was 2004's Swades.- Career :She was one of the final five candidates in the 1999 Femina Miss India beauty pageant, and was crowned Sony Entertainment Chania-voted by viewers, and was chosen to represent India at the 2000 Miss...

. Although Swades flopped at the box-office, it received universal critical acclaim and a cult following from Indian and other South Asian audiences around the world.

Plot summary

Mohan Bhargava (Shahrukh Khan) is an NRI working at NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 as a Project Manager. He had been a student at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

, an Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 school. After twelve years in the US, he decides to return to India to find his nanny
Nanny
A nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...

, Kaveri Amma (Kishori Balal), with whom he has completely lost touch. Along the way, he meets a number of interesting people from the village called Charanpur where Kaveri Amma now lives; there's the village postmaster, eager to know more about e-mails and the internet, while also having a keen hobby of wrestling; the ex-freedom fighter
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...

 who teaches history at the local school and is a lone voice of reason amongst the village elders; there's also a cook who harbours ambitions of opening a dhaba
Dhaba
In India and Pakistan highways are dotted with local restaurants popularly known as dhabas In India and Pakistan highways are dotted with local restaurants popularly known as dhabas In India and Pakistan highways are dotted with local restaurants popularly known as dhabas (singular: dhaba; In India...

 on a US freeway, and sees in Mohan an opportunity to get himself a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...

.

While Mohan soon adapts himself to life in the village and endears himself to its people, he also encounters some of its harsher aspects. Among them are poverty, caste
Caste system in India
The Indian caste system is a system of social stratification and social restriction in India in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jātis....

 discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...

, child marriage
Child marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...

, illiteracy, a general disregard for education and an apathy to change. He tries in his own way to bring about some change, even succeeding to the point of dissuading the village elders from moving the local school to smaller and far-away premises. In doing this, he earns the respect of Gita (Gayatri Joshi), a childhood acquaintance who lives with Kaveri Amma and runs the local school.

One day Kaveri Amma sends him away to another village called Kodi to collect dues from a farmer named Haridas who has rented their land. Along the journey, Mohan realizes that the problems he had seen in the village mirror those faced by almost all other villages in the country. Haridas, the farmer who owes rent has no money to feed his own family, leave alone pay rent, mainly because the villagers wouldn't support his attempts at a change of occupation from weaving to farming. Mohan returns empty handed, but is full of a new sensitivity and perspective towards the harsh realities of rural India. On the way back, his transition from a mineral-water-only NRI gentleman to a grounded human being occurs when he buys and drinks water from a little kid at a small railway station. This journey to Kodi and back proves to be the turning point in Mohan's life and he comes back with a resolve to take more interest in improving the quality of life of the villagers.

He enlists the support of a few hundred men and guides them through the building of a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 beneath a perennial
Perennial stream
A perennial stream or perennial river is a stream or river that has continuous flow in parts of its bed all year round during years of normal rainfall. "Perennial" streams are contrasted with "intermittent" streams which normally cease flowing for weeks or months each year, and with "ephemeral"...

 spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

 on a nearby hill. Buying turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...

s and other equipment with his own money, he sets up a small hydro-electric
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...

 power plant that would solve the problem of irregular electricity and make the village self-sufficient.

By then, it's time for him to leave as his project at NASA is near its final stage. Kaveri Amma, whom he had intended to take along with him, refuses to come citing the difficulty of adapting to a new culture at such a late stage in her life. Gita, whom he had fallen in love with, also refuses to come with him, wanting to remain in the country and continue running the school that her parents had founded. He returns alone but feels a growing sense of responsibility towards his country and guilt for not being able to do much for the welfare of its people. He, nevertheless, stays to finish his project at NASA before resigning and returning to India.

Inspiration

Swades is inspired by the story of Aravinda Pillalamarri and Ravi Kuchimanchi, the NRI
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...

 couple who returned to India and developed the pedal power generator to light remote, off-the-grid village schools. Ashutosh Gowariker
Ashutosh Gowariker
Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is known for directing the films Lagaan , Swades , Jodhaa Akbar , What's Your Raashee and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey...

 spent considerable time with Aravinda and Ravi, both dedicated Association for India's Development
Association for India's Development
The Association for India's Development, Inc. is a secular charity organization based in the United States which promotes "sustainable, equitable and just development"...

 (AID) volunteers. Gowarikar supposedly visited Bilgaon, an Adivasi village in the Narmada valley, which is the backdrop of the Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan is social movement consisting of tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river, Gujarat, India....

 (NBA) movement. The people of Bilgaon are credited with doing 2000 person-days of shramdaan (community service) to make their village energy self-sufficient. The Bilgaon project is recognized as a model for replication by the Government of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

. Shubham Gupta was also the character in that movie.

A majority of film critics familiar with South Indian cinema allege that the film is a remake of the Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...

 film Chigurida Kanasu
Chigurida Kanasu
Chigurida Kanasu is an Indian Kannada movie directed by ace director T.S. Nagabharana starring Shivarajkumar and produced by Vajreshwari Combines that is owned by legendary Dr.Rajkumar...

, based on a novel of the same name by K. Shivaram Karanth
K. Shivaram Karanth
Kota Shivaram Karanth was a major Kannada writer, social activist, environmentalist, Yakshagana artist, film maker and thinker. He was described as the "Rabindranath Tagore of Modern India who has been one of the finest novelists-activists since independence" by Ramachandra Guha...

, legendary playwright and Jnanpith Award
Jnanpith Award
The Jnanpith Award is a literary award in India. Along with the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, it is one of the two most prestigious literary honours in the country...

 recipient. This claim was repudiated by Swades writer M. G. Sathya who said that he had been working on the story since the 1980s. The rudimentary theme of the film, however, resembles the Kannada literary masterpiece.

Production

The role of Mohan was first offered to Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films.After having appeared in films as a child actor in the 1980s, Roshan made his film debut in a leading role in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai for which Roshan earned his Filmfare Awards for Best Actor and Best Male Debut...

 who refused after reading the script.

Swades was the first Indian film to be actually shot inside the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 research center at the Launch Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...

 of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. To add to the authenticity of his film, Gowariker actually wanted to shoot the scene in the NASA space center rather than on a set. The rainfall monitoring satellite known as the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) in the film is an actual NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 mission and is currently scheduled to launch in 2013.

Themes

Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

's great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi
Tushar Gandhi
Tushar Arun Gandhi is a great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and the son of journalist Arun Manilal Gandhi.Born on a train between Mumbai and Kolkata, he was raised in the Mumbai suburb of Santa Cruz...

 noted the theme of Gandhism
Gandhism
Gandhism is the collection of inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement....

 in the film. The name of the main character portrayed by Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

 is Mohan, which was also Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

's birth name (Mohandas or "Mohan"). The film also opens with the following quotation from Gandhi:
Taking the Ram Lila
Ramlila
Ramlila is a dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Lord Ram, ending up in ten day battle between Lord Ram and Ravan, as described in the Hindu religious epic, the Ramayana...

 episode as its point of departure, a paper presented at the DANAM-AAR conference on 6 November 2009 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 attempts to demonstrate how the narrative of the movie systematically engages and reinterprets the religious and national epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

 with Mohan and Gita cast partly in the role of Rāma and Sītā. The essay simultaneously interprets its moral framework and its aesthetics of the gaze (nazar) in the light of the classical Indian theory of the purushārthas and the rasas respectively. The ambivalent treatment of the non-resident Indian (NRI) and the themes of exile and of nostalgia, in both their psychological and metaphysical dimensions, are also explored, especially around A. R. Rehman's soulful rendering of "Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera".

Gowariker also tries to address the lack of a scientific temperament and widespread ignorance among the rural folks through the energetic number "Ye Tara Wo Tara" where Mohan is seen encouraging the children to experience the fascinating world of stars through his telescope. In a symbolic manner, the song rejects the defunct divisions of caste and class and at the same time, through its protagonist, tries to instil in the audience an appreciation of curiosity and observation.

Reception

The film received overwhelmingly strong critical acclaim from critics. Most of the critics felt that Shahrukh Khan's performance in Swades is his best performance till date. Subhash K Jha of Indiatimes Movies gave 4.5 stars out of 5 and said "Swades is a unique experiment with grassroot realism. It is so politically correct in its propagandist message that initially you wonder if the government of India funded the director's dream."

Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar is an Indian film critic, journalist and author. He has been a film critic and a national cultural editor with Hindustan Times . He previously worked under Mumbai Mirror and MiD DAY. He also writes a blog, Fad For Thought at Hindustan Times website.-Early life and education:He...

 from MiD DAY gave 4 stars and called it 'bravo!' and added "I cannot think of a better film for the longest that deserved a stronger recommendation for both touring cinemas of India's villages, and plush multiplexes of Mumbai or Manhattan." Jitesh Pillai of the Sunday Times of India gave 4 stars and said "After Lagaan, what? The answer's blowing in the wind. Swades. Here's the verdict: This is a gusty and outstanding film. Welcome back to real, solid film-making." He added "Swades is undoubtedly the No 1 movie of the year." Shradha Sukumaran of Mid-Day gave 3.5 stars and said "At the end of it, Swades is a far braver film than Lagaan. It could have hit the high note — if it hadn't tried so hard."

Swades went on to become a cult classic and currently holds a rating of 8.4 out of 10 on the Internet Movie Database, and Khan's performance as Mohan Bhargava is considered to be one of his best by many.

Box office

Swades was a flop at the Indian box office, however it was a semi hit overseas grossing £2,790,000 (12,26,00,000 Indian Rupees) overseas. It has however garnered a cult following ever since.

Soundtrack

A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...

's soundtrack was acclaimed by critics and audiences. His background score won him the Filmfare award. However, he lost the Filmfare award for Best Music Director to Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...

. It remains the only time he has been nominated for the award and not won. Udit Narayan
Udit Narayan
-Career:King of melody, Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December, 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district , Nepal. His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.Narayan studied at P.B...

 won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
The following is a list of winners of the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The singer with the most awards in this category is K. J. Yesudas with seven wins, whereas S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won six times for 4 different languages; Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.-Superlatives:...

 for the track "Yeh Tara Woh Tara".

Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...

Won:
  • Best Actor - Shahrukh Khan
    Shahrukh Khan
    Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

  • Best Background Score
    Filmfare Best Background Score
    The Filmfare Best Background Score is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.Although the awards started in 1953, the best sound category was not introduced until 1997.-Awards:...

     - A.R. Rahman


Nominated:
  • Best Director
  • Best Film
  • Best Lyricist
  • Best Music Director
  • Best Playback Singer - Female
  • Best Playback Singer - Male

Global Indian Film Awards
Global Indian Film Awards
Global Indian Film Awards was an awards ceremony held between 2005 and 2007, conceptualized to acknowledge excellence in the Indian Film industry and honour artists in 23 categories across various genres, from acting to film making. It is held in a different country each year. 2005 in Dubai,...

  • Best Actor - Shahrukh Khan
    Shahrukh Khan
    Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

  • Best Newcomer - Gayatri Joshi
    Gayatri Joshi
    Gayatri Joshi is a model turned Bollywood actress. Her first film was 2004's Swades.- Career :She was one of the final five candidates in the 1999 Femina Miss India beauty pageant, and was crowned Sony Entertainment Chania-voted by viewers, and was chosen to represent India at the 2000 Miss...


National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...

  • Best Male Playback Singer
    National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
    The following is a list of winners of the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The singer with the most awards in this category is K. J. Yesudas with seven wins, whereas S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won six times for 4 different languages; Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.-Superlatives:...

     - Udit Narayan
    Udit Narayan
    -Career:King of melody, Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December, 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district , Nepal. His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.Narayan studied at P.B...

  • Special Jury Award - Ashutosh Gowariker
    Ashutosh Gowariker
    Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is known for directing the films Lagaan , Swades , Jodhaa Akbar , What's Your Raashee and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey...

  • Best Cinematography
    National Film Award for Best Cinematography
    The National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category....

     - Mahesh Aney

Zee Cine Awards
Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Awards or "ZCA" for short is an awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. It was first held in 1998 in Mumbai. Since then, it has gained substantial popularity as a notable awards ceremony to the Indian population as well as to the viewers of Zee Network.In 2004, the ZCA went...

  • Best Female Debut
    Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut
    The Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut is chosen by the jury. They give awards to the new discoveries of Bollywood where they see some potential.The winners are listed below:-...

     - Gayatri Joshi
    Gayatri Joshi
    Gayatri Joshi is a model turned Bollywood actress. Her first film was 2004's Swades.- Career :She was one of the final five candidates in the 1999 Femina Miss India beauty pageant, and was crowned Sony Entertainment Chania-voted by viewers, and was chosen to represent India at the 2000 Miss...

  • Best Story

Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...

  • Most Promising Female Newcomer
    Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female
    The Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female is chosen via a distinguished panel of judges from the film industry of India. The winners are announced in January. The first woman to receive this award was Sonali Bendre.-Winners:-References:...

     - Gayatri Joshi
    Gayatri Joshi
    Gayatri Joshi is a model turned Bollywood actress. Her first film was 2004's Swades.- Career :She was one of the final five candidates in the 1999 Femina Miss India beauty pageant, and was crowned Sony Entertainment Chania-voted by viewers, and was chosen to represent India at the 2000 Miss...


Reviews

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