It was way past 11 in the night. All was silent, still except for the TV in the living room that Amma was watching. I was working on my maths. My eyes were growing groggier with every passing second and my head was sinking. And then I heard this tune-- a tune that, for me, was more than just a tune--an anthem, a prayer. My head gave a sudden jerk and popped up, my limbs felt a new flush of energy flowing through, my tired eyes shone like the Buddha's after enlightenment, and my ears went upright. I ran to the living room, looked for hardly a second at the TV screen, and then asked a question that I had already known the answer to, "Swadesaa?"
I am, by nature, a person of stunningly strong likes. As a child of 10, I read Kamala Subramaniam's humungous Mahabharatha and immediately fell in love with Radheya (Karna). He wasnt the most perfect of charachters, Hell, he wasn’t even on the good side. And yet I adored him. Notwithstanding the fact that he was a mortal, I said my prayers to him daily before I slept.I have a fanatic's liking for VVS Laxman, who again, is not the most fancied of players in the Indian team. I love Kumble, for his unorthodox style of bowling and I love this lovely little book written by Ruskin Bond called "Scenes from a writer's life" that contains writings by him when he was young and raw at 16. And I love Swades, for its simple flow which is akin to Bond's style of writing or Laxman's batting.
Swades is my favourite movie. The storyline is amazing, the cast is brilliant and the director is one of the best in the industry. And yet, what draws me towards the movie like insects to light are the scenes. The scenes revel in highlighting the simple pleasures of life. Every scene is an experience; a piece of masterly craftmanship on the part of the director.And some of the them are so special and extraordinaly simple(yet happy) that one just cannot help smiling. The indescribable feeling of superlative elation after watching some of the scenes is something that I never have been able to draw from other movies, Indian or otherwise.
Mohan Bhargav,the main protagonist(played brilliantly by SRK), is not a person blessed with extraordinary brainpower or masculine abilities, but is a very real NRI. The characters, which are portrayed flawlessly, are genuine and exactly the type of people one would come across in such situations.
The movie also brings out the best in A.R.Rahman, another wizard. The maestro is at his best when composing from his heart and this movie has so much soul in it that he really brings up tunes that will stay for a long, long time. Swades has songs that are truly Indian and extremely authentic--vintage ARR. But, really, what is so truly marvellous about the music is not the songs, but the tunes that pop up when the scenes are in progress--the background music-- reflect every single emotion felt by the characters and enhance the effectiveness of the scenes.
Swades, however, is not the most perfect of movies. It has its drawbacks. The movie is stretched on both sides and, sometimes, the story seems to stay still. It sometimes reminds me of the Suvarna river, here in Manipal, in mid-summer, extremely picturesque but unmoving. Gayathri Joshi as Sita in "Pal Pal..." could have been avoided. And yes, the movie does, every so often, seem like Ashutosh Gowariker hasn’t managed to get over the Lagaan hangover.But,really, all this bothers me as much as Andy Roddick bothers Roger Federer. Shah Rukh Khan plays his most meaningful character in a career spanning a decade-and-a half, Gayathri Joshi makes a more than impressive debut, and Ashutosh Gowariker bears bravely the weight of the movie on his shoulders.
There is a beauty in imperfection, a beauty in the flawed. And this movie, though not the most seamless of ones is unique. It has captured my heart like few others have done(and sends flutters down every part of my body) and I cant help but applaud a director who explores un-trodden pathways in Indian cinema. A movie that is truly Indian. Simple, soothing and soulful.
I am, by nature, a person of stunningly strong likes. As a child of 10, I read Kamala Subramaniam's humungous Mahabharatha and immediately fell in love with Radheya (Karna). He wasnt the most perfect of charachters, Hell, he wasn’t even on the good side. And yet I adored him. Notwithstanding the fact that he was a mortal, I said my prayers to him daily before I slept.I have a fanatic's liking for VVS Laxman, who again, is not the most fancied of players in the Indian team. I love Kumble, for his unorthodox style of bowling and I love this lovely little book written by Ruskin Bond called "Scenes from a writer's life" that contains writings by him when he was young and raw at 16. And I love Swades, for its simple flow which is akin to Bond's style of writing or Laxman's batting.
Swades is my favourite movie. The storyline is amazing, the cast is brilliant and the director is one of the best in the industry. And yet, what draws me towards the movie like insects to light are the scenes. The scenes revel in highlighting the simple pleasures of life. Every scene is an experience; a piece of masterly craftmanship on the part of the director.And some of the them are so special and extraordinaly simple(yet happy) that one just cannot help smiling. The indescribable feeling of superlative elation after watching some of the scenes is something that I never have been able to draw from other movies, Indian or otherwise.
Mohan Bhargav,the main protagonist(played brilliantly by SRK), is not a person blessed with extraordinary brainpower or masculine abilities, but is a very real NRI. The characters, which are portrayed flawlessly, are genuine and exactly the type of people one would come across in such situations.
The movie also brings out the best in A.R.Rahman, another wizard. The maestro is at his best when composing from his heart and this movie has so much soul in it that he really brings up tunes that will stay for a long, long time. Swades has songs that are truly Indian and extremely authentic--vintage ARR. But, really, what is so truly marvellous about the music is not the songs, but the tunes that pop up when the scenes are in progress--the background music-- reflect every single emotion felt by the characters and enhance the effectiveness of the scenes.
Swades, however, is not the most perfect of movies. It has its drawbacks. The movie is stretched on both sides and, sometimes, the story seems to stay still. It sometimes reminds me of the Suvarna river, here in Manipal, in mid-summer, extremely picturesque but unmoving. Gayathri Joshi as Sita in "Pal Pal..." could have been avoided. And yes, the movie does, every so often, seem like Ashutosh Gowariker hasn’t managed to get over the Lagaan hangover.But,really, all this bothers me as much as Andy Roddick bothers Roger Federer. Shah Rukh Khan plays his most meaningful character in a career spanning a decade-and-a half, Gayathri Joshi makes a more than impressive debut, and Ashutosh Gowariker bears bravely the weight of the movie on his shoulders.
There is a beauty in imperfection, a beauty in the flawed. And this movie, though not the most seamless of ones is unique. It has captured my heart like few others have done(and sends flutters down every part of my body) and I cant help but applaud a director who explores un-trodden pathways in Indian cinema. A movie that is truly Indian. Simple, soothing and soulful.
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Beautiful review, Sharan. As a person who loves watching movies, Swades is my way of being patriotic to the country. Truly a gem.
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