Why did the audience embrace Rang De and showed the door to Swades…?
I despise comparing films, and neither does this article compares Rang De and Swades in its entirety( it only does a wee bit towards the end!). But, it is my take on the two movies( mostly independent), though coupled with how Indian audience perceives patriotic movies.
Rang De Basanti is the story of four youngsters, who are indifferent to the current state of affairs in our country. Graduall they discover what their country was, what did the coveted feeling azadi meant to the Bhagat Singhs, Azads, the Sukhdevs, and are enlightened when they see the present situation with reference to sitting in the CCDs, Baristas and complaining Is Desh ka kuch nahin ho sakta.
The movie opens to a typically brash, fun loving college going kids who are not concerned about anything but their own nothingness, their own small world, where they are the self confessed kings, and care two hoots about the whole world. Their shallowness dictates their life, until they meet Sue, a documentary filmmaker from Britain who is here to make a movie on India’s freedom fighters. Their face to face with India’s history makes them realize what India was, what India has become, and what it should be. The death of their friend and the system’s apathy towards the same is a triggering factor for them to want and enforce a change.
Swades is about Mohan Bhargava, a scientist in U.S.A who comes to India to take his nanny back. In a queer way, Swades is also about the realization of its chief protoganist, though here it is via witnessing the things first hand and then contemplating. The tranisition of Mohan is very much slow and hence, believable, though accused by everyone as very documentarish and slow.
Mohan goes through and sees a myriad things, before transitioning to drinking water from kulhad at the unknown Ankola station for 25 paisa. That is not even 1 cent, Mohan’s own plush life in NASA meets a contrasting life of wretchedness in a totally heartfelt manner. If, one strips himself of all humane values, and sees the movie ‘objectively’, it is nothing but a documentary, where Mohan moves from one place to another and ‘preaches’ the gaonwallahs about the boons of education, self reliance and other socially relevant topics. But, Mohan’s traverse through the villages, India’s most talked about problems places Mohan with respect to his country on a different plane.
In Rang De Basanti, I absolutely loved the character’s re’discovering’ India’s glorious past and connecting with the morals and the struggle of the freedom fighters amidst the mindless fun. The protoganists are shocked to find the system’s indifference to their friend’s death, and they are shocked only because they know what is and has been going on. Because, the system had been an eunuch for long. It is only of late, they found that. Now, a major issue regarding projecting a problem is to also give out its solution. Though not necessary, that is how most hindi movies are chalked out. And that is where Rang De Basant frittered it all away. For me. Though the very same climax heightened the crescendo of emotions triggered earlier in the movie by the Khoon Chala song. Had the last half hour or so would have been considerably less loud, and hence, less self defensive in approach( humein pata hai, humne jo kiya wo sai nai hai) and also not preachy( Koi bhi desh perfect nai hota, use perfect banana padta hai), the movie could have clinched it for me. Although all said and done, Rang De Basanti was still a good entertainer(some of the highest grossers of 2006 were Dhoom2, KANK, Fanna..well, well, well!). But, RDB did manage to impress, numb, and made everyone to contemplate because the climax had the ’shock’ value, the thrill, the snapping of emotional chords between the audience and the characters. RDB gave it with glee, what the audience expected and demanded. That is why it went on to become such a huge hit.
Coming now to Swades, it is a movie which can be so typically put under the common ‘Bollywood’ watching audience’s parlance, a movie, where ‘nothing happens’. And according to me, that is how it should be. Have you ever realized something in your life? Be it of any importance. We all have realised things in our insignificant ways. And how did that realization come? Not through some background music, nor was it followed by heavy down handing of massive dialogue(s). To portray all this on the celluloid was very difficult, almost as difficult as realising a difficult looking story like Lagaan onto the silver screen. But, Gowariker did it.
The once cynical Mohan now believes that something can be done. Something should be done. And he feels the onus is on him, he feels the ‘guilty’ are they and also ‘us’, if we don’t do anything about it. The ‘us’ of RDB also tried to take the baton, although what they did eventually was as immature, rash and so consistent with their character is a different thing all together.
Mohan embraces us, and contributes whatever he can to kill the deficiency that is plaguing his village. An engineering dispelling the darkness of his own village, if that is not ‘awakening’, what else is? Swades is discovery of a man’s roots. Both films( and almost every second hindi film) can be accused of being impractical, but, what is more impractical? Gunning a minister for venting out one’s frustration in the garb of patriotism, or an educated giving something back to the country? There have been people like Mohan who have came back and delivered( whether you want to scoff at them for they being impractical is your take). The point is not about a movie mirroring the real life more closely. The point, I’m trying to drive home is something else. Audience. And its choice. Rang De Basanti was an entertainer and the bonhomie of its college going characters, characterization, dialogues, almost hit the bull’s eye. Songs bound with the narratives, and Joshi’s words danced to Rehman’s tune. I take nothing of that fact away.
But, why did we shoo Swades of? A film that was so rich in its message, a film that had soul, a film that had Shahrukh(’ King Khan’) in his career’s best performance, a film which talked about something which so happens, though without being preachy. You can sleepwalk over its documentarish structure and may not even realize it is patriotic. Because, it talks about the problems within( both inside us, and in the country).
Why was Gadar the top grosser of 2001? Because, it had the so obvious Anti Pakistan references? I know Swades wasn’t cool, I know Swades didn’t have ‘Behen de Takke‘, I know Swades didn’t have ‘Hindustaan Zindabad’, or ‘xyz murdabad‘ and the thousand in your face facets of patriotism, it wasn’t hilarious in parts either. Jo log behre hote hain, unhe dhamaake ki zaroorat hoti hai. Swades had no dhamaka, it had no blockbuster elements, is that why the Indian audience didn’t listen?
For the mere selfishness of watching good hindi movies in future, I just hope that Swades finds its audience someday. Because, it is the choices of today that is going to determine what is going to be made tommorow.
Tags: box office, Indian Audience, Patriotic movies, Rang De Bsanati, Swades
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Tanul, I like your topic. And I love Swades. It is amongst my all time favorite films. I liked RDB too.
I guess the reason ppl lapped up RDB instatnly was firstly helped by the music. Both Rahman, yes. But one clearly more popular than the other. Another thing that I can think of is through whom are you telling your msg. In Swades, Mohan Bhargav is a US-return with a perspective colored by the life that he has seen in the West. In RDB, these guys are “US”. They talk like us, they have the same questions like us. And when THEY change, we ask ourselves, why cant we? When Mohan Bhargava is criticizing India, we Indians go in the deefnsive. We dont like it. And when he finally comes around, we go “Hah! You see, India is great!You should’ve known!”
In RDB, when these guys, who are like you and me, question the govt., we like it because they question the way we do in our everyday lives. When they get angey, we cheer for them. When they kill, we may not agree, but we sure are elated. The same way we cheered for Vijay in the 80’s. If I cant bash up the baddies, I will cheer for the hero who can.
I dont know if I am right, but this could be a reason. I guess there might be many other reasons, like timing of the release (RDB came on 26th Jan), other releases, promotion etc.. RDB had a very happy and fun tone in the first hour. Swades was never ‘fun’, although consistently sweet and heart rendering.
I love Swades far more than RDB. I really wish it had worked.. It’s one of SRK’s finest performances ever. Mohan Bhargav stays in my mind, fresh, even today.
Anything good spoken about swades is less… it is a kind of movie which grows after watch…
after watching it for so many times i have just realised that it is flawless…
Observed so many things which clearly indicates how brilliant Gowarikar is..
If u look closely each and every shot is taken so intelligently and have so much meaning in it..
Shahrukhs adjustment to village is shown through his caravan and the shot when keeps the glass on the table when given without drinking.. as time passes he adjusts himself to the environment..
There are many such sequesnces noteworthy…
I could write a post on it..
Perhaps ill do that once…
nicely written….
good one tanul…:)
and i agree with ur point
I loved Swades. Why oh why doesn’t SRK do more meaningful movies like that?
Swades really moved me. I didn’t mind its running length at all, although it’s understandable that the aam janata would have found it slow. Rehman’s beautiful title song still gets a lump in my throat.
RDB was more zingoistic in its treatment of the subject, compared to Swades (which was more understated, and didnt take our intelligence for granted). nothing against RDB, though, coz it gave Indians a tangible way of expression, and directly helped at least one case being re-opened in the court of law. both r good, but cinematically, swades is better.
I think the reason RDB was such a big hit is not its message. Rather the Dil Chahtha hai like first half did the trick in pulling audience, especially the youth. And as you said definitely having a better dramatic structure also helped.
Regarding Swades,good intentions need not always translate into a good script.In the second half the confusion of the writer is clear. Because he has already established the dilemma and reluctance of protagonist to go back. If he could have found a single different element to prop up the proceedings in second half I would have called it a good script. Still it should be commented that writer resisted the temptation to spice up the proceedings with some local goons. Ashuthosh Gowarikar had this idea of an NRI staying back in India. But that makes for a good essay. Not for a mainstream movie.(mainstream as we are talking about box office here)
This may sound preposterous but just trying to explain a point. But compare it with American history X or Schindler’s list. There also a strong message is there namely racism or discrimination. But you never feel that dramatic narrative there is a hashed up one just to drive down a point. The message just evolves out of a strong story. No one had to state it explicitely.
Arati Nice point of view – haven’t thought about it this way!!
According to me, Swades is as good as RDB..but it did not work because it was less entertaining..and to some extent RDB was a convetional three act format, which Swades wasn’t and it made the audience uncomfortable. Swades also came with huge expectations – it was a film by Ashotosh after the Oscar nominated Lagaan, it was always difficult to meet such high expectations.
Yes I think Swades had the Lagaan hangover as it came from Ashutosh Gowariker & he was under pressure.Plus probably the aam junta couldnt connect to the movie as there wasnt much for them besides -SRK.I mean it wasnt a conventional entertainer- no known faces ( except SRK) and a slightly unconventional music score for them.But for all this I believe the movis is slowly on its way to becoming a cult in itself.Remember a Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na or a Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron or for the matter even a Andaz Apna Apna didnt really set the box office on fire when released.But havent they all manage to become cult films in course of time?I think Swades is slowly heading there for sure.
Its unfortunate of a film like Swadesh, which is so real, to have had that fate. For me its SRK’s career best. You walk out of the hall being a different person. It was made from a common man’s perspective. Some scenes like SRK going to collect rent or boy selling water in the stn, brought tears to my eyes.
But I know it was not received like that – I may think of some reasons. It connected very well with the NRI audience. The common man in India is so overwhelmed that they go to watch movies to escape from reality. Enter the fantasy land, where reasonings have no place, mindless song & dance routines, there is no scope of realism to be appreciated. For us in USofA, it was very introspective, and somewhat took us back to our roots in those few hours.
For me, its one of the greatest movie made. RDB was good too, but Swadesh was in a diff league!
“cinematically,Swades is better”
Satyendra,how? Is stopping the flow of a film to expound your philosophy-or philosophies considering how issue happy Swades was-cinematic?Having your lead character launch into speech after speech ,cinematic?Diegesis is cinema?
The reason why Swades does not work as a film for me is because 1)Ashutosh Gowariker did not really find a way to get around the topics he wanted to touch upon ,in a manner that was economic or even efficient.One could imagine him putting up a check list and writing scenes around the items in that list.2)this resulted in the tone of the film being completely gobbled up-you have a lump in your throat in one scene and suddenly there is a cutesy romantic moment immediately following it.I think Baradwaj Rangan’s review touched upon the latter very well.
RDB has more youth elements than Swadesh! RDB had a better platform that of happy-go-lucky kinda guys and then their transformation for their country and Screenplay was of top notch.it trageted youth and hit the goldmine.
Swadesh was more subtle in that sense,slow paced and a bit of preachy!! it was more of joyful watch and relishing the elements calmly and never looked like a blockbuster. if am not sure of the economics but was SWADESH A flop ! i doubt!
See RDB appeals to the typical middle class angst, of overthrowing the system through a violent revolution or getting in some kinda dictatorship. The bad guys were identifiable, it was the system, the corrupt Def minister, the crooked industrialist, and so were the good guys. Stripped of everything it became a bad guys vs good guys tale.
The fact is neither Bhagat Singh nor Subash Chandra Bose were some romantic revolutionaries. They were people who were well versed in political thought, who had their ideas on governance. You may or may not agree with their ideology, but they had their own vision.In fact Raj Kumar Santoshi’s The Legend of Bhagat Singh, gives a far greater insight into Bhagat Singh’s socialist leanings, his hatred for capitalism.
RDB appealed to people, because it offered the kind of quick fix solutions, so favored by most of our junta. Shoot every one, kill every one, hang every one, the system is rotten. We believe that military dictatorship is the one stop solution to all problems. If that had been the case African nations by now, would have been the most peaceful and prosperous nations on earth.
Swades on the other hand, emphasized things, which are not very glam. The long, hard and dirty way. Of the dirty work to be done, in actually uplifting our villages. Mohan’s transformation was not sudden, it was very gradual. But it does not appeal to “quick fix” attitude of Gen X. I remember watching Swades in a multiplex, when my company in Noida, arranged a special screening. Barring very few colleagues, most of the others were just twittering and sniggering. Thats why i often say the so called multiplex sensibility is vastly overrated.
Any day, any time, Swades is a far better movie than RDB. It does not offer quick fix solutions, does not pander to wet dreams, does not get into jingoism, but just puts up a mirror to the nation. The image in the mirror is ugly, but at the same time, it asks us to look closely into the mirror, so that the image does not seem too ugly.
never thot of these two brilliant films in that manner..yes RDB appealed & aquired cult status probably coz it converses in a language that people listen to(though I dnt believe the ‘quick fix solution’ is actually the purpose/message of the film)..I believe Swades has also become a cult movie but it didnt run to packed houses & performed poorly at the box office..coz Swades talks a different language than RDB..it tells u to look at ur own mistakes before pointing fingers & even goes a step further by suggesting there is nothing shameful abt accepting values & culture from a foreign land that cud benefit us in improving human life(love ur nation but dnt defend it unfairly)..it tells u to put aside ur ego..RDB tells u that extreme actions can hv extreme reactions but it doesnt solve anything, in fact it may just make it worse..both r brilliant films!
RDB and Swedesh are totally different films and cult-classics. So there is no point of pitting one against each other!
And a film’s fate on box office is unsure always !!
Tanul, regarding the point about audience: I live in the US, and so was able to directly relate to Mohan in Swades.
My cousins in India however didn’t like Swades, and it’s understandable.
I think the film was written in such a way that an NRI would appreciate the conflict that Mohan faces.
I loved Rang De Basanti too, but Swades changed my goals in life. There is no way in hell im going to stay here in the U.S., even my plans for college have been influenced with the idea that once I finish college, I will return to India.
Regarding the “preach-iness” of Swades, I think that was necessary. As Mr. Ratnakar said, Swades offered the “hard and dirty way”, the only way to solve problems, and it wouldn’t really do much to understate the problems/solutions.
good topic…..
RDB was a good movie and worked well the Indian audience. It worked because the idea was presented in a way the people would own the feeling. The culprit was “Corruption” and the solution was to eradicate it. Most of the viewers had experienced or have heard of experiences of how corrupt the system is. Everyone wanted to change the system and make it better but could not do anything about it. The feeling of the protagonist and the viewer was mutual. The feeling was against corruption and selfishness of the politicians. The movie was gritty, fast paced and had some wonderful songs. The characters represented the youth, the fire within (angry young men) and the young crowd identified with them. The soul of the film of good against evil is universal and the older crowd absorbed it. The director had intelligently used one of the real life incidents to convey the idea. The viewer felt that the characters in the movie had the same emotions but could dare to do more than what the viewer could in real life.
I liked RDB and it was a well executed movie with some flaws.
Coming to Swadesh, a movie which brought out the good actor in SRK. Swadesh was no battle of good over evil. It was plain and simple, self-realization story of a rich man turning philanthropist and motivator. It was a story of a NRI, a story not many could relate to. The Indian audience at large could not empathize with the protagonist’s feelings (he was not one among them). Yes, the movie was inspirational …. But to how many? Only the educated class who have stayed abroad and are yearning to get back to their roots could identify with Mohan Bhargav. Who would care to go and watch a movie about a NRI coming back to his village and helping them with basic facilities? Does the movie provide enough entertainment to have the Indian movie-goer glued to his seat? Well, the answer in short would be NO. The reason being that most of the people dint think it was Swadesh, instead they thought it was videsh. The story was alien to them, more like an English movie. The dreamy eyed college students were yet to experience Mohan’s emotions and rather conveniently ignored it. The middle aged and older crowd cared less for social activities. The movie appealed to a very small section of audience who fell in love with it. And that section was too insignificant in number to get the cash register’s ringing. NRIs were the ones who gelled with the idea and emotions of Mohan. Although there are some others who loved the movie for the acting, story, songs and background music and for the reason that Swadesh is one of the good movies to come out a drowning industy in recent times.
Swadesh had a great drawback – the narrative. Like the accusations it was more of a well made documentary. But again that’s just another style of movie making. The pace was slow, very slow.
Swadesh has ‘Soul’ but without an attractive body. Swadesh was not marketed or presented well. Swadesh was no ‘lust at first sight’. The person needs and attractive body to make heads turn. Most of the movies nowadays make money by presenting it well. Everyone wants to have a glimpse of it just like how everyone wants to talk to a beautiful girl. But only after talking many may find that she is not as good as she looks. But atleast her looks did attract a lot. Similarly well marketed movies garner a lot of audience but fail to sustain them if they do not have soul. Swadesh falls under the category of a beautiful person at heart but who does not have an attractive body. Only a few, who know the person well, realize the inner beauty and appreciate it. I hope more people get to know Swadesh and realize its beauty.
Ashutosh, our chef had all the ingredients with him but made a dish which only had the right proportion of salt but did not have the mirch or color to make it perfect.
Good article about two good movies overall. But sometimes failure of a movie economically or acceptance moves it into a much higher appreciated category. Swades is one such movie. The movie was a docu drama, and I think its about the only one I can think of in Indian movies recently, and there aren’t that many made even in Hollywood that are successful.
The movie had a NRI which largely Indian audience could not relate to, but how they can relate to Yash Raj’s NRI movies I don’t know. It easy to call Swades preachy, and yet overlook the countless third person preachy references in Yash Raj movies. But I think the bigger fact is that its hard to accept real situation and its criticism, specially from all knowing NRI. I’ve felt there is a very real resentment towards NRI’s in India when it comes about bringing change, and understandable.
I would not call Swades a slow movie myself, but I can see why people would feel so. I personally like movies that take time to explain their story.
@ Arati: I definitely agree that build up to RDB was really kickass, helped by Rehman’s music. Personally speaking, the music of RDB connected with me way more than Swades, but Swades’s two- three songs have stayed with me like no other song has. Dekho Na, Yun Hi Chala Chal, and even Yeh Taara’s lyrics were nice exuding ‘See-the-world-through-my-eyes’ feeling were nice. And what can one say about Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera, this song is right there with Rahman’s Vande Mataram. But, all said and done all these elements in the music were ‘good’ but not catchy by any sense of imagination. The nation just lapped up ‘Talli ho kar girne se seekhi humne gravity’, the open jeep and everything else. RDB had the cool factor, and people might have cheered the faulty decisions deep within, because, as you said, it could have been due to the frustration that everyone carries inside. RDB pin pointed and said ‘this is the problem, this these guys have done’. There was no complexities in execution and janta janardhan was all up for it.
@Bhavesh: There is no feeling of rush in Swades, Mohan’s realization is very much believable, and doesn’t happens because it should. There are reasons galore.
@Mars: Thank you
@Kenny: Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera. Beautiful. I agree. Not only the song, but the picturisation, it is still alive in my mind. The way Mohan wakes up in his apartment and puts his feet on the carpet, contrasting with his feet on the Indian soil, ‘Yun to saare sukh hain barse’ shows him in the car. ‘Par door to hai apne ghar se’, shows Mohan in his big desolate house captured from way above depicting his vast loneliness(when he is looking at the photographs of village), reminiscing about Kaveri Amma, the old lady, Gayatri. I can’t write enough man, can write enough!
@Satyendra Jha: RDB was way emotionally overcharged than Swades, and as the history goes, our audience accepts anything remotely close of the sort.
@ Script Larva: The message with Swades also evolved naturally, in fact more naturally than any Hindi movie I have seen. Gowariker never spells it out for the audience, you have to watch the setting, it is a village. It is Mohan’s interaction with the villagers, the collision of two diametrically opposite world, the educated v the uneducated, Mohan has to guide them and show them the light(both, literally and symbolically), so the so called ‘preachy’ sermons has to be there. It is view-counter view kind of a thing. Mohan is just driving his point home to the Villagers, there is no teaching to the audience in general.
Also on the picturization of “yeh jo des”: The way he would look around and everything would remind him of india, the flashes of the aangan, the village etc, the way he had all of his India pictures scattered on his table but wasn’t able to look at them.
Even the bit when the lady is talking about the trajectory going through New Delhi, and Mohan is taken aback. When I was younger and came back from India visits, even someone mentioning India would just make me pause in that way.
The entire feeling of complete emptiness upon leaving India that one faces was captured absolutely perfectly in that song.
@Bollywood++ and Saad: When I watched the movie I was in India(12th std. prolly), and the movie connected with me like no other movie did, it just sank in gradually and stayed with me. It is still with me, a huge part of Swades. And right now, I’m studying U.S., so I can understand the perspective even more, but the point is, it connected with me a big way weven hen I was very much in India. Although, it did connect with majority of desis here.
@Abhinav: I don’t think Gowariker had a check list or something when it came to executing Swades. It was a journey of transformation, and it can’t be achieved in a brisk manner. It has to be through a sequence of events, collision of different ideologies, and dispelling the wrong-conventional ideas. When an entire village is a backdrop, the movie can’t be breezy, Lagaan had its moments despite being set in a village because it was about the triumph of human spirit. With Swades, Mohan had to fight within himself, make a decision for himself concurring with what he could do for the village. There wasn’t much space for unnecessary histrionics, the mood had to be as it was.
@RS: RDB shouted in parts and literally help people by their collar and made them listen. That was the mood and the pace of the movie, Swades on the other hand looked pretty unappealing to the ‘texting-friendly-twittering-junta’ inside the multiplexes who just didn’t have much patience for Mohan’s story because almost ‘nothing happened for them’.
@No Rocket Science: RDB is not a cult movie, a movie which was the 5th largest grosser for the 2006 year can;t be bracketed as cult. On the other hand, slowly but surely Swades is gaining the status of a cult( seeing the sweeping praise this movie garners at PFC and other places). Well, RDB didn’t provide a solution in the first place, according to me, it was venting and voicing of the anger locked deep inside the youth of today.
Another point about Swades in my opinion: How many times have there been movies in which it seems that there are several unnecessary sub-plots that hinder the story? In Swades, although it seems that ‘lighting the village’ was the main focus, there were so many other “sub-issues” that were addressed that only contributed to the overall message of the film, e.g. the village school, information/internet with the postman, sexism regarding girls attending school, sexism regarding women and marriage/work, caste differences, poverty, and of course electricity.
I’m not sure that those all count as sub-plots within the film, but Ashutosh showed each of these issues equally, but still with a lot of subtlety. Like in “Yeh Tara”, the caste barrier, which they “broke down” when taking the screen down etc.
Also, the romance between Mohan and Geeta was one of the most believable/realistic, I’ve seen.
@ Aditya Oberoi: Where is your feet Oberoi ji?
@Aditya Oberoi: I personally prefer UPS, but koi nai!
Excellent thread. Swades remains one of my most favorites movie and all the folks above have written all the right notes about it. So I don’t know if I am adding new to it.
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I think, RDB is the “josh” of the youth and Swades is the “hosh” of the youth when he matures.
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My fundamental problem with RDB started from the point when the minister is gunned down and it tanks from there, for me at least. No doubt, RDB still created an impact because it vented out the repressed frustration, (something akin to after Mumbai killings you want to bomb the other nation). The music added character to the movie, I think Khoon Chala was such phenomenonal song. Without the music, RDB would have been just another movie.
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Swades was a movie about journey of self-introspection where the “villain” or demon is self. So unlike Lagaan or RDB, there is no main external source of conflict. Even if Mohan does not light a bulb, the world was still going on. But lighting a bulb mattered to Mohan and that was his epiphany. Every incident, every sub-plot shapes up the transformation of Mohan to that point.
Side note: A friend of mine who is still in US said it was too entertaining where as in India many complained it was too dry :-)
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Personally, the movie is cathartic for me and helps me align my goals every time. Again the BGM music played a great role in shaping the movie (though to a lesser extent compared to RDB, IMO). I feel Yeh Taara is one of the best national integration (or team work or global unity, whichever scale you want to pick) song without being in your face.
One small correction..There was no Sukhdev in RDB.
Its quite apparent from these discussion that Swadesh appealed to NRIs and RDB to RIs.
The film was made by Ashutosh, and my respect for him went manyfold when I saw the movie – being in India, he could feel the nerve of NRIs.
The movie brings tear to my eyes everytime I see.
To some extent it was like seeing myself on the big screen. I could feel the conflict, the agony, the dilemma Mohan B was going through.
The movie is very human – in some way, it very well captures the human nature (or lackings of it) in two cultures. Mohan B prolly had everything going well for him, may be he could have convinced Gayatri to come to US as well. But there was a huge blank in his life. Which he was able to fulfill in those months he spent in village – he was able to touch so many people’s lives in a profound way. That’s the ultimate human touch.
My father, essentially was from village, but came to USA to do higher studies in 60’s and went back to be an Univ faculty. I remember clearly when I was a kid, I went sitting in his Lambretta scooter to my village, and that was the day we got electricity in our village. Some minister gave a speech and flipped the switch. My father also gave a speech, because he was the main force behind bringing electricity to our village. And I clearly remember, when we entered the village with me clinging to dad, there were about a dozen kids running behind our scooter. Now you see where I am coming from!
‘Yeh jo desh hai tera’ is a song so beautifully sung, and picturized, its a lump-in-throat moment everytime I see the song. Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1pvXSBK4Pc
A bit about SRK’s acting – this is the one of only 2 movies (other one is Chak De), in which he has a controlled acting.
Its very real – even at the end, MohanB doesn’t go back to village, he goes to work for some Space Research Ctr, which is believable.
I really haven’t added anything new from what has already been said. Par ye sab mein apna bojh halka karne ke liye likh raha hoon.
Thanks Tanul for bringing such a beautiful movie into discussion – now I have to go and see it again!
@Tanul Thakur
I dont know how one defines cult..Tarantino movies r considered cult but r successful commercially too..Fight Club is cult – yes it didnt do well at theatres but found commercial success with its DVD release & I believe only then established itself as a cult movie..I feel cult movie/book is the one that you relate strongly to..it becomes part of ur life forever..it kicks up smth lying dormant in u – it cud b political,social,cultural etc & becomes a sort of expression to it..if commercial success at the box office defines cult then RDB is not a cult movie but if commercial success itself is the defining factor then Fight Club also is not a cult movie coz Fight Club is what it is coz of its DVD sales..I dnt think I ever said that RDB provided a solution..I said – “yes RDB appealed & aquired cult status probably coz it converses in a language that people listen to(though I dnt believe the ‘quick fix solution’ is actually the purpose/message of the film)” & “RDB tells u that extreme actions can hv extreme reactions but it doesnt solve anything, in fact it may just make it worse”..anyway my main point was & is that both RDB & Swades r brilliant movie is their own respect..good luck
@Bollywood++: Thanx a lot
@ No Rocket Science: Cult is something which is popular amongst a particular group but not accepted by the public as a whole. So, that excludes RDB from the definition of cult. Now, since it has been 11 years since the release of Fight Club, so it can be debated about its mass acceptance, but, when the movie was released it was snubbed by the theater going crowd at that time, and couple of years later by the virtue of its DVD sales, it was termed as cult.
@Rahul: Yes, you are right. Thanx for the correction!
When I first saw Swades, I related to it like Saad (#16). It completely changed my life. I quit my six figure job in USA, moved back to India for good, hired locals, started an outfit etc. I won’t be specific about what I did because it gets too personal etc.. But suffice it to say, after 3 years I once again packed my bags and came right back to USA for good! It was not just that I had failed. India had failed me too. The real India, the India I saw in those three years, is most certainly the India of RDB. So today if you ask me, I will happily say line up the MLAs and MPs of India and fire at random. Just shoot to kill and finish them off. That is what RDB said and I completely agree with it now. Swades is meant for NRIs who don’t actually want to do anything, just want to see SRK doing something. If they got off their collective butts and set about to do something, they will realize that RDB is hardcore reality, Swades is just very pleasant fiction. So Tarun and Saad, if you want to leave USA and go back to India, I hope you will have much better luck than me.
@Tanul Thakur
hmm..accepted..is initial failure a necessity?..isnt cult also a thing that has consistently aquired a status as an ‘object of attachment’ & has inspired similar reactions across the board?..cud there b a bigger cult..lesser cult..i know its irrelevant to my main point & ur post but, just curious..good luck
I’m still trying to figure that question. why couldn’t swades deliver at BO!!
@NRI
>>>>>So today if you ask me, I will happily say line up the MLAs and MPs of India and fire at random
looks like u took the wrong message home. tats not wat RDB was about. in fact, the guys repented for doing so and realised tat this is not the way to get social justice. u kill one, and there is another who will replace him. in short, it was about creating awareness and generating a mass movement against injustice.
@ NRI,
I am sure you have your reasons for cynicism. But in long term, RDB is not the solution, Swades is.
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I came back from US before Swades was released but I was very clear why I was going back and its been almost 6 years and I don’t regret my decision.
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I can understand that after the initial euphoria of returning to home land dies down and the harsh realities strike, chances are you may regret your decision. But I am glad you tried.
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On a side note, A Swades could make you return (albeit temporarily) but RDB could not make you shoot an MLA/MP though you may talk about it :-)
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Swades wins :-)
Regarding if Swades is “fiction”: The electricity idea is inspired by a true story (http://pooja17.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/swades-the-bilgaon-projectan-insight-into-endless-possibilities/).
As far as Swades being deceptive, I think the conversation between Geeta and Mohan (after her suitor leaves) makes it pretty clear that although it is very tough to get stuff done, the idea of making even a seemingly small contribution will eventually (eventually!) have an effect.
The film even opens with the quote: “Hesitating to act because the whole vision might not be achieved, or because others do not yet share it, is an attitude that only hinders progress.”
@NRI: That sucks yaar! Lekin main agar wahan jaake overnight duniya nahin badloon, phir bhi mujhe lage ga ke main apne zindagi mein kuch to achcha kar raha hoon, there is some purpose in my life. I don’t want to go to India to light villages, but I want to contribute and help develop a very very young nation.
@Vishesh: The way I see it, no matter where you go, din raat kaam to karna hi padega, no? Of course in India there are many more hardships, but atleast in India, there is India to explore when you have nothing else to do!
@ Saad, Mehnat toh har jagah hain. And things happen in their own time. Persistence is the key.
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Problem arises when you step out of India for N years and then think that you know more about India than Indians do and try to inflict your idea of change on India. And it never works. You get frustrated.
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I agree in India, a day-to-day struggle saps your energy more than anything else.
Tanul, yes RDB had the cool factor, definitely!
I really dont know it we’ll ever get to understand why audience laps up one thing and rejects anther! The same audience makes RNBDJ, Satya, Jab We Met, Raja Hindustani, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Black Friday, HAHK, Hey Baby, Ghajini, Om Shanti Om and Gupt work! The same guys made Swades a flop! God knows what we think when we buy our ticket! ;)
i agree with you that shahrukh has given his best performance till date in swades.
I somehow do not understand why this film is considered preacy. It’s one of my all time favourites.
Not only this movie is subtly patroitic, it’s also immensly entertaining.
The cute love story of Mohan Bhargav and gitli (geeta) is quite mature and cute at the same time.
The humour in this movie is subtle to which lets you smile throughout the movie- well almost.
When mohan is introduced to the villagers in panchayat , he is asked about what he does at NASA. And immidiately is introduced to the local amatuer wetherman and commented” aree ee kaam to hamara gajodhar)or whoever) bhi karat hai. oo bhi bina ghoome”.
Also in the song where geeta gives that llok to mohan to quit smoking and he pretends to have stubbed the butt. i found that utterly romantic .or oractically romantic.
all in all a simple movie with a few cinematic liberties taken, but isn’t it art is all about