Swades

Ashutosh Gowariker's "Swades"...

Watching that movie was an emotional experience. I was completely won over by a great story, a great screenplay and great acting.

I had been cursing Shahrukh Khan for all these years. The same delivery, the same expressions and same acting in every film. The annoying popularity his character somehow manages to get in every movie was becoming disturbing. I used to be a Shahrukh Khan fan 10 years ago ,but had given up hopes on him. But finally after all these years, I could see the Shahrukh from Fauji. I could see why he became so popular to begin with. He has displayed how good of an underacting he can do. When a dynamite actor like him displays his emotions more subtly, more under control, it becomes a thrilling performance to watch.

Credit goes to the director and writer Ashutosh Gowariker. A great sensibility ! Watching the movie was almost finding something which has been long lost. I have been watching hoardes of "mai tumhare dil me rehetahu", "ham tumhare hai kab se" .. kind of ultra long named and crappy movies. My Hindi movie watching would be inserting in the DVD or casette ,watching the unbelievale crap for 15 mins, giving up on it and switching to Discovery channel. I was sick of watching plot lines that go nowhere, stories with no heart, a whole bunch of gimmicks including those irritating show-offs of "cool" camera angles and editing styles. I was sick of irrelevent 'maal' songs popping out of nowhere. I was sick of Bombay hindi, Bihari villains, unrealisticly cute and colorful college scenes and bandages of irrelevent scenes written for senior actors to show off their acting talent.

I should say that I almost could not believe the sensibility that was being displayed on screen in Swades. You can tell that he has made it with love and with care. I was in good hands throughout. The screenplay won me over. It is one thing to write a story with an intent to make a patriotic movie and it is another thing to translate it into a non-cliched non-filmy screenplay. There were none of those age old Hindi movie formulae used anywhere. Take the scene where he puts down his feet on the wall-to-wall carpet here in US and that reminds him of the simple pleasure of just standing in the water back in the village. Take the scene of that old woman in village looking at a light bulb waiting for the electricity to arrive - "bijli" ..she says .."bijli" .. Take the scene where Shahrukh is in a train and a 9 year old boy is running around the platform , trying to sell water for 25 paisa. Excellent set up of him drinking bottled water throughout and a great payoff when he takes that water from that boy for 25 paisa. The scene where he is back in US and memories of India flashing in front of him as he tries to work. It is almost spooky to see the exact emotions experienced by so many of us, being shown on the screen.

I almost had forgotten that in Hindi commercial movies with Shahrukh Khan, the camera can capture the heart of India. That it can capture the Baajreki roti on the plate without showing it off , the two kids sleeping with their backs to us in a latern light , with their father crying about his inability to feed his family. I had forgotten that it can capture"Kushtika Akhaada", post office , the school where the teacher is writing today's class name on the board. I heard the words like "Bhaasha", "Bhugol" when Shahrukh is going through the books in that bookstore. I saw details like a notice for parents to meet Geeta Teacher displayed on a school board on a side.

Watching Shahrukh sit amongst the crowd in a crowded train compartment took me to the days of Fauji, Circus, Manoranjan .. thats why he had become polular. The three men sitting on that scooter brings a smile. They have been careful in selecting appropriate clothes for characters including Shahrukh. He is in simple shirt and jeans throughout. He just merges in. It was a fresh breath of relief to finally see characters apperences matching the story and the surroundings. I was getting used to seeing a lower middle class hero in brand clothes doing product placement.

Credit also goes to Gayatri Joshi. She is smart, sweet and adorable. Her character is neatly written. It has her own voice , her own personality.She stands up to Shahrukh very well. The supporting cast has done their job very well including the villagers, Kaveriamma, the Dhaba owner, the post-master and the kids. Yes, even the kids are not the usual annoying kind with an irritatingly smart-ass attitude.

One could tell that the writers have been smart. They have respeted the audience, their intelligence and sensibilities. They have been careful with Shahrukh and his job in US, the vacation for India issue, even his want to go back to US. They have been smart enough to avoid Hindi movie cliches. I was almost praying that they not let me down with cliches and they did not. The heroine does not appear in his caravan in the last scene, she does not go with him to US, he does not stay here for her, even the villagers have their voice. And thank God, the villagers are not of the cliched 'Thakurs' or village king kind.

The film strikes very close to home. Even Lagaan was 'out there'. Swades comes closer to you. Display of Simplicity is the strength of this movie and the simplicity has not been just shown off. It comes in neatly and subtly. This is not a film where you see poverty , hunger and half-naked poor people for no apprent reason. They are a part of it. People will find drawbacks and there are some drawbacks. But whenver I noticed them, I had already forgiven the director.

Kudos to the whole team. The diretor, writer and the actors. A satisfying movie. A movie which has raised hopes for the quality of Hindi cinema to come.