Swades

I saw this movie with really high expectations from Gowariker thanks partly, to the number of Filmfare nominations and I was not let down!!

What's New?

Science has been blended into a Bollywood movie in the most magnificent way I've ever seen! As an Engineer myself, it was refreshing to see a Bollywood movie explain Science to the masses in a brilliant way! Way to GOwarikar! There was a new face, Gayathri Joshi. Frankly, I was not too pleased with her looks or performance. When I think Gowarikar and I think village belle, the face that flashes in front of my eyes is of course that of Gauri in Lagaan! Albeit, this girl is modern and educated, there are many faces I could fathom, that could have added a greater Jamba boost to this role.

Noticeable:

Shahrukh has done a great job, which seems amplified after the cliche'd role and his signature performance in Veer Zaara, which left me wondering whether this guy had a future in my TV screen, but he does! SRK or this film will probably not have the impact that Aamir and Lagaan did, but this movie was a good follow-up by the director. The king Khan has done total justice to his role. AR Rahman has once again delivered when it comes to a Gowarikar movie. Except for the "Baaba Kich Kich taa" repeat in a song and the background music, the other songs were really well executed. "Yeh Taara Woh Taara" was particularly good and reminds us a little bit of "Mitwaa" from Lagaan. The dussera song was also good and reminds you of "Raadha kyon na Jale". Thank god, there was nothing in parallel to "O paalan hare".. looks like the director has taken feedback from Lagaan!

I am not getting conclusive about a pattern in here, but Gowarikar in his first two movies has exploited the thrill value very well. The thrill that the audience gets out of the electric meter is great, but no where near when Kachara gets his wickets or Bhuvan hits the winning shot! That's the problem any director has to face by delivering a marvel in his first attempt! But this one has met expectations really well!

Verdict:

This movie is superb! Definately worth seeing once! Having lived in a village for 4 days, I can tell that the sequences are so natural! The characters like the "Bijili paati", Kaaveri Amma, the weaver turned farmer, Dadaji, the cook who has done some good comedy, etc. are likely to stay in your mind several days after you have watched the movie. This is the beauty of Gowarikar's movies that attach so much significance to the so-called "lesser important" characters! How can you forget Kachara, Ismail or Guran from Lagaan? The movie is a little drawn out and a little bit on the preaching side, but you've gotta watch it for ARR, SRK and Ashutosh if not anyone else! Tuesday, February 15, 2005 at 11:10 AM