When Cinema changed the way I lived: Thank you Mr. Gowarikar for

Swades

Management of Self, Assignment II

By Sachin Gupta

0135/49

I was in Kota, studying for my IIT-JEE exams when Swades was released.

Having many SRK junkies in my group meant it was but obvious for us to watch the movie.

However, more than Mr. Khan it was my favourite Director from Lagaan who compelled me to

say a yes for the outing. As a teen, movies stood for merely fun, frolic and entertainment! With

Swades, it was the first the time I came out of the hall thinking about life. The first time I saw it,

I came out more perplexed than satisfied – the movie had thrown up major questions for me.

Given that those were slogging days, I quickly put such feelings aside and focussed on JEE.

However, I have seen the movie at least a dozen times after that and it has given me a different

meaning each time. As my understanding of life has evolved the last decade, so has my

understanding of the movie!

It is immensely difficult for me to actually write down what I have liked about the movie, I often

too emotional or too excited before I could pen a word. In a nutshell, I can safely say no other

movie has made such a moving impact on the way I conduct myself like Swades has. I have

connected with characters and situations depicted in the movie at multiple levels. The movie has

also helped me to shape my career ambitions accordingly.

To summarize, below are following things that I like about the movie:

The Characters

While the script is the soul of the movie, it is the characters who actually breathe life into the

soul. I fell in complete love with almost each and every character that was casted in the movie.

They were so real that one could easily attach a known face from our day-to-day life to them. A

brief overview of the characters I loved the most:

Mohan

Well, is not Mohan an epitome of kind-heartedness and endearing? He is funny, smart, well-

spoken and has his heart in the right place. There, is not more of what we can ask for.

To be more specific, I liked the way Mohan has conducted himself right through the movie. He

is well educated and has high ambitions for himself (one does not reach the NASA otherwise!)

While at the same time, he also has strong Indian values inculcated in him. He does not treat his

Nanny like an employee but in fact elevates her to pedestal of his soul-MOM. He is willing to sell

a limb and a leg to have her back with him in the US. He is so determined that he travels all the

way back to India, lives in less than ideal environments, volunteers to get Geeta’s issue resolved

while also gets the village’ electricity issues solved in his bid to win Kaveri Amma back. He has a

kind soul that melts at the sight of poverty and destituteness. He is neither a radical nationalist

nor is ignorant about the nation. In fact he has the perfect mix of idealism and pragmatism.

Geeta

Quite often bollywood is accused of painting the Indian women in a negative light, but with

Geeta it has hit the bullseye. Geeta to me was like the like the ideal wife!

While her feet were firmly planted in the ground, she never restricted herself to household

chores. She was bold enough to turn down Mohan’s offer to fly back to U.S. as it was against her

life philosophy. She also stood her ground every time she went head to head with Mohan (a

much stronger rival to argue with!) It is her fierce grit & resolve along with her deep rooted

values that makes her so appealing. Her beauty is transcends the material boundaries of visual

appearance. She is independent, opinionated and driven while having tremendous respect for

Indian values – this is the ideal depiction of an Indian woman.

Kaveri Amma

Kaveri amma is the quintessential Indian mother. She is Miss Know-it-all in the movie. Like

Krishna in Mahabharata, she maintains a close eye over the each development and brings in

subtle interventions to keep the house in order. I loved the way she has helped Mohan discover

his Indian roots and consequently compelled him to come back instead of vice-versa.

The Plot, the drama

After all any movie is only as good as the story behind it. The story is a loosely based on a real

life incident where-in an NRI actually returned to India after being moved by the situation back

in his village. Exercising his cinematic liberty in controlled amounts, director Aushotosh

Gowarikar weaves together multiple facets of human life while retaining the Indian-ness of the

movie. Not only are the characters endearing but the screenplay is tremendous too. The different

settings in the movie be it the gram panchayat, or the schooling or the village celebrations on

Dusshera/film day - everything is so real. The MUSIC has been absolutely master class from

Rahmaan with soul warming lyrics by Mr. J Akhtar.

The Romance

The romance between the two leading protagonists – Mohan & Geeta is the highlight for the

movie. It is refreshing break from the formula driven bollywood stories with a fixed song and

dance routine. Neither does the hero flash his muscles nor does the heroine try to woo him by

her looks and locks. This is how love really happens in real life unlike the reel-life we are so used

to. The characters do not stand on top of hills professing their love for each other nor are they

so smitten by it to actually think of doing anything else worthwhile. While love angle holds the

movie together it is not why the movie has been made.

My learning from the movie

Like I mentioned earlier this movie has had the most profound impact on me and it has helped

me shape my mission and vision for life. Each time I have encountered a tricky career decision in

my life, I have used the resolve derived from watching Swades to approach the problem.

While I am no stranger to the rural India, given ancestral roots or my under-graduation links –

Swades opened me to an altogether different framework while evaluating a rural setting. While

the lack of infrastructure or poverty is clearly visible in a casual outing in a Indian village, I

realised how casteism actually prevailed in such settings. Casteism in India exists at much deeper

levels, and the movie has helped me become more aware about it as I travel across the country.

Mohan, was a very well educated man who was highly ambitious too. He had a very bright career

ahead of him, but he chose to work for the village instead. This made me believe in “Perpetual

giving up” as a virtue. That money, power & fame are not the only achievements worth chasing,

that pride, self-satisfaction and gratitude are equally worth virtues. When I came to Joka and read

a similar quote around MCHV by Tagore, it was like life had come a full circle.

The most moving scene to me was the one when Mohan visits the farmer to collect debt at the

behest of Kaveri Amma. The journey undertaken by him was so symbolic and it completely

changed him as a person. He reached to the farmer’s home by travelling through rail, water and

road only to realize he has no money to give. On top of it, when the farmer shares his plight

Mohan is moved to tears. He ends up giving more money to the man; this was much like what I

used to see happen in my home too. My Dad would do the same regularly; melt at the first sight

of disdain. Also, when Mohan is returning back he pondering over the day that has been when

he is greeted by a “Water-seller” at a train-stoppage. Mohan who had so far stuck to his mineral

water regime obliges for the 25 paise drink and for the first time truly embraces his indian-ness.

These two incidents re-affirmed my faith in my way of life.

This movie also emphasizes on “equality and equity” in society (Ye Tara Vo Tara song as an

e.g.). These are also the qualities that I endorse equally vociferously. The song during Dusshera

celebrations when Mohan says, “Munn se Raavan jo nikaale, Ram uske munnn main hain”

reverberates with me till date. It instils in me a deep faith I me that oneness with God is in our

own hands and actions and not through prayers.

The movie also helps destroys our favourite plank used to defend our country in any debate vis-

à-vis a western superpower. We often tend to hide behind our perceived superiority in “Value

system and Lineage” (Sanskaar and Parampara) when pitted against the more developed nations.

Mohan dispels this myth, questioning the rationale behind having such religion/value based

arguments when the real objective is development. I too used to be blinded by our country

“perceived” cultural heritage till then but the movie helped my probe deeper into this area and I

have only emerged wiser of out of this exercise.

There many other dialogues and instances in this movie that have compelled me to analyse

myself and my surrounding much rigorously. All these exercises have taken place sequentially

and have often followed each time I saw the movie again. This movie has helped me keep in

faith in nationalism and has always encouraged me to the right “thing”.