Saturday, December 18, 2004
Swades Review
Saw Swades over the weekend..
The basic premise of the movie, is well known, Indian scientist works in NASA, goes back to his roots to the village, it changes him enough to bring him back.
Firstly, lets get this out of the way, it is NOT an entertaining movie by any standards. It is preaching and can seem to be monotonous and longwinded in places. Thought provoking yes, sincere yes, movie you goto to have a good time no.
Though to be fair, Ashutosh Gowariker never meant it to be.
It is also a simple movie, a stark potrayal, almost "arty" in places, with no real plot, there are no ostentatious sets, not a single "dishum", no "item" numbers, and the dialogue is by corollary hardly hard hitting. It was almost as if the director and the dialogue writer were trying extra hard to make it "real" and believable. For what is essentially a movie whose central purpose is a social awakening of sorts, the dialogues though sincere seem insipid sometime. There is no dearth of them however, we hear sermons on everything from the caste system, root causes of poverty, dowry, women emancipation and equality, the tendency of Indians to fall back on how their culture and tradition is the best if they are accosted about the lack of progress in India.
Also liked this more favourable review from Omar Ahmed at Rediff. Here are snippets :
"Primarily, the film is about India today. Ideologically, Swades adopts a liberal position but with a strong nationalist message. Using the concept of the village as a microcosm for contemporary Indian society, the film explores the failure of culture and tradition in embracing the 'new'; the fear and reluctance to embrace technology, the abandonment of responsibilities for materialism and the West and the need for self sustaining independence as exemplified by the audacious sequence in which Mohan Bhargava leads the village into the act of creating electricity from a stream in the surrounding hills.
Unlike Hollywood mainstream films where the emphasis is typically upon the celebration and triumph of the 'individual', a condition of Western capitalism, Swades focuses upon the power and integrity of the collective mass, suggesting that in order for a spirit of co-operation to exist there must be a disintegration of social barriers and ability for self-criticism. Though Mohan may not be a revolutionary on a wider political scale, he is someone who craves purpose and direction in a world that continues to call itself a postmodern global village.
His journey through India and back to the village where his surrogate mother is staying is a journey of self-discovery. Ultimately, it is the immediate feelings of 'belonging' to a community that draws him back, providing him with an identity that is firmly rooted in liberal humanism as reinforced by the subtle metaphor of water as a source of life, rebirth and enrichment."
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Saw Swades over the weekend..
The basic premise of the movie, is well known, Indian scientist works in NASA, goes back to his roots to the village, it changes him enough to bring him back.
Firstly, lets get this out of the way, it is NOT an entertaining movie by any standards. It is preaching and can seem to be monotonous and longwinded in places. Thought provoking yes, sincere yes, movie you goto to have a good time no.
Though to be fair, Ashutosh Gowariker never meant it to be.
It is also a simple movie, a stark potrayal, almost "arty" in places, with no real plot, there are no ostentatious sets, not a single "dishum", no "item" numbers, and the dialogue is by corollary hardly hard hitting. It was almost as if the director and the dialogue writer were trying extra hard to make it "real" and believable. For what is essentially a movie whose central purpose is a social awakening of sorts, the dialogues though sincere seem insipid sometime. There is no dearth of them however, we hear sermons on everything from the caste system, root causes of poverty, dowry, women emancipation and equality, the tendency of Indians to fall back on how their culture and tradition is the best if they are accosted about the lack of progress in India.
However the simplicity also works on some levels giving it a believable feel and the subtlety in the situations come out more powerfully. Another by product of this, is SRK's restrained performance. He is hardly a super hero here, hardly the star, there is no hamming, no over the top histrionics from him, he is definitely more Mohan Bhargava than the biggest actor of the always over dramatic and melodramatic Bollywood. Also by extension the other characters in the movie are also slightly more close to real life. The only character who I thought didn't fit in, was the SRK's love interest Gayatri Joshi, she looked ethereal at times, incandescent even, in the dull village setting. She needs to hone her acting skills, but her fresh beauty more than made up for it. As you might be getting the drift, the romantic script was also very limited, all Gayatri tells SRK is I am beginning to fall in love with you. No "I cant leave without you, I will walk with you hell or heaven", nothing. Infact she does not go back with him when he goes back to the US. Very Real !
Reverse brain drain is a reality today but more and more people are going back today because the "conditions" and opportunities in India are good enough for people to contemplate the move.
Mohan Bhargava is also asked this question and he says that he might go and work at the Vikram Sarabhai space center as a project manager.
So the message of the move seems to be convoluted and confused here, did he go back to India to work in his village, for his love and his mother like caretaker or for that indefinable urge to back to ones roots, to what we know best ? The latter if the reason, was not conveyed convincingly enough. Why did he go back finally ? And that is the question in the end ? So this movie works in that it atleast makes us pause to think again about the question on many a NRI's mind today,"should i go back to India ?" . Especially the song, "Yeh jo desh hai tera", definitely plays on your emotions.
One more point to make, here in the US, I know many of my friends and me included, are involved in social organizations which work for India's upliftment like AID, Asha and such like, much of it being a bi-product of these organizations having active chapters in most major US universities. However in India, those of us from cities and large towns rarely have taken part or are taking part in these organizations or helping out in any ways. Here's an idea, like Israel has a compulsory 3 year military assignment for all men (2 for women), India too should have a compulsory one year assignment after graduation, for every graduate to go to the villages and help out in the service projects there !
Mohan Bhargava is also asked this question and he says that he might go and work at the Vikram Sarabhai space center as a project manager.
So the message of the move seems to be convoluted and confused here, did he go back to India to work in his village, for his love and his mother like caretaker or for that indefinable urge to back to ones roots, to what we know best ? The latter if the reason, was not conveyed convincingly enough. Why did he go back finally ? And that is the question in the end ? So this movie works in that it atleast makes us pause to think again about the question on many a NRI's mind today,"should i go back to India ?" . Especially the song, "Yeh jo desh hai tera", definitely plays on your emotions.
One more point to make, here in the US, I know many of my friends and me included, are involved in social organizations which work for India's upliftment like AID, Asha and such like, much of it being a bi-product of these organizations having active chapters in most major US universities. However in India, those of us from cities and large towns rarely have taken part or are taking part in these organizations or helping out in any ways. Here's an idea, like Israel has a compulsory 3 year military assignment for all men (2 for women), India too should have a compulsory one year assignment after graduation, for every graduate to go to the villages and help out in the service projects there !
Also liked this more favourable review from Omar Ahmed at Rediff. Here are snippets :
"Primarily, the film is about India today. Ideologically, Swades adopts a liberal position but with a strong nationalist message. Using the concept of the village as a microcosm for contemporary Indian society, the film explores the failure of culture and tradition in embracing the 'new'; the fear and reluctance to embrace technology, the abandonment of responsibilities for materialism and the West and the need for self sustaining independence as exemplified by the audacious sequence in which Mohan Bhargava leads the village into the act of creating electricity from a stream in the surrounding hills.
Unlike Hollywood mainstream films where the emphasis is typically upon the celebration and triumph of the 'individual', a condition of Western capitalism, Swades focuses upon the power and integrity of the collective mass, suggesting that in order for a spirit of co-operation to exist there must be a disintegration of social barriers and ability for self-criticism. Though Mohan may not be a revolutionary on a wider political scale, he is someone who craves purpose and direction in a world that continues to call itself a postmodern global village.
His journey through India and back to the village where his surrogate mother is staying is a journey of self-discovery. Ultimately, it is the immediate feelings of 'belonging' to a community that draws him back, providing him with an identity that is firmly rooted in liberal humanism as reinforced by the subtle metaphor of water as a source of life, rebirth and enrichment."
Comments:
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excellent review :)..although the "reality" thing didn't stretch too far: if a real-life person pulled off that "yeh taara" stunt in a village in UP/Bihar, he would have been quartered and thrown into some well..the caste division runs far deeper than something that can be solved in song and dance..yeah, "cinematic liberty", some would say..but to my mind, it was trivialising a terrible situation..
i don't know about how well your idea of an enforced "social responsibility" would be..and knowing the indian system, if it was a question of getting a certificate proving that you did your "duty", there would be no difficulty in getting that w/o actually doing your bit..
Pri
i don't know about how well your idea of an enforced "social responsibility" would be..and knowing the indian system, if it was a question of getting a certificate proving that you did your "duty", there would be no difficulty in getting that w/o actually doing your bit..
Pri
# posted by 
: 5:17 AM, December 20, 2004
: 5:17 AM, December 20, 2004
[Priyanka] yeah it was a movie, as much as they can try, cinematic liberties have to be taken, atleast to make the songs justifiable :). You are right about social consciousness not being forced, but atleast there should be large scale,well publicized programmes and incentives (maybe offsetting a part of your educational expenses, "certificate" carries a lot of weight if on your resume, maybe some seats reserved in CAT (that will do it :) )) given to who spent time at these projects. Although again logistically it would be a nightmare, with getting the certificate being not difficult in our anything-can-be-done-by-greasing-palms society .. You know make it the cool thing to do for young people ! I am sure for many, including me, it would be a life changing experience, Indian middle class in the cities I think has it pretty good today (and they lead a verry different life from those in the villages), there should be some way they can contribute.
Maybe a reality show will make it cool :).
Maybe a reality show will make it cool :).
Anirudh,
Good Review. I think working in villages is a great source of ideas and good ground for ruminations on 'how we have come about to be what we are' but not neccesarily the implementation of the change (though in a movie they have to do that!) because that would have to come within the society's collective soul instead.
I am not sure if I make sense here, but the single most important point if I were to go back to India is to regain a part of my soul.
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Good Review. I think working in villages is a great source of ideas and good ground for ruminations on 'how we have come about to be what we are' but not neccesarily the implementation of the change (though in a movie they have to do that!) because that would have to come within the society's collective soul instead.
I am not sure if I make sense here, but the single most important point if I were to go back to India is to regain a part of my soul.
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