MetroTalkies

It is tale of a successful NRI employed at NASA who returns to a small, backward village in Uttar Pradesh to collect his nanny and take her with him to America. But here, he discovers two things that hold him back: love, and a universal truth: everyone can make a difference.

Set in modern day India, SWADES tackles the issue facing the citizens of this nation at grassroots level. The India of SWADES is colorful, heterogeneous and complex and it is to this environment that Mohan Bhargava [Shah Rukh Khan], a bright young scientist working as project manager in NASA, returns to, on a quest to find his childhood nanny.

The high points are plenty and each one puts a lump in your throat. The songs in the first half; Mohan’s initial meetings with the secondary characters of the film; the moment he decides to discard his mineral water in exchange for a 25p kulhad of water obtained from questionable sources (thereby providing a perfectly timed metaphor of his personal thought process); the sequence in which he completes the micro-hydro-electric plant (especially the fixing of the glitch and reaction of the old woman once the bulb is switched on); his adaptable approach to different people and the evolution of their characters are examples of the scores of moments that make the film. The love story is delicately handled and pleasantly surprising in the scene where Geeta tells Mohan she is falling in love with him.

It is Shahrukh’s ‘smaller-than-his-usual-self’ acting that makes the film watchable. For the first time he has genuinely got under the skin of his character and not overplayed it, as he normally does. Gayatri Joshi as the opposite lead is pretty and is given ample space to make her mark in her debut film. Unfortunately, she falls short when it matters most: in the sequence as she bids Mohan farewell and hopes against hope that he turns back. But the supporting performances are very credible. Gowariker’s astute casting asures wonderful performances from the postman cum wrestling enthusiast (Rajesh Vivek), the ambitious Dalit cook (Dayashanker Pandey) and the circumspect Panchayat team. Kishori Ballal plays her part as Mohan’s cute nanny calmly and sensibly, restraining from drawing too much attention despite her role being the central device of the plot.

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