We, The Fanatics | Part – 1 | The I In Cinema | Under Lens

Time is a tricky little devil. It changes you, your views, your ideas, your perceptions, everything. There are many a films which had had an impact on me then; the same, alas, appear outdated to me now. Let me begin by citing a small example – six years ago, when I saw Black, I felt it was beautiful. I say ‘was’ because now, I have the intelligence to differentiate between originality and plagiarism, between real emotions and manipulative melodrama. Anyway, this article is not about that particular film. I am just presenting a scenario where I can lay down an example of the ‘relativity’ factor which changes your views of a certain film over a period of time. Whatever I have written above, however, does NOT apply to Swades – a film which came at a time when people wanted something ‘different’. Being the overwrought term that it is, this ‘different’ film did not pique the hoi polloi’s interests and faded away quietly into the oblivion. Since then, people have used words like ‘cult classic’ to describe this film – and justifiably so. Swades has stood the test of time as successfully as other delayed-success stories such as Pyaasa, Andaz Apna Apna, Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron!

I revisited it a couple of days back and was surprised to find how much weight this film holds even today. Arguably, this is Gowariker’s best movie till date. Unless you are living on a planet named Mars, you pretty much know the story of this little gem. NASA scientist Mohan Bhargava, (Shah Rukh Khan) returns from the foreign lands to India after what seems like an eternity. He has a purpose for his visit – to persuade his nanny Kaveri Amma (Kishori Balal) to come with him to the US because he feels he hasn’t done enough for her and that she has to be all alone in her old age. But Kaveri Amma opens Mohan’s eyes to more urgent, pressing matters than those of her own comforts, thereby allowing Mohan to look deep inside him and find out what he really stands for.

In a spectacular juggling act, Gowariker manages to capture seriously relevant issues masterfully – patriotism, illiteracy, poverty and caste discrimination – to name just a few. And what a pastiche it is, indeed. Never once going for loud melodrama, Gowariker very subtly aims at your tear ducts. Look at the terrific scene in which Mohan goes to retrieve a loan from a farmer and instead leaves the place with only more questions and remorse in his heart. Any other lesser director might have made the farmer scream his lungs out to express his inability to provide proper food, shelter and education to his kids. Instead, Gowariker treats this scene gently – the farmer asks Mohan that he will give him the money but first of all Mohan must wash his face, freshen himself up and have some dinner with the farmer and his family. Or take that scene in which a poor under age kid sells a cup of water to Mohan, who is inside a train, traveling. It is a scene which creates a lump in your throat yet manages to drive a point home – are we the only ones facing problems? What about this poor boy? What about his rights for a better life, for better education which have been denied to him mercilessly? Or the scene in which Mohan breaks into a dance sequence when the power supply is cut off? Or the scene in which the local cook Melaram (Daya Shankar Pandey) politely asks Mohan if he is willing to start a partnership and open a dhaba with him on the American Highways? Trust me, I can go on and on and on and never once get tired of pin pointing the flawless writing of this movie.

There are so many issues that Swades deals with directly and carefully that it wouldn’t be hard to imagine that this film meanders at certain points or goes off the tracks. Astonishingly, it doesn’t. Thanks to its mammoth running time of 210 odd minutes. And I am not complaining. It takes its sweet time but Swades arrives wherever it wants to at the right moment. And we don’t just see the film, we live it. A sizable chunk of this participative nature between the viewer and the film owes to the relatability of the story and the characters. It is hard not to root for characters like Melaram, Haridas, Kaveri Amma or even Mohan. His dilemma is palpable and the transition that he undergoes is a process, a journey, not an instant startling discovery.

…To Be Continued

Written By: Gyandeep Pattnayak