Swades: We the People

Released in 2004, Swades captures the essence of Bollywood cinema with its happily nationalistic spirit and epic panoply of subgenres (romance, melodrama, comedy, etc.). In such a “masala”, or mixture of spices, the full meaning of dharma is explored, thereby raising the bar of character for spectators of any nationality.
The story begins when protagonist and NRI(Non Resident Indian), Mohan – no other than Sharukh Khan – impulsively returns to his native soil in order to check up on his elder Godmother, Kaverri Amma, who now is in need of care. Although originally planning to take Kaverri back to America, Mohan is caught in the net of his homeland, instinctively unable to resist the draws of shared identity. While away from the USA for about a month, he somewhat fantastically develops a strong loving bond with Gita, the caretaker of Kaverri. In fact, he grows closer to everyone in the Indian community, that which is unfortunately become the victim of a caste system, poverty, illiteracy, overpopulation, corruption, and power outages. Pragmatically, these many issues are not insurmountable; and so pose as the proper challenges for the self-discovered hero, Mohan.

With love as his inspiration, and songs in the air, Mohan leads the village to prosperity. He and Gita work to dissolve the caste system in order that more people attend school. Mohan, with his technical NASA background, also taps the local hydropower to provide a network of electricity for the village. Although previously uncommon, it is not surprising that his suitor, Gita, has taken a similarly assertive role, not only in the schooling of her children, but also in the refusal of a husband who would not allow her to work. The year 2004 was a time of more rights for women in traditional film than ever before. Together, Mohan and Gita influence villagers, such as the lower caste cook, to stay in India and improve the nation in which they live rather than leave for the USA or depend on the government to take first steps.

With such big stars of Bollywood, it is not surprising that the mise-en-scene is elegantly up-beat. The costumes, with the exception of Mohan in the beginning, all seemed traditional or colorful; the set was generally illuminated with low contrast lighting. Such made Swades an optimistic, homogenized, nationalist film with a simple but powerful message about the triumph of good over evil.

The editing, on the other hand, is not at its prime. Incongruous rhythms occur every now and then; sometimes a song will arise unexpectedly, as in the case of Mohan and the homeless man singing and dancing together. Once too, a man in a ceremony produced a bow out of thin air. This jump cut was disorienting to say the least, but perhaps contributed to the syncopation of the sequence.

When isolated from form, the Bollywood content fits both national and global molds. Swades is about the struggles of a country in which technology advances grassroots movements that are truly essential for their use among the villagers. Globally, Swades sends the message that Western conveniences – cell phones, cigarettes, bathing without clothes – are vices for the Indian public. This is a common trend among Bollywood films in general; but really, the greatest meaning of this movie is much simpler – one person with a vision can make a huge impact, hopefully for the better.