It's a story of a character named Mohan Bhargava played by Shah Rukh Khan (one of the most popular Indian actors of *Chak De! India*, *Veer-Zaara*, and *Devdas* fame) who plays an Indian scientist working in NASA as a project manager. He returns to India on a quest to find his childhood nanny. And then starts the journey of an Indian who witnesses his country and relationships like he's never seen it before.
Multiple layers of the story line unfold and as each layer reveals itself, the audience stops sympathizing and starts empathizing with the situations and experiences the grief as if it were their own. The story of the movie is the core fabric which balances all the other elements together. The characters of the movie are well written and have been enacted gracefully by the actors. The second most important character of the movie after Shah Rukh Khan is that of Gita played by Gayatri Joshi who runs a local village school. Ashutosh Gowariker (*Lagaan*, J*odhaa Akbar*), the director has displayed his prowess with this movie by capturing the truest feelings and emotions of characters throughout the *Swades*. The movie has many noteworthy scenes which creates an instant connection with the viewer. Some of the scenes worth a mention would be: - Mohan's confrontation of various problems faced in India with the rest of the villagers during a school function - The Hydro Electricity generator scene - The trip Mohan takes to collect money from a creditor and the glass of water scene on his way back to his village (the scene with maximum impact and an extremely emotional moment in the movie). Yet another part worth mentioning is the music of the movie which is given by A. R. Rahman (who recently won a Golden Globe Award for his work on *Slumdog Millionaire*). The music of this movie cannot be compared to the music of any other commercial Indian movie but the music blends perfectly with the theme of the movie. The song 'Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera' sung by A. R. Rahman is believed to have made many Indians living in different parts of the globe reach for a tissue to wipe a tear during the movie. The lyrics, vocals and the music of the song are truly Hindustani. Although the length of the movie 189 minutes) and he slow pace can be discouraging, I'd still strongly recommend that you watch this movie at least once with an open mind to experience it. I hope every reader of this post watches the movie and shares the perspective and the ideology of the movie and likes it enough to recommend it to others! http://www.theplurp.com/movies/moviereviews/848-swades -- regards, Vithur
