When Cinema changed the way I lived: Thank you Mr.

Gowarikar for

Swades
Management of Self, Assignment II By Sachin Gupta 0135/49

I was in Kota, studying for my IIT-JEE exams when Swades was released. Having many SRK junkies in my group meant it was but obvious for us to watch the movie. However, more than Mr. Khan it was my favourite Director from Lagaan who compelled me to say a yes for the outing. As a teen, movies stood for merely fun, frolic and entertainment! With Swades, it was the first the time I came out of the hall thinking about life. The first time I saw it, I came out more perplexed than satisfied the movie had thrown up major questions for me. Given that those were slogging days, I quickly put such feelings aside and focussed on JEE. However, I have seen the movie at least a dozen times after that and it has given me a different meaning each time. As my understanding of life has evolved the last decade, so has my understanding of the movie! It is immensely difficult for me to actually write down what I have liked about the movie, I often too emotional or too excited before I could pen a word. In a nutshell, I can safely say no other movie has made such a moving impact on the way I conduct myself like Swades has. I have connected with characters and situations depicted in the movie at multiple levels. The movie has also helped me to shape my career ambitions accordingly. To summarize, below are following things that I like about the movie: The Characters While the script is the soul of the movie, it is the characters who actually breathe life into the soul. I fell in complete love with almost each and every character that was casted in the movie. They were so real that one could easily attach a known face from our day-to-day life to them. A brief overview of the characters I loved the most:

Mohan Well, is not Mohan an epitome of kind-heartedness and endearing? He is funny, smart, wellspoken and has his heart in the right place. There, is not more of what we can ask for. To be more specific, I liked the way Mohan has conducted himself right through the movie. He is well educated and has high ambitions for himself (one does not reach the NASA otherwise!) While at the same time, he also has strong Indian values inculcated in him. He does not treat his Nanny like an employee but in fact elevates her to pedestal of his soul-MOM. He is willing to sell a limb and a leg to have her back with him in the US. He is so determined that he travels all the way back to India, lives in less than ideal environments, volunteers to get Geetas issue resolved while also gets the village electricity issues solved in his bid to win Kaveri Amma back. He has a kind soul that melts at the sight of poverty and destituteness. He is neither a radical nationalist nor is ignorant about the nation. In fact he has the perfect mix of idealism and pragmatism. Geeta Quite often bollywood is accused of painting the Indian women in a negative light, but with Geeta it has hit the bullseye. Geeta to me was like the like the ideal wife! While her feet were firmly planted in the ground, she never restricted herself to household chores. She was bold enough to turn down Mohans offer to fly back to U.S. as it was against her life philosophy. She also stood her ground every time she went head to head with Mohan (a much stronger rival to argue with!) It is her fierce grit & resolve along with her deep rooted values that makes her so appealing. Her beauty is transcends the material boundaries of visual appearance. She is independent, opinionated and driven while having tremendous respect for Indian values this is the ideal depiction of an Indian woman. Kaveri Amma Kaveri amma is the quintessential Indian mother. She is Miss Know-it-all in the movie. Like Krishna in Mahabharata, she maintains a close eye over the each development and brings in subtle interventions to keep the house in order. I loved the way she has helped Mohan discover his Indian roots and consequently compelled him to come back instead of vice-versa. The Plot, the drama

After all any movie is only as good as the story behind it. The story is a loosely based on a real life incident where-in an NRI actually returned to India after being moved by the situation back in his village. Exercising his cinematic liberty in controlled amounts, director Aushotosh Gowarikar weaves together multiple facets of human life while retaining the Indian-ness of the movie. Not only are the characters endearing but the screenplay is tremendous too. The different settings in the movie be it the gram panchayat, or the schooling or the village celebrations on Dusshera/film day - everything is so real. The MUSIC has been absolutely master class from Rahmaan with soul warming lyrics by Mr. J Akhtar. The Romance The romance between the two leading protagonists Mohan & Geeta is the highlight for the movie. It is refreshing break from the formula driven bollywood stories with a fixed song and dance routine. Neither does the hero flash his muscles nor does the heroine try to woo him by her looks and locks. This is how love really happens in real life unlike the reel-life we are so used to. The characters do not stand on top of hills professing their love for each other nor are they so smitten by it to actually think of doing anything else worthwhile. While love angle holds the movie together it is not why the movie has been made. My learning from the movie

Like I mentioned earlier this movie has had the most profound impact on me and it has helped me shape my mission and vision for life. Each time I have encountered a tricky career decision in my life, I have used the resolve derived from watching Swades to approach the problem. While I am no stranger to the rural India, given ancestral roots or my under-graduation links Swades opened me to an altogether different framework while evaluating a rural setting. While the lack of infrastructure or poverty is clearly visible in a casual outing in a Indian village, I realised how casteism actually prevailed in such settings. Casteism in India exists at much deeper levels, and the movie has helped me become more aware about it as I travel across the country. Mohan, was a very well educated man who was highly ambitious too. He had a very bright career ahead of him, but he chose to work for the village instead. This made me believe in Perpetual giving up as a virtue. That money, power & fame are not the only achievements worth chasing, that pride, self-satisfaction and gratitude are equally worth virtues. When I came to Joka and read a similar quote around MCHV by Tagore, it was like life had come a full circle.

The most moving scene to me was the one when Mohan visits the farmer to collect debt at the behest of Kaveri Amma. The journey undertaken by him was so symbolic and it completely changed him as a person. He reached to the farmers home by travelling through rail, water and road only to realize he has no money to give. On top of it, when the farmer shares his plight Mohan is moved to tears. He ends up giving more money to the man; this was much like what I used to see happen in my home too. My Dad would do the same regularly; melt at the first sight of disdain. Also, when Mohan is returning back he pondering over the day that has been when he is greeted by a Water-seller at a train-stoppage. Mohan who had so far stuck to his mineral water regime obliges for the 25 paise drink and for the first time truly embraces his indian-ness. These two incidents re-affirmed my faith in my way of life. This movie also emphasizes on equality and equity in society (Ye Tara Vo Tara song as an e.g.). These are also the qualities that I endorse equally vociferously. The song during Dusshera celebrations when Mohan says, Munn se Raavan jo nikaale, Ram uske munnn main hain reverberates with me till date. It instils in me a deep faith I me that oneness with God is in our own hands and actions and not through prayers. The movie also helps destroys our favourite plank used to defend our country in any debate vis-vis a western superpower. We often tend to hide behind our perceived superiority in Value system and Lineage (Sanskaar and Parampara) when pitted against the more developed nations. Mohan dispels this myth, questioning the rationale behind having such religion/value based arguments when the real objective is development. I too used to be blinded by our country perceived cultural heritage till then but the movie helped my probe deeper into this area and I have only emerged wiser of out of this exercise. There many other dialogues and instances in this movie that have compelled me to analyse myself and my surrounding much rigorously. All these exercises have taken place sequentially and have often followed each time I saw the movie again. This movie has helped me keep in faith in nationalism and has always encouraged me to the right thing.