who saw that movie?? I did and i thought it was pretty good, very amazing and well acted by shahrukh and the actress. It was cool to see the Nasa scenes and all. I didnt think it was slow paced or boring, actually everyone had fun and were laughing and the story was pretty strong too =) i think it is a different film i would rate it on more then above average type of film.
Amazing movie it was 2 good !
Shahrukh khan 2 good and that actress she is really amazing........its her first movie and she acted well........
Actually i think its pretty better than Veer zara ...........
I wanna watch it badly... the plot etc. is from the same guy who made Lagaan and I loved that movie... will watch it in the next few days.
Released hummmm :)
Will Watch it Tonight ;)
An Excellent Movie!!! :k: :k:
Not to be missed at all!
Shahrukh was SIMPLY FANTASTIC!!!
What an amazing subject, an amazing story, an amazing supportin cast, and brilliantly carved out by Ashutosh!
A MUST SEE!!
Are Indian audience not mature enough for Swades?
Swades: A step in the right direction
Omar Ahmed | December 20, 2004 18:19 IST
http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2004/dec/20rev1.htm
It was disappointing to read that Swades has been met with such a mixed and, at times, scathing critical response. And it was even more disappointing to see that Swades was totally dismissed by the British media. The refusal to review mainstream Indian feature films in many of the British newspapers may come from the rejection of Bollywood as a credible film industry, which is a shame considering Indian cinema produces some of the finest films in the world.
I had been looking forward to Ashutosh Gowariker’s next film ever since I was enthralled by the magic of Lagaan, his earlier film. Lagaan succeeded in not only finding an audience abroad but also letting the world know that Indian cinema was capable of producing films as universal in scope and thematic content as Hollywood and other national cinemas. Lagaan, now considered a classic by many Western critics, was a monumental film because it transcended the limitations of mainstream Indian cinema by going forth into a direction in opposition to the populist cinema of the ‘masala’ film that still dominates Indian cinema today.
Lagaan, primarily a critique on British imperialism, is a film steeped in Marxist ideology with the symbol of the village as a potentially liberating force of collective reaction and revolution. There is no doubt that the film was a cry from an industry that, while making increasingly progressive movements in adopting a more sophisticated technical approach to the craft of filmmaking, is nevertheless burdened with the problems of challenging and creating new genres and film forms that appeal to the masses.
It would be naive and elitist to take the stance that a film like Swades is a vanity project, a glorified art film from a director who is preoccupied with preaching to the masses. It was an educating process to watch Swades. As I left the theatre, a girl commented upon how it had been a boring experience, and three hours at that.
It would have been snobbish and wrong of me to correct her as the experience and understanding of a film is dependent upon individual interpretation. We love and hate films for different reasons. But one of the negatives of being exposed to Bollywood films like Main Hoon Na and Veer-Zaara is that you become conditioned into responding in a certain way. The demands of an audience can ultimately never be fulfilled as it is not the job of the filmmaker and artists alike to pander to audience expectations, though this is what most films do.
Personally, I feel Indian audiences are just not ready for a film like Swades.
Swades is a magnificent film held together by a series of episodic allegories, vivid social commentary, strong archetypal characters, a poignant love story and a towering performance by Shah Rukh Khan who manages to show dimensions to his acting that only a director like Gowariker could have been able to extenuate and bring to the foreground.
So what is Swades about?
Primarily, the film is about India today. Ideologically, Swades adopts a liberal position but with a strong nationalist message. Using the concept of the village as a microcosm for contemporary Indian society, the film explores the failure of culture and tradition in embracing the ‘new’; the fear and reluctance to embrace technology, the abandonment of responsibilities for materialism and the West and the need for self sustaining independence as exemplified by the audacious sequence in which Mohan Bhargava leads the village into the act of creating electricity from a stream in the surrounding hills.
Unlike Hollywood mainstream films where the emphasis is typically upon the celebration and triumph of the ‘individual’, a condition of Western capitalism, Swades focuses upon the power and integrity of the collective mass, suggesting that in order for a spirit of co-operation to exist there must be a disintegration of social barriers and ability for self-criticism. Though Mohan may not be a revolutionary on a wider political scale, he is someone who craves purpose and direction in a world that continues to call itself a postmodern global village.
The technological divide and rate of social and economic progression between India and America is vividly emphasised through the electricity Mohan helps to create in India and the space rocket he helps to construct and launch for NASA in the US.
It would be simplistic to reduce Mohan’s decision to return to India at the end of the film as idealistic wish fulfillment tied to his need for love. But it has more to do with the horror of anonymity that he fears he will succumb to in America.
His journey through India and back to the village where his surrogate mother is staying is a journey of self-discovery. Ultimately, it is the immediate feelings of ‘belonging’ to a community that draws him back, providing him with an identity that is firmly rooted in liberal humanism as reinforced by the subtle metaphor of water as a source of life, rebirth and enrichment.
I could go on further about the beauty and intelligence of Swades but I must stop now.
Swades is a step in the right direction for Indian cinema but it seems as though it is a step that may have come too soon.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by nicols_john: *
Are Indian audience not mature enough for Swades?
[/QUOTE]
YES. It is like a Guru Dutt film. It is too intelligent for India to understand this movie. Let them rejoice in watching soft porn flicks.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Rukhsarbibi: *
YES. It is like a Guru Dutt film. It is too intelligent for India to understand this movie. Let them rejoice in watching soft porn flicks.
[/QUOTE]
Exactly while films like Jism, Murder go to full houses, good films like Swades, Shwaas, Khamosh Paani are rejected.
hm wanna watch it...
when i went to see the movie i saw it with indian friends and they were really happy to see the movie and they said it was on the level of a hollywood film. i believe the mainstream india has not appreciated swades because it touches a subject that they live with everyday and wish to see films apart from their typical lives. i think the film in the US for desi's is doing well because we have a different point of view as compared to people living in such circumstances. i know not alot of people hated it but i know like veer zaara it has mixed reviews. i personally think shahrukh khan proved himself and ashutosh did a fab job as a director. the movie isnt getting all bad reviews i have seen some people who say they cried and enjoyed the movie and plot, but you cant compare the movie with lagaan because their cant be two lagaans.
NRI- you None Returning Indian!!! haha
that was a good one!
Any movie based on realistic situations or reality doesn’t do well in India. They rather watch a Pardes than a Swades - sad.
the review has intrigued me even more... I gotta watch this movie. Its not unusual for such movies to do well in the west, because in India, the masses constituting a movie's audience are typically the low income class people who've worked their sweat and at the end of the day, they need something "entertaining" and not necessarily something with a message...
No wonder why most of my contemporary favourite bollywood movies such Main Azad HooN, Lagaan, Khamoshi haven't done all that well in India.
what state in india are they talking about in swades?
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Umar Talib: *
the review has intrigued me even more... I gotta watch this movie. Its not unusual for such movies to do well in the west, because in India, the masses constituting a movie's audience are typically the low income class people who've worked their sweat and at the end of the day, they need something "entertaining" and not necessarily something with a message...
No wonder why most of my contemporary favourite bollywood movies such Main Azad HooN, Lagaan, Khamoshi haven't done all that well in India.
[/QUOTE]
well point, i wouldnt want to come home from a hard day of work and see a movie about how my problems are displayed in the movie, i want to come home and go away from reality. but sometimes movies about reality need to be made because it will educated our minds and set a better standard in film making. i believe alot of people in the US enjoyed the movie at the same time because they are not apart of the pain they just can see things like this to be aware it exists. In india people have also appreciated Swades but have not given it as much as credit it should deserve. That's just showbiz for you. Overall i think this movie was like the best especially how the director directed the film it was just amazing and well done, the man really has talent and it shows in the film.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by kaka_in_usa: *
what state in india are they talking about in swades?
[/QUOTE]
it goes from US where Nasa is based, to New Dehli to a small village Charanpur.
i wanna seee!!
b/w what does swades mean?
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by sadzzz: *
i wanna seee!!
b/w what does swades mean?
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means homeland. my sisters' friend a indian says it's pronounced swadesh as we thought it was pronounced just like its' written.
^ oh okies.. thanks LUC
i've been called it "swades" (as in the leather type)
yeah we also made the same mistake, we were like swades swades and she is like what?
yeah.. ive been telling everyone the wrong name.. aww well 
i made the same mistake with “lagaan” i thought it was “lagan” as in “liking”