Swades and Cynicism
I was watching Swades the other day.
And for three hours, I was transfixed. I literally could not take my eyes off the screen. Shah Rukh Khan brilliantly underplayed his character and I think I am in love with Gayatri Joshi's firebrand character:). AR Rahman took the movie to a whole different level altogether...
Reviews almost universally panned it. My friends warned me that it was too long, too preachy, some even went as far as to call it ideological crap :) Wow, that was some baggage I was taking in.
So what's the fuss about, you ask? A Nasa scientist returns home for a vacation and is struck by the poverty and social ills that plague his country, and stays back to make a difference. That's the basic outline.
But contrary to all other views, I was only struck by the simplicity and the optimism in the film. The theme appealed to me on a personal level. As a software engineer working in Singapore, the story of Mohan Bhargava's rediscovery of Home resonated with my feelings for India. What I really appreciated was the sensitivity of the central character, and his wide-eyed belief that one can make a difference to the things around them. To me, it brought back memories of Unnal Mudiyum Thambi, a KB classic. However, what I could not believe was that the people who I consider my friends, people who share a similar background to me, could not relate to this movie at any level.
Why do people think of this movie as a "moral science lesson" to be contemptuously dismissed as "ideological crap"? Whether you agree with Mohan's choice or not is not the central issue. An approval of his choice, does not implicate you for not being able to make the same choices. Then why deny him his? Is it their guilt masked as contempt?
Is it cool to be cynical?..to dismiss our environment and its flaws as someone else's problem?.. I think it is great (and very easy)to be holier than thou. [Ironically, I'm taking a kind of a moral highground here as well:)]
I can understand this world-weary cynicism in a 50 year-old who has seen the way the world works and is bogged down by what s/he has seen. But from a 20-odd year old? How can anyone set off on their journey with such resignation? But even such inertia is forgivable. What is disturbing to note is that we go on to laugh at people who think they can make a difference, and set out to do so.
Enough ramblings for a night, I think.
And for three hours, I was transfixed. I literally could not take my eyes off the screen. Shah Rukh Khan brilliantly underplayed his character and I think I am in love with Gayatri Joshi's firebrand character:). AR Rahman took the movie to a whole different level altogether...
Reviews almost universally panned it. My friends warned me that it was too long, too preachy, some even went as far as to call it ideological crap :) Wow, that was some baggage I was taking in.
So what's the fuss about, you ask? A Nasa scientist returns home for a vacation and is struck by the poverty and social ills that plague his country, and stays back to make a difference. That's the basic outline.
But contrary to all other views, I was only struck by the simplicity and the optimism in the film. The theme appealed to me on a personal level. As a software engineer working in Singapore, the story of Mohan Bhargava's rediscovery of Home resonated with my feelings for India. What I really appreciated was the sensitivity of the central character, and his wide-eyed belief that one can make a difference to the things around them. To me, it brought back memories of Unnal Mudiyum Thambi, a KB classic. However, what I could not believe was that the people who I consider my friends, people who share a similar background to me, could not relate to this movie at any level.
Why do people think of this movie as a "moral science lesson" to be contemptuously dismissed as "ideological crap"? Whether you agree with Mohan's choice or not is not the central issue. An approval of his choice, does not implicate you for not being able to make the same choices. Then why deny him his? Is it their guilt masked as contempt?
Is it cool to be cynical?..to dismiss our environment and its flaws as someone else's problem?.. I think it is great (and very easy)to be holier than thou. [Ironically, I'm taking a kind of a moral highground here as well:)]
I can understand this world-weary cynicism in a 50 year-old who has seen the way the world works and is bogged down by what s/he has seen. But from a 20-odd year old? How can anyone set off on their journey with such resignation? But even such inertia is forgivable. What is disturbing to note is that we go on to laugh at people who think they can make a difference, and set out to do so.
Enough ramblings for a night, I think.
posted by Venkat at 8:13 PM
3 Comments:
i loved swades too. i thought ashutosh did a fab job. i think far too many people watch films like movie critics, these days. as a result, you have people searching for the flaws rather than the soul.pity, they don't make audiences like they used to.
Hi,
I totally agree with your views on Swades. But more than cynicism, its fear that haunts the common Indian when he watches such a movie--fear that he might have to go against the tide and face the ridicule of others. Instead, he chooses to be on the other side and ridicule people who do have a broader perspective of things.
By the way, I do happen to have the recordings of nasadiya suktam and Hinranyagarbha suktam from Bharat ek khoj as well as their sanskrit renderings (though not in rigvedi style of pronounciation).
Kedar.
" Kab tak mai apne ghar ka diya ho ke padosi ke aangan ko roshan karta rahun? "
"Baraf ka muqaddar yahi hota hai ki wo apne hi paani me pigal jaye"
....Aahhh, CLASSIC
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