Swades (2004)
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The story
Mohan Bhargava, a successful NRI working for NASA in Washington, D.C., travels to a remote village in India to find his childhood nanny, Kaveri Amma. Upon arriving in the village of Charanpur, he reunites with her and his childhood friend, Geeta. Geeta is a dedicated teacher struggling against deep-seated caste segregation and religious biases. Drawn to her progressive ideals, Mohan decides to assist her in advocating for the education of girls and marginalized communities. He soon finds himself confronted by the harsh realities of rural life and systemic oppression, leading him to consider using his engineering expertise to improve the local infrastructure.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Mohan Bhargava, a NASA project manager in the United States, travels to the village of Charanpur to find his childhood nanny, Kaveri Amma. He reunites with her and his childhood friend Geeta, who fights against local caste and religious discrimination. After witnessing the extreme poverty and social boycott of a local weaver named Haridas, Mohan is moved to action. He uses his own funds and engineering skills to build a micro-hydroelectric power plant, providing the village with consistent electricity. Despite pressure from NASA to return to his career, Mohan faces a choice between his corporate life and his new purpose in India. Ultimately, he resigns from NASA and moves to India permanently to manage a regional collaboration, choosing to stay and serve his country while maintaining his scientific ties.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 195
- Production countries
- India
- Original languages
- Hindi
- Directors
- Ashutosh Gowariker
- Writers
- Ashutosh Gowariker · co-written; M. G. Sathya · story
- Cast and characters
- Shah Rukh Khan · Mohan Bhargava; Gayatri Joshi; Kishori Ballal; Daya Shankar Pandey; Rajesh Vivek; Lekh Tandon
- Genres
- drama
- Themes
- Gandhism; social change; scientific temperament
- Tone and mood
- serious; inspiring
- Premise and plot tags
- social issues; rural life; infrastructure
- Source material / true-story basis
- Two episodes of the series Vaapsi on Zee TV's Yule Love Stories (1994–95) and the Kannada film Chigurida Kanasu.
- Reception
- The film received universal critical acclaim and is considered a cult classic of Hindi cinema, despite being a commercial failure at the box office.
- Production trivia
- The film was the first Indian film to be shot inside the NASA headquarters and inside the NASA research center.; The film's title character, Mohan, was the birth name of Mahatma Gandhi.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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