By Benjamin Emmers
During the December break, I saw the 2004 film Swades which roughly translates to ‘Homeland’ in English. As the name suggests, the film explores the relationship between Indians who live overseas to their native country. The film surprised me as it goes deep into cultural and political issues in India using the point of view of someone who has become estranged from its culture.
The film stars Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) as Mohan, an Indian NASA engineer who is a naturalized American citizen. He is unable to celebrate this achievement, however, due to a recurring nightmare of the nanny who raised him, Kaveri, (Kishori Ballal) growing old and alone. After encouragement from his friends, he returns to India to find her.
When he arrives in India, he finds that Kaveri is no longer in the senior home that she was staying in. After getting directions from a young woman (Gayatri Joshi) to the village that Kaveri lives in, he hits the road in a massive RV. Upon reaching the village, he is instantly alienated as the villagers see this massive vehicle.
Kaveri is now a caretaker of a woman named Chuku and her sister Gita, who is a teacher. Mohan discovers that Gita is the same woman who gave him directions to the village. After this introduction, we begin to explore the village’s problems. Illness is the most pressing problem, first seen with Kaveri’s inability to heal her elderly feet. Education is also explored, primarily using Gita’s role as an educator. We see the disregard for education during a town meeting when she must defend the school building’s location which community leaders believe would be better used as an economic center. Additionally, Gita is also a vehicle to explore gender inequality in India, looking at both the expectation of women and the custom of arranged marriages.
Mohan quickly discusses the issues he sees around him, blaming the slow bureaucracy and divisive culture. After Gita rejects a marriage proposal, Kaveri chooses to improve school attendance in the hope that it will encourage her to marry. Mohan agrees to help out simply because he wants to impress her.
Mohan speaks to community leaders as well as the excluded nomadic people, in the hope to encourage attendance. He naturally gets pushback from some in the village saying that the caste system is part of Indian culture and must be respected. Mohan responds in the most Bollywood way possible, with a song and dance. After the power goes out during a village film screening Mohan takes the opportunity to break into a 7-minute song about unity.
Mohan has no desire to improve the village despite his work. Kaveri senses this, assigning him to collect rent from land that she has been leasing in a nearby village. When he arrives the farmer renting the land explains his circumstances. We get a very slow zoom-in on the farmer’s face as he breaks down explaining the exclusion he faced from his village as he changes jobs from a weaver to a farmer. We then see a single tear stream down Mohan’s face.
Mohan is now more earnest in his behaviour, seeking to inspire change. He stares into the camera during the journey home. After a nationalist speech, he disagrees with the notion of Indian greatness citing the pain he saw in the farmer’s life as why he is unsure of Indian superiority. After Dussehra, a Hindu celebration, he chooses to use his knowledge from NASA to bring energy to the village.
I find the Dussehra scene vital as it displays the positive aspects of Indian culture. This balance is solidified by the film having many discussions and Mohan wearing traditional Indian clothing. The perspective of Mohan allows this balance as being an outsider he sees the problem but also takes part in the celebrations and joy.
The acting in the film is fantastic with SRK giving an inspiring performance adding depth to the character. He pulls a good balance showing the slow change from an aloof lack of desire to change things to organizing the village to give it electricity. Kishori Ballal gives a good performance as Kaveri portrays a gentle and nurturing woman. Gayatri Joshi gives a good performance as Gita portraying the younger educated women in India but lacking in adding believability to her and SKR’s romance.
I feel that the romance detracts from the message of the film. As soon as Mohan shows interest in Gita she ceases to be a teacher or advocate for the women’s rights she once was. The film claims women can work and must be seen as independent from men but it does not show this in the second half of the film.
Additionally, the ending was long and boring. A more impactful ending would be where we do not know if Mohan chooses to leave the village or not. If open-ended, it would allow the audience to speculate and discuss what choice he should make.
Overall, I would give this film an 8/10. You see a creative way of exploring India’s problems and culture from the outside. With funny moments, stellar acting, and good pacing, there is a lot to like. Despite the seemingly disingenuous romantic subplot that slows the pacing, it is good nonetheless.