Swades

Whoever told me Swades is a good movie - what were they even thinking! No seriously, there's a certain responsibility one has when judging and commenting on a movie. I really want to catch them by their neck and ask them what they think is a good movie. A good movie, according to me, is something that leaves with you with a smile when you are off the cinema, that makes sure you enjoyed your popcorn and coke and gave you enough chances to comment loudly during emotional scenes. Was swades even close to this definition. Take it from me - Swades is not good. It's brilliant! it's sincere, heartfelt, professional, technically sound. It has soul, subtlety, a wonderful cast who give it life and a man at helm who gives it direction.

Films I feel are worth talking of are of three kinds - popcorn fare time pass movies (no, I am not talking of no-brainers! I am talking of thorougly entertaining movies) - the incredibles or any of those pixar animations, kamal's memorable comedies, DDLJ are excellent examples. I don't spend a single minute thinking about these movies but love seeing them again and again because they are excellent entertainers. The second genre are movies that move you. They talk to you and affect you even after you come out of the hall because there's something about the movie that related so well to you - most of kamal's movies (thevar magan, kurudhi punal), mani rathnam's movies are in these kind. And there are the third type of movies - movies that change your life. Movies that you saw in the right time that affected so much that it ceases to be a movie and changes you as a person and the way you think for the rest of your life. It's not just about the movie but also about when you see it - lost in translation was one such movie, jerry maguire for me was one such movie, Fountainhead was one such book and Swades is definitely one such movie.

Let me digress a bit here - Maya, as a person, is always emotionally ahead of me. Be it joy or pain or subtle changes in the relationship, she feels it ahead of me. Last week, she sent me a heartfelt account of how she felt about the victims of Tsunami (which she specifically didn't want me to make public) and how terrible she felt about it. Of course, I felt sad about Tsunami too but not to the extent of ruining my day and going back home - I donated a 4 digit number the moment they opened the relief fund in SAP; I was more than glad to forego a day's salary; I called up guys in Red cross asking them if there's any use for old blankets or shirts coz I can defintitely give them. And I felt good about myself - I didn't understand what maya was going through but I wrote a blog on cynics and hypocrites while listening to some good music and went back home to eat my mom's food. When I was in chennai, I was seriously thinking about going to one of those tsunami-hit areas at least once; In the same breath as I thought of having a haircut and getting my stamp size photograph - Just like a scientist working in some remote corner of the world, enjoying a happy life and glorifying his existence by attaching it to a benevolent cause - so like us. We are scared arent't we - we don't get out of our shell of comfort, go out and face pain, share and experience some. It's more than enough for our barista-coffee-pampered-conscience if we press a button and send 2000 odd rupees into some fund, seldom realizing that there are so many more who could do it and so few who can get their foot dirty. Yesterday, sitting in that movie hall, I understood what maya was going through.

No - it's not that a three hour movie has let me intellectually challenged and socio-consciously deranged. Before leaving france, for sometime I was quite seriously contemplating settling down in a village somewhere in south tamilnadu as a teacher. Just that, I wanted to wait for sometime and know what I am getting into to make sure I am not driven just by the romanticism of the idea. Quite frankly, I am not driven too hard by money or fame - I am driven singularly by the desire to make my existence matter. Start a company, direct a movie, write a book, teach - everything boils down to a desire to be heard, to make a difference and to bring a change in a subset of the population however big or small the population be. And what other way to make a difference than this - to help people who can't help themselves. Of course, a month and a half is past now and I have been languishing in coffee pubs and book shops in the search of a greater truth and I haven't moved an inch towards "making a difference".

I know I could talk a lot more - but let me stop and come back on monday to write about how I actually went and did something.

Now to the review of the movie - pluses. subtle texts like carrying the water bottle everywhere worked wonders; Shahrukh - in BOLD. very neat performance; though the stammer, the mischievous look, those extended arms that cover the screen were still there he fit the role to the T. One sore point is he's soon joining Ajay devgan in the terrible teeth department; gayatri joshi, one of the most beautiful faces on screen in recent times. can't cry for nuts but that's ok, I can adjust ;); Rahman's score - refreshingly different, the music during titles sounded offbeat but most of the time it gelled well; casting - not about sharukh or kaveriamma but aam junta including that one eyed old woman who says bijli. just perfect; a few scenes, including shahrukh's trip to collect the rent, shall stay in my mind for a long time to come; most of all, the director's confidence - the movie brims with it. he's not hurrying things, he concentrates on details and close ups, no words minced, clear characters. 10 on 10.

Just a few minor could-ve-been-betters. I am not one of those who think songs should be done away with completely. songs, when appropriate, express a lot more than sheafs of dialogues (take tanhayee in DCH for example). But I have always felt, you don't have play the whole song if you don't have scenes to cover it. Just a para or two. Still does the magic - they could've done that here in the second half. Secondly, the resistance of people could have been shown more realistically. You can't sing a song and convince people. So, the first school episode could have been a failure and the numbers could have increased. Thirdly, lots of bollywood cliches are missing in this movie and that's lovely but still the urge to have one, for example, how in a class shahrukh gives all wrong answers and then goes on to show how he actually knew the answers, we have seen that a lot of times, haven't we. It's ok - he didn't have to know the answers, may be. some such scenes were, for a lack of a better word, cliched. And so authentic was the movie that shahrukh breaking into a song routine or a dance move, even if minimal and basic, didn't fit

God! I am on a writing spree today :) Actually, ghussed a blog that I started writing before because it was becoming too long. What do I say about this! Let me stop now and get back to work