To Americans, Swades must epitomize Bollywood: singing, dancing, drama, overacting. And honestly, I didn't really mind. Maybe it was because my viewing experience was broken into three separate segments or perhaps because I started to watch the music sections at 2x speed, but the movie was pretty enjoyable.
Despite being rather campy, the film had a strong running theme: water. Mohan's work at NASA is project manager for precipitation analysis. Once he heads to India, water is not only a problem for many members of the community (such as the weaver/farmer) but also the solution when Mohan designs a hydroelectric turbine to provide the village with its own, independent power source. There are other scenes such as the one where Mohan is bathing in water from a bucket or the pool of water in Charanpur where Mohan and Gita dip their feet. The most striking impression of water though, for me at least, was the bottled water Mohan took everywhere with him. It symbolizes Mohan's rejection of the culture, and it is not until he finally drinks from the natural water that he has returned home.
As an American, the other scene that stood out to me was the one that pitted Mohan against the village elders in a debate about the merits of Eastern vs. Western cultures. The liberal values that we take for granted are strongly opposed by the local community. It was difficult for me to see the merit in what they said and I found myself often nodding my head in agreement with Mohan, but I do understand that I was examining a culture built strongly on tradition from the vantage point of a very progressive society. In the end, Mohan seems to realize not only that he longs for India, but also that he can do more good there than he can in America. Whether he will seek to develop India socially or intellectually is not revealed, but I imagine a bit of both.
A decent flick, some catchy singing and dancing, and general feel good themes are brought down by the over-indulgent plot and emotions expressed with the subtly of a sledgehammer. Is it worth three-plus hours of your life? Not in one chunk, I imagine, but broken up and viewed over a span of time Swades is rather palatable. The verdict: chew before swallowing.
1 comment:
OK, first, how come you watch the songs at 2x speed? That kind of spoils the viewing experience for a fair analysis. Despite this, you have a very interesting points in your film response such as pointing out water as a recurrent motif, or fair enough, describing the film as campy.
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