#LockdownRecommendations: Shah Rukh Khan's all-time best 'Swades'
What's the story
Swades is heartfelt and optimistic. But it only progresses into becoming so. The film remains in the confinement of practicality throughout its run. It never loses sight of all the rampant problems and wrongdoings that exist around oneself. It then offers hope, before making us realize that hope is always worth it. Here's why the classic matters, today and forever.
Plot
Here's what the film is about
Mohan Bhargava (Shah Rukh Khan) is an Americanized expatriate working with NASA. He has a respectable job and all the comforts of life. But his heart longs for his childhood nanny. He flies to India to convince her to come with him to the US. But moved by abysmal conditions back home, he finds himself making monumental reforms in a village.
Details
'Swades' is about sticking to your roots
Even as Mohan achieves a lot and leads a successful life in the US, he is far from being content. He is lost, for his heart still misses the place where it actually belongs. And while there's no harm in modernization, Mohan makes you realize that life comes to a full circle, only if one remembers to stay connected to their roots.
Lesson
It tells you to do the right thing
It's actually impossible to define what's right and what's not for somebody else. Mohan knew what the right thing for him was all along. It only took him some twelve odd years to realize that. Once he is back home, things start getting clearer for him. After he is acquainted with the plight of people back home, there is no looking back for him.
Empathy
It teaches you to stay aware of the problems
The magic in Swades does not happen until the villagers remain in oblivion. At the risk of hurting everyone around, Mohan acknowledges that ours is not the greatest nation, however, we do not lack the power and will to become so. It is only after the villagers realize they've found comfort in their problems, that they all get together to bring about a change.
What it teaches
Where there is a will, there is a way
The villagers were always capable of doing what Mohan does for them. The only problem was they lacked the will and hope. Mohan brings hope. Then, it is only a matter of time before they put their souls and bodies into something substantial. And right now, all we need is a little bit of hope to fight the misery that has grappled humanity.