Exams are over, the phun has just started to kick in. The Boat Club quiz club had the Infest (internal quizzing fest, what else could it be:)) yesterday. It was a quizzing marathon which went on for something like 7 hours. Pure bliss. Period.
As if it the quizzing was not enough, I watched Swades with my friends. Firstly, I went in with lot of expectations from the movie. The promos said that it was a story about apathy of India's westernised elite towards the country. The subject instantly hooked me on as I had read a book on a similar theme recently 'No Full Stops in India' by Mark Tully. The book is not about a particular subject but it makes quite a few thought provoking points about India's urban and rural faces. I liked the book a lot which is why I was interested in watching what Gowarikar's film.
I liked Swades. The most striking thing about the film is that it is refreshingly different from the crap Bollywood serves us. Another thing which bugs me a lot about Bollywood is the lack of a convincing story, but Swades passes that test without a hitch. Another strong point about the film are those beautiful shots of a brooding SRK sitting in a boat (and also in the train) along with rural folk, SRK going tripleseat on a M80 scooter and a few other scenes. The scenes are brilliant. There are no mandatory scheming villains and the like which is a relief. I found the actress Gayatri Joshi decent but nothing more. SRK is great, its a relief watching him in a good role after those Karan Johar type movies.
The movie pays a lot of attention to detail. It makes the movie more watchable but also makes the movie very slow. It never drags but still the lack of pace is evident throughout. But then, one can't expect a fast/slick movie on this theme. Also, the movie tends to sermonise (?) sometimes. There are too many songs in the film and I didn't like the songs much.
I don't think the movie will be a hit. It is not a regular paisa vasool film which I think disappointed some people. All in all, a good movie worth watching.
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