Swades

Swades: We, the People
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAshutosh Gowariker
Screenplay byAshutosh Gowariker
Ayan Mukerji
Sameer Sharma
Lalit Marathe
Amin Hajee
Charlotte Whitby – Coles
Yashdeep Nigudkar
Story byM. G. Sathya
Ashutosh Gowariker
Dialogue by
Produced byAshutosh Gowariker
StarringShah Rukh Khan
Gayatri Joshi
Kishori Ballal
CinematographyMahesh Aney
Edited byBallu Saluja
Music byA. R. Rahman
Production
company
Ashutosh Gowariker Productions
Distributed byUTV Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 17 December 2004 (2004-12-17)
Running time
195 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹25 crore[1]
Box officeest. ₹34.64 crore[2]

Swades: We, the People (transl. Homeland) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language drama film co-written, directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker.[3] The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Gayatri Joshi and Kishori Ballal while Daya Shankar Pandey, Rajesh Vivek, Lekh Tandon appear in supporting roles.

The plot was based on two episodes of the series Vaapsi on Zee TV's Yule Love Stories (1994–95) which had Gowariker playing the role of Mohan Bhargav.[4] The story of the lead role setting up a micro hydroelectric project to generate electricity was reported to be inspired by the 2003 Kannada film Chigurida Kanasu which was based on the novel of the same name by Jnanapith awardee K. Shivaram Karanth[5][6][7] and Bapu Kuti by Rajni Bakshi.[8] The music and background score was composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar.

Swades was theatrically released on 17 December 2004, and it opened to rave reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of Khan, Joshi and Ballal, and the story, screenplay, and soundtrack. However, it emerged as a commercial failure at the box office.

At the 50th Filmfare Awards, Swades received 8 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Gowarikar) and Best Music Director (Rahman), and won Best Actor (Khan) and Best Background Score (Rahman).

It was dubbed in Tamil as Desam and released on 26 January 2005, coinciding with Indian Republic Day. Despite its commercial failure, Swades is regarded ahead of its time and is now considered a cult classic of Hindi cinema and one of the best films in Shah Rukh Khan's filmography. [9][10] The film is owned by Red Chillies Entertainment.[11]

  1. ^ "Box Office: Crash of the big 'uns". Filmfare. January 2001. Archived from the original on 1 March 2005. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Swades". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Meet Aravinda and Ravi, The Inspiration Behind Shahrukh Khan's Movie 'Swades'". indiatimes.com. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  4. ^ "SRK's 'Swades' was inspired by Ashutosh Gowariker's show, where he played Mohan?". India Today. 11 August 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Top ten Kannada films to have been remade". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Eight Bollywood movies that are actually remakes of South Indian films". 20 June 2019. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Can't thank Ashutosh Gowariker enough for Swades: Shah Rukh Khan", Indian Express, 17 December 2016, archived from the original on 25 August 2019, retrieved 25 August 2019 – via PTI
  8. ^ "Bet You Didn't Know – the real story behind Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades!". 22 October 2009. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Lost in Translation – Part 1/2". Filmfare. 8 September 2011. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  10. ^ Deepak Mahaan (4 August 2011). "Arts / Cinema : Intoxicated with second love!". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Red Chillies Entertainments". redchillies.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.