Swades At 20| Why Fans Are Still Asleep On Shah Rukh Khan바카라�s Warmest Love Story

In the 157th minute of Ashutosh Gowariker바카라�s Swades (2004), something peculiar happens. Gita (Gayatri Joshi) walks up to Mohan (Shah Rukh Khan) as he바카라�s working. She calls out to him, but he barely registers. So, she leans into his RV, her gaze fixed, as she says, 바카라�Mohan, I think I바카라�ve fallen in love with you.바카라� Mohan nods and smiles vacantly, only realising what she바카라�s saying a moment later.

In a Shah Rukh Khan film, a brand synonymous with over-the-top declarations of (sometimes problematic) love, this no-frills declaration is an anomaly. There바카라�s no swelling background music, no close-up of him slowly turning his head, no magical transportation of the lovers to a mustard field. Never has a moment been so bare, bereft of paraphernalia, like in this 2004 film. The scene rests entirely on Joshi바카라�s smitten eyes, and the timing between the two actors. Mohan asks Gita to repeat herself, as her coy smile makes way for the lilting notes of a love ballad. Just like the love story in the film, Dekho Na, a superbly reined-in song about the giddiness of new-found love, isn바카라�t spoken of as much as it should be. 

Brought up each time Khan바카라�s merit as an actor is being discussed, Swades is a fine example of an 바카라�issues-driven바카라� film that stays within the realm of 바카라�entertaining바카라�. Despite none of the tics, or gimmicks from its lead actor.

In a film industry shaped by Khan바카라�s extravagant, shot-in-Europe romances, where repeatedly crossing boundaries with a woman is deemed 바카라�harmless flirting바카라� (hello there, DDLJ), the love story of Swades barely even registered.

So big was the cloud of Gowariker바카라�s film being the most 바카라�important바카라� in Khan바카라�s filmography, that it cast a shadow on what is arguably the most unpretentious love story of his career.

With many highlights, here are four scenes to demonstrate why Gowariker바카라�s film might be Khan바카라�s warmest, most charming and mature love story on screen.

The Meet-Cute

For a film dismissed as a 바카라�boring lecture바카라�, it바카라�s amusing that when Mohan first meets Gita at a bookstore, she바카라�s lecturing a stranger for being disrespectful towards books. At the very outset, Mohan seems quite taken in by Gita바카라�s idealism. Gowariker바카라�s spin on the manic-pixie dream girl, who is armed with wry rebuttals and won바카라�t suffer stupidity without reason, is charming to say the least.

By first besting Mohan and his calculator at the cash counter, and then showing him the way to the little-known hamlet, Charanpur, Gita leaves Mohan stumped. It바카라�s a smartly executed meet-cute, full of one-liners that sound endearing only when Shah Rukh Khan says them.

No Smoking

Swades is that rare film where Khan바카라�s smoking is not a substitute for personality. In fact, it바카라�s used to make him look all the more ordinary. But, out of respect, Mohan never smokes in front of Kaveri Amma. In fact, when Kaveri Amma surprises him by visiting his RV all of a sudden, Mohan is almost embarrassed that he might get caught with a pack of cigarettes at his workstation.

This prompts a sweet moment between Mohan and Gita, where he signals her to help him hide it before Kaveri Amma spots it. With a disapproval in her eyes, she relents.

The smoking comes up again, in Dekho Na. By now Gita and Mohan are in love, and she frowns when he lights up a cigarette. One look at Gita바카라�s stern expression, and he takes one final drag and flicks the cigarette away, watching her mood lighten. It바카라�s a gloriously understated moment, consistent with the film바카라�s minimalist style.

Mohan and Gita바카라�s sexual tension

In spite of its 바카라�family film바카라� aesthetic, Gowariker never tries to sanitise Mohan and Gita바카라�s budding romance by ignoring their sexual tension. Of similar age and upbringing, Mohan and Gita understand each other better than anyone else in the village. After some sweet confrontations, Mohan and Gita are finally getting along. Feelings are being felt by the two (relatively) young adults of Charanpur.

And then comes Zeenat Aman.

The entire village is watching Yaadon Ki Baraat, widely considered one of the earliest masala films. And Gowariker delivers his own 바카라�masala moment바카라� in the way Mohan and Gita steal glances at each other, as Asha Bhosle sings Chura Liya Hai Tumne on screen.

This spark only compounds further, when Mohan attends Gita바카라�s 바카라�General Knowledge바카라� class. Intentionally making a fool of himself in front of the kids, only after everyone leaves does he reveal some nerdy trivia about the questions he바카라�d earlier got 바카라�wrong바카라�. Gita, having embarrassed him in front of everyone, avoids eye-contact, by now aware why he did it, and who he was trying to impress.

And in case you weren바카라�t positively aware of the palpable sexual tension by now, then comes the scene before Dussehra. Mohan wants to wear a dhoti, but doesn바카라�t know how. Instead of Kaveri Amma, it is Gita who comes to his aid. Mohan, despite reservations about Gita바카라�s skills, is asked to stand quietly and follow instructions. This scene, where Gita neatly folds the pleats of his dhoti, getting closer to him one pleat at a time, could have easily gone awry. But it doesn바카라�t.

Gita바카라�s poise in this scene, feels like payback for an entire generation of women, whose twirling sarees have been used as props for titillation in Hindi cinema. A special word for Rahman바카라�s background score (which is sensational throughout) in this scene, where he uses a tabla beat to underline the naughty undertones, as Mohan stands around, blushing.

The Inconvenient Climax

As the Sarpanch of Charanpur tells Mohan towards the end of the film, 바카라�Hum tohbhool hi gaye the ki aapmehmaanhai, aur mehmaantohjaanekeliye hi aatehai.바카라� Coming to its logical end, the love story is cut short.

Even though he doesn바카라�t harp about it, Gowariker바카라�s love story is that of equals. So, while Mohan has his priorities to return to, so does Gita. She unequivocally announces her desire to marry him, but she won바카라�t settle abroad. This is a full decade before Hindi cinema began treating women empowerment as a punchline.

Gita doesn바카라�t try to stop him, but she is optimistic he will return. She gifts him a miniature box of spices, herbs, grains, one which she hopes will make Mohan miss home. The resolution here isn바카라�t convenient, like in most Hindi films. Unlike most films where one character would make a sacrifice and signal a sudden change of heart, that invariably feels rushed to carry the film to its happy conclusion, Gowariker puts his trust in time and hindsight. He believes both his characters can make difficult choices without letting go of their basic principles. That is where lies the biggest strength of this love story. It doesn바카라�t romanticise compromise.

In retrospect, it바카라�s amusing how Shah Rukh Khan바카라�s most 바카라�socially conscious film바카라� also held within it, his most sincere and tender love story. History might only remember the boisterous version of Khan바카라�s lover boy of the 90s, but it is this film that arguably justifies his moniker: The King of Romance. A love story about a couple who engage beyond not only looks, but with each other바카라�s belief systems and world views. The beauty lies in the way Joshi바카라�s character chooses to showcase her interest in Khan바카라�s character, by helping him multiply 23.3 with 33.9. And how Khan바카라�s character folds his hands after she beats his calculator (again!).