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As Swades celebrates its 20th anniversary, the film’s enduring legacy is a testament to its thought-provoking themes and memorable characters. Shah Rukh Khan’s portrayal of Mohan Bhargav, a NASA scientist who returns to India to make a difference, has become an iconic representation of patriotism and social responsibility. Interestingly, Mohan Bhargav has also been reimagined as a superhero scientist in Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra, further cementing his status as a cultural icon.

As we mark this milestone year, director Ashutosh Gowariker reflects on the film’s message, its expression, and its continued relevance. In an exclusive interview with SCREEN, Gowariker opens up about his most personal film to date, as we asked him a crucial question: can a film today dare to say, “Main nahi manta hamara desh duniya ka sabse mahaan desh hai”?

On starting his production house Ashutosh Gowariker Films

Gowariker’s journey as a filmmaker took a significant turn when he decided to start his own production house, Ashutosh Gowariker Productions PVT LTD (AGPPL). For him, this move was a natural progression after the success of Lagaan. “After making movies, the obvious next natural step is that you want to start producing and what better time than after Lagaan,” Gowariker explains. “Because you are on a peak, on a high, and you want to optimize on that.”

Gowariker credits Aamir Khan, the star of Lagaan, for giving him the creative freedom to make the film as he had envisioned it. This experience had a lasting impact on Gowariker. “To top that, there was some amount of freedom that I had got which was infectious,” he says. “I got that with Lagaan, from Aamir (Khan). He gave me all the liberty to make the film the way I had imagined it. That stayed in my mind. So, after that I decided that I want to venture into production but first I asked my wife Sunita (Gowariker). If I was going to be a producer, I needed a mind that was going to take care of that aspect of production,” he says. Sunita, who had no prior experience in production, agreed to take on the challenge and AGPPL just flew from there on establishing itself as a reputable production house in the Indian film industry. “That kind of have us confidence of starting Ashutosh Gowariker Productions and here we are, 20 years,” Gowariker reflects.

On 20 years of Swades

 

As AGPPL celebrates 20 years, it’s hard not to look back at the film that started it all – Swades. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Swades was a film that left an indelible mark on Indian cinema. The idea for Swades was born out of an episode called Vapasi, in which Gowariker had acted in many years ago, as Mohan Bhargav. “If you go to the entire genesis of Swades, there was an episode that I had done as an actor, many many years ago, which was called Vapasi.

“Somewhere for me playing that part, I played Mohan Bhargav in that, as an actor, that story, the core of it stayed with me. Of course for a film, you needed much more elements, but somehow it stayed. Even during the entire making of Lagaan, that was always there at the back of my mind. After Lagaan, the immediate next thought was of Swades. Through this film I wanted to say much more than one can possibly say in a 20-minute-long episode. I always felt that there was a lot more to the story that can be brought up for a much larger audience.”

Gowariker’s vision for Swades was not just to tell a story but to spark a conversation about nationalism and the state of the country. “At that time, we kept feeling ‘mera Bharat mahan,’ but we are not there yet. It is great to have it as a patriotic feeling but are we there? I feel we are not there, but we have the potential to be there. I gave that thought to Mohan Bhargav and made him actually say it, ‘main nahi manta humara desh duniya ka sabse mahan desh hai…(I don’t believe that our country is the greatest country in the world…)’ With that philosophy I wanted to talk about nationalism and that vehicle became Swades.”

Gowariker doesn’t miss to give credit the talented team that worked on it, including JP Saxena for dialogues, Javed Akhtar for lyrics, and AR Rahman for the music. For Gowariker, Swades was a deeply personal film. “For me, it was a kind of an internalised experience that I wanted the audience to have. There is nothing jingoistic in the film, it’s more felt. Somewhere I wanted everyone to feel that each one of them was going through the same emotion that I was going through and that I was just trying to express it in this way, through Swades.”

Twenty years on, Swades remains a relevant and impactful film. “Thankfully it connected,” Gowariker says. “Today when people say that it’s still relevant, I am not very happy, because things should have changed in our country, in heartland India. But I am happy that it still resonates with people even today.”

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