Ronnie Screwvala recently confirmed that Shah Rukh Khan’s movie Swades – We The People (2004) will be re-released. He mentioned that just like Rockstar (2011) and Lakshya (2004), Swades was ahead of its time and deserves another chance to be seen by audiences.
The producer said, “It could re-release for sure. I keep telling everyone that it was a film ahead of its time. Therefore, it needs its second time around. We started our foundation, and after the film, we renamed it Swades Foundation. Shah Rukh Khan is a NASA scientist, and he comes back to rural India and wants to light the bulb, quite literally. Today, younger generations connect to that. You may go abroad to study, but eventually, you want to come back to your country. The film represents the spirit and mood of the nation, and therefore is very relevant.”
Swades is about Mohan Bhargav, a NASA scientist of Indian origin who returns to his village to visit his nanny, Kaveri Amma, who raised him. Seeing India’s social and economic issues firsthand, he decides to stay and help. The idea of setting up a micro hydroelectric project in the village was inspired by the Kannada film Chigurida Kanasu (2003). The movie also stars Gayatri Joshi, Kishori Ballal, Rajesh Vivek, Daya Shankar Pandey, Lekh Tandon, and others. Mahesh Aney won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography, and Udit Narayan won Best Male Playback Singer for the song “Yeh Taara Woh Taara.”
Incidentally, Swades, now a cult movie, initially flopped when it was released. Despite being one of Shah Rukh Khan’s best films, it struggled at the box office. Made with a budget of Rs 22 crore, it only earned Rs 16 crore in India. Audiences in that year were more used to SRK’s commercially successful entertainers like ‘Main Hoon Na’ and ‘Veer Zara’, which may have overshadowed its introspective theme.
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