History Film / Swades

* CareerVersusMan: Gender-flipped, and discussed. [[spoiler: Mohan's friend and colleague at NASA calls him out for wanting to quit his job and return to India - all because of his love for Geeta. Mohan replies that it's not just about Geeta or Kaveri Amma. It's also about India, and the fact that he can do a lot more to help people there than he can as a NASA scientist.]]

* DefrostingIceQueen: Geeta is initially hostile towards Mohan because she is afraid he will take Kaveri Amma away to America and has prejudices against Non-Resident Indians like him. Over time she comes to appreciate his humanity and his genuine efforts to improve living conditions in the village, and starts reciprocating his feelings.

** Water: Mohan's drinking only bottled water represents his "outsider" status early on in the film. His decision to buy and drink unbottled water at a train station signals his "reconnect" with India. [[spoiler: The last scene shows Mohan and Geeta dipping their feet in a stream, symbolising that he is now wholly immersed in his Indian identity]].

* IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: Geeta respects Mohan's decision to return to America, and Mohan respects Geeta's decision to remain in the village - despite both being heartbroken over having to part ways.]]

* NobleBigot: Most villagers have prejudices against different groups in the village: Brahmins look down on the lower castes, the lower castes don’t trust the Brahmins, everyone ostracises people who change their occupation. Despite this, the villagers are not ''bad'' people; they are just blinkered.

* ShowWithinAShow: The villagers put together a musical depicting scenes from the Literature/{{Ramayana}}, with Geeta and the postmaster playing the roles of Seeta and Ravana respectively.

** A little boy sells water to Mohan at the train station, resulting in Mohan drinking unbottled water for the first time since coming to India.

** The hermit in ''Yuhi Chala Chal Rahi''resets Mohan on the right path (literally and spiritually).

* DrivingSong: ''Yuhi Chala Chal Rahi'' is a famous song In-Universe, which Mohan and his passenger sing along to when driving to the village [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeX2QMlSlo]]).

''Swades'' (English title: "We, the People") is a 2004 Bollywood film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, starring Creator/ShahRukhKhan and Gayatri Joshi. It tells the story of an Indian-born NASA scientist, Mohan Bhargava (Khan), who returns to India to reconnect with Kaveri Amma, the woman who brought him up. His search for her leads him to a remote village in Uttar Pradesh. There, he comes to experience how millions of Indians live and the issues they face.

* TheAce: Mohan would seem to be this to a lot of people. He is a highly respected scientist at NASA, rich, has a lovely house and been freshly granted US citizenship.

* WhatTheHellHero: Mohan gets a few from Geeta in the course of the movie, mainly around his cynical attitude towards India (which, Geeta says, is easy for him to say that nothing is going to change given he doesn't live in India) and the fact that he didn't stay in touch with Kaveri Amma after his parents died.

[[caption-width-right:350:"It's easy to sit outside India and say that nothing's going to change in that country".]]

* CoolCar: Mohan hires a high-end, fully equipped caravan to travel to the village, as he is not sure about the facilities he will get in rural India. The villagers have not seen anything like it, and a lot of them come to meet Mohan to check out the caravan.

** Water: Mohan's drinking only bottled water represents his "outsider" status early on in the film. His decision to buy and drink unbottled water at a train station signals his "reconnection" with India. [[spoiler: The last scene shows Mohan and Geeta dipping their feet in a stream, symbolising that he is now wholly Indianised]].
** Earth: Geeta's parting gift to Mohan is a box which has (among other things) a fistful of earth to remind him of his roots in India. [[spoiler: Upon returning to India for good, Mohan is shown smearing his body with the earth before participating in a wrestling match with the villagers]].

* GeekyTurnOn: Mohan visibly falls for Geeta when he sees her chastising a man for walking over some books in a book shop. Also, her mental maths skills don't hurt.
* KissKissSlap: Mohan pulls Geeta into a slightly clumsy embrace in an empty classroom. They hear footsteps outside and Geeta, panicking, smacks Mohan on the forehead with the blackboard duster to make him let her go.

* NoAntagonist: Unusually for a Bollywood film, there is no "villain". There are a couple of grouchy village elders who don't approve of Mohan trying to break down caste barriers, but no one goes out of their way to obstruct him. A subtle irony is that Mohan's "Brahmin" status probably helps; had he been from a lower caste, he would have faced a lot more opposition.

* NonIdleRich: Geeta's parents owned a lot of land in and around the village, and it looks like the rent is enough for Geeta and her brother to live comfortably in a large house. Despite this, Geeta works as a teacher because she wants to improve life in the village.

* SpiritedYoungLady: Geeta is not afraid to speak out for her causes and beliefs. This is particularly apparent when she advocates the need for a bigger school in the village panchayat and rebukes her would-be in-laws for expecting that she quit her job after marrying their son.

* WhatTheHellHero: Mohan gets a few from Geeta in the course of the movie, mainly around his cynical attitude towards trying to improve India (which, Geeta says, is easy for him given he doesn't live in India) and the fact that he didn't stay in touch with Kaveri Amma after his parents died.

** The hermit in ''Yuhi Chala Chal Rahi'' who (literally and spiritually) resets Mohan on the right path.
** Haridas, the ostracised farmer, who opens Mohan's eyes to the unimaginable poverty in which many Indians live.
** The water boy at the train station who sells water to Mohan, resulting in Mohan drinking unbottled water for the first time since coming to India.
** The half-blind grandma who sees a bulb light up in her hut for the first time when the villagers generate electricity.

** Kaveri Mama’s prediction that it is “natural for ice to melt in water” (referring to Mohan becoming integrated among his fellow Indians) [[spoiler: comes true at the end]].

* WhatTheHellHero: Mohan gets a few from Geeta in the course of the movie, mainly around his cynical attitude towards trying to improve India (which, Geeta says, is easy for him given he doesn't live in India) and the fact that he didn't bother to stay in touch with Kaveri Amma after his parents died.

[[caption-width-right:350:It's easy to sit outside and say that nothing's going to change.]]

* CoolCar: Mohan hires a high-end fully equipped caravan to travel to the village, as he is not sure about the facilities he will get in rural India. The villagers have not seen anything like it and a lot of them, especially the children, come to see Mohan especially to check out the caravan.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Geeta is initially hostile towards Mohan because she is afraid he will take Kaveri Amma away to America and has prejudices against Non-Resident Indians like him. Over time she comes to appreciate his humanity and genuine efforts to improve living conditions in the village, and starts reciprocating his feelings.

* MeaningfulEcho: Mohan overhears Geeta telling her prospective in-laws that “A woman’s hands are fit for more than just being decorated with henna”. He then re-uses this quote when trying to convince the villagers to send their daughters to school.
* NobleBigot: Most villagers have prejudices against different groups in the village: Brahmins look down on the lower castes, the lower castes don’t trust the Brahmins, everyone ostracises people who change their occupation. Despite this, the villagers are not ‘‘bad’’ people; they are just blinkered.
* NonIdleRich: Kaveri Amma refers in passing to the fact that Geeta’s parents owned a lot of land in and around the village, and it looks like the rent is enough for Geeta and her brother to live comfortably in a large house. Despite this, Geeta works as a teacher because she wants to improve life in the village.

* DrivingSong: The song ''Yuhi Chala Chal Rahi'' is a famous song In-Universe, which Mohan and his passenger sing along to when driving to the village [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeX2QMlSlo]]).

* TenderTears: Unsurprisingly for a character played by SRK, Mohan wells up quite frequently. The most notable example is when he buys a drink of water for 25 paise from a boy at a train station, and then starts crying quietly as the boy's dire poverty starts to sink in.

* TenderTears: Unsurprisingly for a character played by SRK, Mohan wells up quite frequently.

‘‘Swades’’ is a 2004 Bollywood film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, starring Creator/ShahRukhKhan and Gayatri Joshi. It tells the story of an Indian-born NASA scientist, Mohan Bhargava (Khan), who returns to India to reconnect with Kaveri Amma, the woman who brought him up. His search for her leads him to a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, where he comes to experience how millions of Indians live and the issues they face.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Geeta is initially hostile towards Mohan because she is afraid he will take Kaveri Amma away to America and has prejudices against Non-Resident Indians like him. Over time she comes to appreciate his help with getting more students to her school, his genuine efforts to improve living conditions in the village, and starts reciprocating his feelings.

* SpiritedYoungLady: Geeta is not afraid to speak out for her causes, particularly educating children in rural India and empowering women. This is particularly apparent when she advocates the need for a bigger school in the village panchayat (council meeting) and rebukes her would-be in-laws who want her to leave her job after her marriage.

* NobleBigot: Most villagers have prejudices against different groups in the village: Brahmins look down on the lower castes, the lower castes don’t trust the Brahmins, everyone ostracises people who change their occupation. Despite this, the villagers are not ‘’bad’’ people; they are just blinkered.

** The old headmaster at Geeta’s school complains about the poor electricity and tells the Block Development Officer that they can hang a bulb over his grave. He dies the same night that the villagers (led by Mohan) generate their own electricity.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Downplayed. Mohan remembers playing with Geeta when they were children, but his main memory of her is that she used to be snotty-nosed.

‘‘Swades’’ is a 2004 Bollywood film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, starring Creator/ShahRukhKhan and Gayatri Joshi. It tells the story of an Indian-born NASA scientist, Mohan Bhargava (Khan), who returns to India to reconnect with the woman who brought him up. His search for her leads him to a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, where he comes to experience how millions of Indians live and the issues they face.

* SpiritedYoungLady: Geeta is not afraid to speak out for her causes, particularly educating children in rural India and empowering women. This is particularly apparent when she advocates the need for a bigger school in the village panchayat (council meeting) and states her reasons for rejecting a marriage proposal where her would-be in-laws wanted her to leave her job after her wedding.

* TheAce: Mohan would seem to be this to a lot of people. He is a highly respected scientist at NASA, rich, has a lovely house and been freshly granted US citizenship.

‘‘Swades’’ is a 2004 Bollywood film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, starring Creator/ShahRukhKhan and Gayatri Joshi. It tells the story of an Indian-born NASA scientist, Mohan Bhargava (Khan), who returns to India to reconnect with the woman who brought him up. His search for her leads him to a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, where he comes to experience how millions of Indians live and the issues they face.

‘‘Swades’’ is a 2004 Bollywood film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, starring Creator/ShahRukhKhan and Gayatri Joshi.