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it’s five days late, but i thought i would post my review of swades, the movie i saw last friday night at the castro theater as a part of the sf international asian american film festival. i would give the movie four out of five stars and here’s why.

the storyline is definitely unique and engaging. we follow shah rukh khan’s character as a nasa project manager longing for the nanny that raised him as a child. this longing is triggered by the death anniversary of his parents and he follows his friend’s advice to take a couple of weeks off to go back to india and find his nanny, kaveriamma. upon arrival, he discovers a witty, clever and beautiful gita whom he knew as a child as “gitlee”. she teaches elementary school in the village where kaveriamma has taken residence. the story from here until the end follows his discoveries of life in india, breaking his misconceptions, and a humorous love story as well.

ashutosh gowariker clearly aims to make a few statements with this movie. first, indians who have immigrated to the states and became successful should consider (or even have a responsibility of) returning to india to better the situation there. second, indians in india need to work harder to help themselves, to overcome the caste situation in the outlying villages and to promote education for all children. these points are interesting if not controversial. good food for thought. what keeps this movie from earning a five star rating is the length and the poor subtitling for the songs.

if you’re interested in the movie, you can grab it here on netflix.