By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Saturday,
June
09,
2007
A
film
like
SWAMI
takes
you
back
to
the
cinema
of
1960s
and
1970s.
A
simple
story
with
simple
characters,
captured
on
celluloid
in
the
most
simplistic
fashion.
Come
to
think
of
it,
a
subject
like
SWAMI
is
a
rarity
today.
In
an
era
where
commercial
trappings,
spell-binding
visuals
and
technical
wizardry
are
used
as
tools
to
garnish
a
film,
SWAMI
is
as
fresh
as
the
morning
dew.
On
the
flip
side,
SWAMI
has
not
much
to
offer
to
viewers
shelling
out
Rs.
150
/
Rs.
200
for
a
ticket
at
multiplexes
to
watch
larger-than-life
movies.
A
story
of
a
middle
class
family,
with
songs
playing
in
the
background,
no
great
visuals
/
sets,
no
masala,
no
sub-plots,
SWAMI
caters
to
a
really
tiny
sect
of
viewers
that
has
an
appetite
for
this
kind
of
cinema.
For
the
wide
majority,
it's
akin
to
treating
oneself
with
boiled
food,
with
no
spices
to
tempt
the
taste
buds
Yet,
all
said
and
done,
SWAMI
marks
the
birth
of
a
sensitive
storyteller
--
Ganesh
Acharya.
The
film
is
rich
in
emotions
and
that's
one
thing
that
can
never
go
out
of
fashion.
Swami
[Manoj
Bajpai],
Radha
[Juhi
Chawla]
and
their
kid
[Siddharth]
shift
to
Mumbai
after
selling
off
their
ancestral
home
in
a
village.
In
Mumbai,
they
get
their
kid
admitted
to
a
school
that's
patronized
by
children
belonging
to
affluent
families.
Everything
is
going
fine
until
Radha
falls
ill
and
is
diagnosed
with
a
life-threatening
illness.
Swami
starts
working
overtime
to
raise
funds
for
the
operation,
but
Radha
spends
the
entire
amount
on
a
chair
that
Swami
wants
to
possess
so
dearly.
Radha
passes
away
with
just
one
desire:
The
kid
should
settle
down
in
America
some
day.
How
Swami
works
towards
that
dream
is
the
remainder
of
the
story.
SWAMI
has
an
absorbing
first
hour.
The
simple
story
with
simple
situations
gets
finely
tuned
due
to
Manoj,
Juhi
and
child
actor
Siddharth's
true
to
life
performances,
besides
Ganesh's
execution.
In
fact,
a
number
of
scenes
make
you
moist
eyed
in
this
hour
and
you
can't
help
but
reach
out
for
your
kerchief.
But
the
second
hour
plays
truant.
The
story
stagnates
in
this
hour
as
a
few
new
characters
are
injected
--
the
friends
at
the
park.
These
characters
are
a
complete
put
off
and
only
act
as
a
spoke
in
the
wheel.
In
fact,
this
portion
should
be
trimmed
instantly
to
keep
the
movie
on
the
right
track.
The
writing
[screenplay:
Bhavani
Iyer,
Muazzam
Beg]
is
interesting
in
parts.
If
the
first
hour
is
taut,
there's
not
much
to
look
forward
to
in
the
second
hour.
This
half
has
two
incidents
mainly
--
the
daughter-in-law
selling
off
the
chair
and
the
son's
trip
to
America.
Besides
these,
the
writers
should've
incorporated
a
few
more
dramatic
moments
to
keep
the
interest
alive.
Ganesh
Acharya
has
handled
the
emotional
scenes
very
well.
Also,
he
has
drawn
wonderful
performances,
not
just
from
seasoned
actors
like
Manoj
and
Juhi,
but
also
from
debutante
Maninder
and
also
the
child
artist.
There's
no
scope
for
music
[Nitin
Arora,
Sony
Chandy]
in
the
film
and
the
song
or
two
in
the
background
are
strictly
okay.
Cinematography
[Lenin]
is
alright.
Manoj
Bajpai
is
tremendous
yet
again.
This
is
yet
another
performance
he
underplays
beautifully.
Juhi
Chawla
is
effective
enough,
though
one
misses
her
in
the
second
hour.
Maninder
is
first-rate.
The
newcomer
holds
his
head
high
despite
scenes
with
Manoj.
Neha
Pendse
is
okay.
Siddharth
is
adorable.
The
kid
is
sheer
magic
on
screen.
On
the
whole,
SWAMI
is
for
a
miniscule
section
of
moviegoers
only.
At
the
box-office,
it'll
have
to
rely
on
a
strong
word
of
mouth
to
stand
on
its
feet.
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