2004 · Film
Swades
Ashutosh Gowariker's drama in which a NASA project manager, played by Shah Rukh Khan, travels to an Indian village to find his childhood nanny.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 18 October 2026, Swades is streaming in India on Netflix with a subscription.
- Checked Sun, 18 Oct, 2026Open ↗
The story
Mohan Bhargava is an Indian project manager on a NASA rainfall-monitoring programme in Washington, D.C. Successful but without close family, he cannot stop thinking about Kaveri Amma, the woman who raised him after his parents died. He takes leave and travels to India, driving out in a fully equipped recreational vehicle, hoping to bring her back to America with him. He finds her in Charanpur, a small village where she lives with Geeta, his childhood friend, who runs the village school. As he stays on, Mohan begins to see the village's everyday problems up close.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
A slow, reflective drama for viewers interested in rural India, education and the pull of home, and fine for families. Set aside time: it runs about three and a quarter hours, and the drama is gentle, without violence or crude content.
inspiringthought-provokingemotional
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
Swades was directed, co-written and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker, with UTV Motion Pictures. Its story draws on Aravinda Pillalamarri and Ravi Kuchimanchi, a non-resident Indian couple who built a pedal-powered generator for off-grid village schools. Wikipedia notes it was the first Indian film shot inside NASA headquarters. A. R. Rahman composed the music, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.
The film opened in Indian cinemas on 17 December 2004. A Tamil dub was released as Desam. Against a reported budget of ₹25 crore, it earned about ₹15.25 crore net in India and about ₹34.64 crore worldwide, so it was a commercial failure despite strong reviews. It won two National Film Awards, for Best Male Playback Singer (Udit Narayan) and Best Cinematography (Mahesh Aney). At the 50th Filmfare Awards, Shah Rukh Khan won Best Actor and Rahman won Best Background Score.
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Social drama
- Runtime
- 195 min
- Director
- Ashutosh Gowariker
- Cast
- Shah Rukh Khan, Gayatri Joshi, Kishori Ballal, Daya Shankar Pandey, Rajesh Vivek
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch Swades in India?
- As of 18 October 2026, Swades is streaming in India on Netflix with a subscription.
- Is Swades in Hindi?
- Yes. Swades is a Hindi-language film.
- How long is Swades?
- Swades runs for 3 hours 15 minutes (195 minutes).