Swades is a mediocre followup to Gowarikar's previous effort Lagaan. Lagaan was a standard issue Bollywood fantasy which came together extremely well. Since it was a fantasy, clichéd dialog and cardboard characters were not a problem. In fact, quite the opposite since they provided comic relief when needed. Swades tries to be a quasi-serious movie and completely fails because no effort has been made to have serious dialog and fully fleshed out characters. (In contrast, see Shwaas for real situations, fully fleshed out characters and normal conversation.) Instead, we have quasi-seriousness imposed on a Bollywood fantasy background which is jarring to say the least. Oddly enough, Shah Rukh Khan delivers a reasonably good, understated performance. The new actress, Gayathri Joshi's nonverbal performance is top notch. Unfortunately, she's all dolled up (well coiffed and manicured at that) and nowhere to go since she's supposed to be living in a poor village which makes her look ludicrous. No attempt was made to make her less glamorous. Instead, we have someone who looks like Queen Elizabeth living in a slum. Finally, while Lagaan had a good screenplay, there's no story here and no payoff in the end. While the cinematography is excellent and the village backdrop authentic, it all amounts to a wasted effort. In summary, Gowarikar has lowered our expectations which is a very good thing for him and hopefully for us as well.