I watched this movie for the first time in June 2007. I don't remember seeing a better movie in a very long time ! It really touched my heart. It gave me a "this one was made for me" feeling and I didn't feel like watching any other movie for several weeks ! I doubt if any other movie will take its place in my heart for a long time to come.

The movie is NOT TOO LONG, by any means. The subject matter is heavy, so the length is quite justifiable. In fact, if you get the original DVD set with both the DVD's, you'd be surprised to see how many scenes have been deleted, including the song "Aahista, Aahista". The length of the movie is just right, and they could have retained many of the deleted scenes including that song, in my humble opinion. If you still think the movie is too long, think of it this way - it is an EXCELLENT TV serial, ultra-compressed to ~3 hours for the big screen. Everything in the movie looks so real, there is nothing that is unbelievable.

AR Rahman is at his best. The more I listen to the songs and the background score, the more I realize how brilliant it is. Shahrukh - well, there is no Shahrukh in this movie - only Mohan Bhargava. I doubt if any other contemporary actor would have done better.

I can go on and on. Email me if you want to discuss this movie. I would love to talk about it.

How about a sequel (Swades II), that shows Mohan Bhargava really succeeding back home in his endeavor ?