It makes me sad when I watch a Bollyshow on TV, and the presenters say that "Swades" was a dud--at least at the box office. What do audiences want from Shah Rukh Khan? Bollywood fans criticize him for being over the top and hammy, and then stay away in droves when he gives the sort of beautifully nuanced, introspective, and quietly impassioned performance that he delivers in "Swades".

"Swades" is the sort of film that Jean Renoir, perhaps the greatest filmmaker of all time, would make if he were alive and making Bollywood films. Ditto Satyajit Ray. It gives us village India as seen from the outside by a thoroughly Americanized ex-patriot, a young man who is at first scared to drink the water and condescending towards the "little" lives and foolish ambitions of the locals. Gradually, of course, he is drawn into their problems, and rediscovers his identity as an Indian. What is most graceful (and Renoir-like) about this film, is that we are allowed to laugh at both young Mohan and the unsophisticated villagers, even as we grow to know and love them. That kind of tenderness and humanity, something that transcends notions of political correctness and national identity, is very rare in movies from any country.

I could have done without the love story--as I could also have done without the love triangle in "Lagaan". Love interest seems to be a requirement in Bollywood, though (as it used to be in Hollywood, which once put a woman in "Moby Dick"!), and I can live with it. "Swades" is such a quiet, introspective sort of film, and so realistic, that I also was a bit jarred when the musical numbers came bouncing in. On repeated viewings, however, the numbers serve the film well, and they are in themselves quite beautiful.

"Swades" is a film to treasure, and I certainly hope that no one involved (especially SRK) regards it as a failure.