Yes, you can say that it's a 'leap' movie :)
Such movies are made once in few years or in other words,
it's yet another giant leap for Govarikar films and
certainly in the right direction.

After more than a day since I watched 'Swades',
I was still browsing the web to look for the reviews.
I did some reverse exercise to get a feel of how the movie
is being received.
Most of the reviews seem to be in the favor of the movie (Times,
MidDay, Musicindiaonline, NDTV, Rediff etc.),
however there are very few (like the one carried by
Marathi daily - ESakal and one on Indiafm.com) which dismiss
the movie outright - I wonder why?
Some have raised the doubts about box office success of
'Swades'. It should actually be considered as a test of Bollywood
audience who are not used to such 'out of the box' offerings,
but are used to the recycled crap of love stories.

As a work of art, one can see the same level of dedication
in all departments here in Swades as was in 'Laagan'.

+Realistic/Down to earth -
Nothing seems fictional or overdramatic.
+Touching moments- Lots of them - most talked about scene
is the one in which SRK buys water for 25-Paise
from a boy on a railway station.
It is rendered even more intense by the
background music that connects this
scene with the previous.
+Situational Songs & background score -
Lyrics are superb. Most songs are perfectly
placed & picturized.
The background score is as effective as in Laagan.
+SRK - probably his most mature performance yet
+Gayatri Joshi - Pleasant new face with modest performance.
(Probably could have been more appropriate to have her
without the makeup)
+and great supporting cast-Few familiar faces from Laagan & many new.
+Thoughtful end -
Director has managed to avoid any temptation to get into
a traditional Bollywood end. So we don't see
hero-heroin running toward each other,
nor we see the "typical surprise" element where usually
hero-heroine begin to depart for separation but suddenly
one "surprises" the other person by changing mind at the
last moment and "not leaving",
nor there is any anti-climax.

It has been a long time since a movie (should say a Hindi movie)
left me pondering, such that it makes me feel like watching it again -
to "feel" the "touch" of Swades.
--------------------------------

cheers!
`Bhush

--- In doregama@yahoogroups.com, Andy Shaw <theanand@y...> wrote:
> Even I have heard great reviews abt Swades.
>
> we all are going on Thursday from our office for this
> movie.
>
> Definitely, Ashutosh G. is giving out great films and
> giving India its due credit abt the quality of films
> in the international arena.
>
> lets hope the others in the film industry learn from
> this.
>
> Anand
>