Set-in modern-day India, SWADES is a Social Drama that tackles the issues that development throws up on a grass root level. It is to this India, which is colourful, heterogeneous, and complex that Mohan Bhargava, a bright young scientist working as a project manager in NASA, returns to on a quest to find his childhood nanny, but instead he gets drawn into the life of a village called Charanpur and finds himself searching for answers to the questions of progress and development that the village is facing. What was a simple mission prompted by nostalgia and affection turns into a journey for Mohan into the heartland of rural India, both literally and metaphorically, in search of that metaphysical and elusive place called ‘home’.
Ashutosh Gowariker is company director and co-founder of Ashutosh Gowariker Productions. Ashutosh Gowariker was born in 1964 in Mumbai, India. He graduated from Mithibai College with BSc. in Chemistry. While in college, he was an active member of the theatre arts society which led him down a path of self-discovery. On graduating, he pursued a career in Acting and appeared in several Commercials, TV Serials and Movies, his last one being the National Award-winning film Ventilator (2016). After almost a decade in front of the camera, the diverse exposure whetted his appetite to make his directorial debut with a film in the Mystery genre - Pehla Nasha (First Love) in 1993, which helped Ashutosh find firm ground as a director. In 1995, he followed up with a Thriller - Baazi (The Game) starring Aamir Khan as a die-hard police officer. The film enjoyed average success but led Ashutosh on a journey in search of - a better screenplay. The result was Lagaan (Tax), which was released in 2001 and not only did it win the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival but also got nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category.