Review of Swati

Swati (1986)
10/10
Thought-provoking and touching. Highly recommended
23 March 2007
Firstly, an assumption is made in this film on the role of woman. Nothing surprising, its very Indian culture really. Its probably argued to be functional but for women to strive to be mothers and wives to their husbands all their life isn't something I agree with. Anyway, that was the assumption made here and from there... its taken well.

Swati is a story of a girl and her mother who are in a big problem. Theirs is a family that isn't looked upon well in the society they live in. Its not like it's their fault but that society doesn't care less. Its ruthless but Swati is determined to go all out, she stands up for what she believes in and kicks down any barrier that comes in her way. She's determined to stop all the hypocrisy, prejudices and lies that engulf her and her mother's happiness But things weren't so simple. The story takes a big (and sad) twist.

I was only attracted to this story because of Madhuri Dixit. I never liked Bollywood except her. Its strange. Madhuri plays Swati's friend in the movie but their relationship eventually melts into something closer. Madhuri was great here. Who'd have thought that this woman would eventually become the industry's (arguably) greatest? She shone in this movie. This being one of the earlier movies she did, she wasn't quite as powerful as she was in a movie like Devdas but she was still really good and brought a lot of life and color to the girl she was playing. An otherwise 1-dimensional and shallow character. And god she was skinny in this movie! She was so young and skinny. A startling contrast to her 11 years later in Dil To Pagal Hai (= The lead actress was stunning though. Her piercing eyes are piercing, almost making her look like a goddess of sorts. She's a strong person, rational and with a great love for her Mother. Even without the good storyline I daresay Swati's character alone was so well played and intriguing it would make the movie worth a watch
7 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed