Swarg: Heaven on Earth

Govinda has been quoted as saying that of all his films, the only ones he truly likes are Hatya (about which I'll write something in the next few days) and Swarg.  I actually dealt with Swarg rather extensively on Episode 14 of the podcast, so I would encourage you to take a listen to that, but I had a request from commenter Suhan S to review the film, and since I know the podcast and the blog have mostly different audiences (with a little overlap), I thought perhaps I'd write a little bit here about it as well.

I think it's quite likely that Swarg's themes -- including duty, family, respect for the mother -- are part of why this film rates as one of Govinda's two favorites.  They're themes that come up time and again in his interviews, and from what little I know of the man, they're themes that seem important to him.

I won't say that his performance in Swarg is his best -- but it is certainly up there as one of the better ones in his filmography.

La Vanessa wrote an interesting review of the David Dhawan directed, Govinda (and Salman Khan) starring film Partner a while back, in which she described coming to terms with the trademark Dhawan comedy style after first seeing Govinda first in Salaam-e-Ishq, and I think that one of the reasons I think Swarg is an important film to watch is that it's a perfect reminder that both Dhawan and Govinda have done a broader range of films than perhaps either of their filmographies might otherwise lead you to believe.

Don't get me wrong -- Swarg is not a great film.  It is, however, a well-constructed, entertaining family drama, that works both because of the immense talent of the great actor Rajesh Khanna, combined with the light-hearted charm, as well as the depth, of Govinda's performance.  It is a big, sweeping melodrama, with lots of twists and turns, and that, too, before such a thing was even a twinkle in KJo's eyes.  In all honesty, this type of melodrama is generally not my tasse of chai, but Swarg is a film I come back to again and again, and not just for Govinda.  (Really.)

Govinda plays Krishna, the family servant, who was an orphan child that Kumar Sahib (Khanna) brought into his household.  More than a mere servant, though, Kumar Sahib considers Krishna like a brother, so important is he in the life of he household.  Each member of the family, says Kumar Sahib, is like a pearl, and Krishna is the string that connects them.

Krishna, however, dreams of being more than a servant -- he wants to become an actor, a dream the members of the household indulge him in, probably never really believing it will actually be anything more than the dream of the devoted servant willing to give his life to protect the honour of the household, and in particular the honour of its younger sister, Jyoti (played by the lovely and talented Juhi Chawla).

(Oh, honey, I do know, which is why I'm working so hard to show everyone!) 

Krishna is always honing his acting talents, and one of the film's songs gives him an opportunity to show them off.  Jyoti and her friends want to go to see Amitabh Bachchan's latest film, Don, and send Krishna to buy tickets.  The house is full, though, so instead, Krishna offers them up his versions of filmi heroes (including a nod to Don's "Khaike Paan Banaras Wala", a tip of the hat to Raj Kapoor, and a bit of Hot Papa Khanna playing the accordian in Amar, Akbar, Anthony):

One of the things that strikes me about the film is how it uses the strengths of its two stars, Rajesh Khanna and Govinda.  In the first half of the film, Kumar Sahib (Khanna) is a successful businessman, a risk-taker, someone at the top of his game.  He has everything, and even his body language oozes confidence.  Krishna (Govinda) is his servant, a man who has a place, and who is helpless to do much but dream of a different future for himself.

Kumar Sahib's fortunes change, and as he begins, slowly, to lose everything he has, gradually he becomes more and more helpless, unable to act.  He becomes bent, and broken, and ill, and the last action he is able to take himself is to make sure that Krishna doesn't remain stuck in the household, that he doesn't get sucked down with him as his fortunes fail.  Krishna, the faithful servant, would never have left unless he'd been thrown out, but once his hand is forced, then Krishna, finally, is forced to take his fate into his hands and become, finally, an active participant in his destiny.

And this, I think, is the key to the film, at least for me:  this ensures that Krishna -- who takes off for Mumbai, and ends up working in the film industry as a spot boy, thanks to an incredible bit of luck -- well, it ensures that Krishna, and thus Govinda, has rather more to do in the second half of the film than he does in the first.

And here is where we find yet another one of those gems of a performance from Govinda.  As Krishna, he overcomes difficulties through hard work and with more than a little luck.

One of the charms, for me, about Swarg is that there is an unabashed love of films that is scattered throughout:  Krishna the would-be actor, of course, provides the opportuntity to sprinkle references and imitations throughout the film.  As I mentioned, the film Krishna fails to get tickets for is the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Don, and at one point, Krishna dreams he is the hero in the fight scene from Deewaar, which is a perfect opportunity to be reminded that in his early films, Govinda was actually very good at the fight scenes. 

(My theory is that fight scenes are just choreography and knowing how to move, and this is something Govinda just does naturally as a dancer, anyway, so why not as a fighter, too?)

Krishna's whole purpose in life, though, is to make enough money to try to pay off his master's debts to help him out, and when he's not able to just working behind the scenes in the movies, he prays to God to help him.  And, in another nice self-referential touch, it's while he's working as a spot-boy on this film:

 .

That he finally gets his big break as an actor.  Krishna gets a chance to replace the Big Star who can't remember his lines and is pulling a total diva act, and he delivers a ripping performance that causes the director to realize he's discovered a new star.  More self-reference, as Govinda's own filmography is used to show us the series of hits Krishna has starred in, and then the film ends with Krishna seeking revenge for everything that has happened to his beloved master, Kumar Sahib.

What I love about Swarg is that it shows us a Govinda who is a well-rounded performer, a very good actor capable of standing up next to a star like Rajesh Khanna, and capable of carrying a film on his own.  Swarg is a film that reminds us why Rajesh Khanna was Indian cinema's first superstar, but truly, in the end, Swarg is a film that clearly belongs to the very talented Govinda.

As Krishna, Govinda navigates the twists and turns and ups and downs of the melodrama, and I think I'd say that the songs/dances in this film are amongst some of my favorites.  I might even be willing to argue that Swarg shows us a Govinda who had the potential to become a great filmi hero, though it's clearly a potential that he's never managed to capitalize on (and I say that as someone who loves him to bits).

Yes, indeed, you do, and it's called Hatya.  Saving what may be the best for last.
 

Comments

[Cynthia]

Great write up! I'm adding it to my list of films I want to see.

[Ness]

oh man, Swarg sounds like EXACTLY the kind of movie I love. And like Hatya, I'm WAITING FOR THE FREAKING DVD TO ARRIVE. I bet they both arrive the day after Chi Chi week ends, oh the irony.

You do a much better job at explaining why you love Govinda and why he is amazing than I could ever do. Very eloquent. I get all caught up in "OOOH LOOOK SNAKE WITH LASER EYES!" and "OMG I LOVE HIM IN HIS CHUDDIS" and being pretty much all over the place like a crazy fangirl.

(Ha, and "La Vanessa"? HA! I've never been called that before. It sounds so...fancy!)

[katherine]

@Cynthia Thanks, I hope you won't be disappointed by it.

@La Vanessa Somehow, the personality that comes through in your writing reminds me of my fave Italian TV presenter, Antonella Clerici, who is always just referred to as "La Clerici". Somehow, in my mind, it fits you :-)

Because I'm absolutely sure La Clerici would go nuts for a snake with laser eyes, and Govinda in his chuddis.

Okay, I had something else to say, and then I wrote Govinda and chuddis and it's gone.

:-)

[Ness]

Yep, Chi Chi in his chuddis has the power to distract like that. Mmmmm, delicious....

(Blame Rum for the chuddis obsession, she started it, I SWEAR).

[Ness]

I finally got around to watching Swarg (I did the Chi Chi Classic Emo double whammy - Hatya and Swarg double bill!) and YUP. LOVED. You're spot on in your review. What I wanna know is, in the filmi song when he's being three filmi heroes for the price of one, who is he when he's being the 2nd one on the beach? He's Amitabh in Don, clearly in the first bit, with the Khaike Paan Banaras Walla rip off, and a spot-on Raj Kapoor in the third bit (he does it so much better than SRK does in RNBDJ too) but I am clueless in the 2nd bit? I kind of thought Shammi, maybe? BUT I HAVE NO IDEA AND IT'S GOING TO DRIVE ME NUTS until someone tells me the answer.

[katherine]

My first thought was Shammi, and I went searching to find a Shammi clip that matched, but came up empty handed (not that I've seen more than a couple of Shammi films, mind).

I also thought of Jeetendra, but the moustache threw me (for Shammi, too).

The stupid thing is, it's ringing all sorts of bells for me, and it's the one reference I couldn't place (which drives me nuts, cos I'm usually pretty good at recalling).

I'm pretty sure, too, at one point in the film where he's being "Krishna pretending to be an actor" that he imitates Rajesh Khanna, too.

[Ness]

I'm gonna have to watch it again now JUST for the filminess.

The reason I thought Shammi for the 2nd guy was the hair and the way he was dressed, something about the stripy tee and the sort of Elvis hair rang a bell. Maybe they wanted to imply without being totally obvious, because the other reason I thought "Can't be Shammi" is that there was no "Yahoo!" which would have made it CRYSTAL CLEAR.

[katherine]

Yes, those were exactly the reasons I first went, "Must be Shammi."

But I think, since all the others were pretty obvious, that that one should be obvious, too.

[Ness]

Okay dude I just watched that bit again and I was wrong, he IS wearing white shoes. And white pants. AND HE'S WEARING A SCARF.

When you said Jeetendra, you were ekdum, bilkool correct, mere dost.

Look what I found here: http://www.filmnirvana.com/photo-feature/style-gurus-bollywood/155994

Star : Jeetendra

The 'Jumping Jack' of Indian cinema is remembered for his outfits and dancing style.

Style statement: Trousers and shoes that matched. His white trousers and white shoes were very popular. He introduced mufflers in films.

His legacy: White outfits, matching shoes, mufflers etc.

[Ness]

Um, omg I am a stalkery internet genius.

JEETENDRA ftw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jli5KTeGeSw&feature=related

[katherine]

Holy mother, now I feel stupid, because I *knew* I'd seen that somewhere. And I had. I'd seen that damned film.

I'm so glad you found it, though.

[Ness]

I found it through my sheer resourcefulness because I have never seen or hard of that film. I AM A GENIUS BOW DOWN BEFORE ME. and someone employ me to do this stuff for a living, seriously, I thrive on it.