THE FILM Set in modern day India, Swades is a film that tackles the issues that development throws up on a grass root level. It is to this India, which is colorful, heterogeneous and complex that Mohan Bhargava (Shah Rukh Khan), a bright young scientist working as a project manager in NASA, returns to on a quest to find his childhood nanny. The film uses the contrast between the highly developed world of NASA, which has been at the forefront of advances in space research, and this world back home in India, which is at the crossroads of development. Mohan's simple quest becomes the journey that every one of us goes through in search of that metaphysical and elusive place called home. Director : Ashutosh Gowarikar Ashutosh Gowariker started his career as an actor, making his debut in 1984 in director Ketan Mehta's movie, Holi. He then acted in several television serials, including Kachchi Dhoop (1987), Circus (1989), C.I.D. (1999) and several films, including Naam (1986), Chamatkar (1992), and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993). The 1993 movie, Pehla Nasha marked his directorial debut (it was inspired by Brian De Palma's Hollywood movie, Body Double). It proved to be a box office failure. His second directorial movie, Baazi (1995) starring Aamir Khan was a below average grosser at the box office. Ashutosh also acted in a weekly horror show Woh, telecasted on Zee TV, which was critically acclaimed. In 2001, Ashutosh directed the period epic movie, Lagaan starring Aamir Khan, (the latter also being the movie's producer). Lagaan received critical acclaim and nomination for an Oscar Academy Award in USA for Best Foreign Language Film. It ranked third among 2001's Indian movies in terms of gross revenue. Music Director : A.R Rehman He is a critically acclaimed award-winning composer, record producer and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Indian film composers ever, and his career is considered a turning point in the history of Indian film music. Many credit him with having single-handedly revolutionized the standards of film music composition in India. He is also credited with re-energizing the popularity of Indian film music the world over. In a career spanning over a decade, Rahman, by 2003, had sold more than one hundred million records of his film scores and soundtracks world-wide,[1] and sold over 200 million cassettes[2] making him one of the world's top 25 all-time top selling recording artists; he is the only person of Indian descent on the list. Lead Hero : Shah Rukh Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.