Ashutosh Gowariker: The filmmaker who took us back to our roots.

Were you sitting in the audience when the
entire cinema hall turned into a stadium in
Lagaan's climax? Did you feel a certain kind
of patriotism when Shah Rukh Khan
managed to light that bulb for the old lady
in Swades? Have you also fallen in love with
the Akbar when Hrithik Roshan flexed his
muscles during sword practice? Then you
can call yourself an Ashutosh Gowariker fan.
This maverick filmmaker might have
directed eight movies, but his experience
with films goes back to more than three
decades. To say that Gowariker has carved
a niche for himself would be saying too
little. He has introduced Bollywood to a kind
of cinema that takes us back to our roots,
back to the pages in history, and even back
to the civilisation where we came from!
And while doing all of this, he even
managed to put Indian cinema on the
world map.
Gowariker's cinematic journey is worth
taking note. No, he did not begin making
films from the get-go. He began as an actor
with Ketan Mehta's 1984 film Holi. He was a
part of films like Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro,
Chamatkar, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, and has
even done TV shows CID and Circus. But his
directorial Lagaan changed the game for
him. He was last seen acting in Priyanka
Chopra's Marathi production Ventilator. As
the filmmaker turns 54 today, we take a
look at his movies which changed the
course of Hindi cinema.
Lagaan
Lagaan was nominated in the Best Foreign
Language Film category at the Academy
Award.
Ever thought that Aamir Khan and a dozen
of lesser known actors would end up not
just throwing the British Raj out of their
village, but even end up walking on the red
carpet of the Academy Awards? This film,
which surprised many with its core plot
around the game of cricket, also evoked a
sense of belonging to one's nation apart
from giving us a glimpse of the pre-
independent India. From its "Ghanan
Ghanan to "O Re Chori, each song
continues to remain one of the best of
everyone concerned, including music
composer AR Rahman. For one, we loved
our men playing gully cricket in dhotis. It
also delicately handled the issue of casteism
in the society, when Kachra was inducted in
the team by Bhuvan. How many awards di it
end up winning, well, we'll need a separate
article on that all together!
Swades
Shah Rukh Khan played a common man in
Swades.
Before Swades, Shah Rukh Khan was
known as the cool' Rahul, who could woo
his girls simply by spreading his arms in the
snow-clad mountains of Switzerland. To say
the SRK was stereotyped won't be wrong.
But then, Swades came and we saw a new
side of Bollywood's Rahul. This time he
came as Mohan Bhargava, who landed in
India straight from NASA, clad in cotton
shirts and trousers, perfectly oiled hair and
a general feeling that it's better to stay
away than face the challenges in India. But
his transformation and how he ended up
devoting his life for the development of not
just his small village but also making a place
in our hearts is what Swades was about.
Shah Rukh as a common man was actually,
much much better than the one we had
seen in those glossy romantic films till then.
Jodha Akbar
Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
played the titular roles in Jodha Akbar.
During our history lessons, least did we
imagine Akbar as a living man. Okay, that is
apart from Mughal-e-Azam. But for the new
generation, Emperor Akbar was only the
graphic presentation we had in our books.
And then Gowariker gave us Hrithik Roshan
as Akbar. He even gave us Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan as Jodha, the icing on the cake, in
a romance that weaved around a lesser
discussed Mughal era. Yes, the director
almost managed to teleport us to that era
of opulence and grandeur. This film might
have taken some cinematic liberty in terms
of its historical facts and content, but it did
manage to give a face to Emperor Akbar
and Queen Jodha for us. It was of Hrithik
and Aishwarya, and we'll remember these
names from history in the look of our two
Bollywood actors henceforth.
Here's wishing Ashutosh Gowariker, a bvery
happy birthday!

http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/ashutosh-gowarikar-birthday-filmmaker-best-films-lagaan-swades-jodha-akbar-5064060/.