Swades

Swades train scene poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving original Bollywood poster of the cult 2004 Hindi film written, produced and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker that starred the “King of Bollywood,” superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role.

Released on India’s Republic Day, i.e. 26 January 2005, Swades (2004) also starred Gayatri Joshi, Kishori Ballal, Rajesh Vivek, Daya Shankar Pandey and Makrand Deshpande in supporting roles.

Swades (2004) was inspired by the true story of Aravinda Pillalamarri and Ravi Kuchimanchi, an NRI couple who returned to India to serve society by developing a generator to power village schools. The film was inspired from the Kannada movie Chigurida Kanasu (2003), which was based on a novel of the same name.

Swades is the first Indian film to be shot inside NASA’s headquarters. The film received widespread critical acclaim following it’s release and is counted as one of the finest performances of the Bollywood Baadshah’s film career, making this original Swades train scene poster, highly collectible!

Printed and circulated during the debut release of the film in theaters (somewhere in 2004), this Shah Rukh Khan movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

A stunning still photograph of one of the most emotional scenes from the film, i.e. the Swades train scene is is captured in full in this original Bollywood poster. Wearing a blue striped shirt with rolled up sleeves, superstar Shah Rukh Khan appears seated in an overcrowded train compartment along with several villagers. The sadness on his face is starkly evident. He appears lost in thought, with his arms crossed and a FedEx package balanced on his lap. The Swades train scene captured in this Bollywood poster also appears in the song, “Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera.”

Typography used in this Shahrukh Khan poster is completely in Devanagari Hindi. Capitalizing on filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker’s earlier massive success, Lagaan (2001), this Bollywood poster announces at the top: “From The Writer and Director of Lagaan.” The title of the film appears in a soothing cloud white color with the tagline, “We, The People” on the top of this original Swades train scene poster.

The story of Swades (2004) captured the selfless, sacrificial spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and is believed to have inspired several NRIs to return to their motherland and work towards social empowerment. The name of Shah Rukh Khan’s character in the film was “Mohan,” named after Mahatma Gandhi’s birth name “Mohandas.”

The soundtrack album of Swades (2004) was composed by the finest music composer in Indian cinema, A. R. Rahman, while lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar. It was a blockbuster hit upon it’s release. Songs like “Yun Hi Chala Chala” sung by Udit Narayan, Kailash Kher & Hariharan and “Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera” sung by A. R. Rahman are fondly remembered and played till today.