Mohan Bhargava is a non-resident Indian who works as a Project Manager on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) program at NASA in the United States. Mohan came to U. S. for college studies and kept on living there after his parents in India died in a car accident. He keeps worrying about Kaveri Amma, a nanny at his home in Uttar Pradesh who looked after him during his childhood days. After his parents' death, Kaveri Amma went to live in an old age home in Delhi and eventually lost contact with Mohan. Mohan wishes to go to India and bring Kaveri Amma back with him to the U. S. Due to the recent success of Phase I of his project, he takes a few weeks off and travels to India. He goes to the old age home but learns that Kaveri Amma no longer lives there and went to a village named Charanpur a year ago. Mohan then decides to travel to Charanpur, in Uttar Pradesh.
Mohan decides to rent a recreational vehicle to reach the village fearing that he might not get the required facilities there. Upon reaching Charanpur, he meets Kaveri Amma and learns how his childhood friend Geeta (whom he called "Gitli" in his childhood) brought Kaveri Amma to stay with her after Mohan's parents died. Geeta runs a school in Charanpur and works hard to improve the living conditions of the villagers through education. However, the village is divided largely by caste and religious beliefs. Geeta does not like Mohan's arrival as she thinks that he will take Kaveri Amma back with him to the U. S., leaving her and her younger brother Nandan "Chiku" alone. Kaveri Amma tells Mohan that she needs to get Geeta married first and that it is her responsibility. Geeta believes in women empowerment and gender equality. This attracts Mohan towards Geeta and he too tries to help her by campaigning for education among backward communities and also girls. Mohan befriends villagers Nivaaran and Melaram, and they support him in his campaign. Mohan also wins the attention of Dadaji, a kind village chief.
Slowly love blossoms between Mohan and Geeta. Kaveri Amma asks Mohan to visit a nearby village named Kodi, and collect money from a man named Haridas who owes it to Geeta. Mohan visits Kodi and feels pity seeing Haridas' poor condition, which is such that he is unable to provide his family with meals every day. Haridas tells Mohan that since his caste profession of a weaver wasn't earning him any money, he shifted to tenant farming. But this change in profession led to his ostracization from the village and the villagers even denied him water for his crops. Mohan understands the pathetic situation and realises that many villages in India are still like Kodi. He returns to Charanpur with a heavy heart and decides to do something for the welfare of the village.
Mohan extends his leave by three more weeks. He learns that electricity inconsistency and frequent power cuts are a big problem in Charanpur. He decides to set up a small hydroelectric power generation facility from a nearby water source. Mohan purchases all the equipment needed from his own funds and oversees the building of the power generation unit. The unit works and the village gets sufficient, consistent power from it.
Dadaji's health deteriorates and he passes away. Mohan is repeatedly called by NASA officials as the GPM project he was working on is reaching important stages and he has to return to the U. S. soon. Kaveri Amma tells him that she prefers to stay in Charanpur as it will be difficult for her to adapt to a new country at her age. Geeta also tells him that she will not settle down in another country and she would prefer it if Mohan stay in India with her and Kaveri Amma. Mohan returns to the U. S. with a heavy heart to complete the project. However, in the U. S., he has flashbacks of his time in India and wishes to return. After the successful completion of his project, he leaves U. S. and returns to India with intentions of working at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, from where he can also work with NASA. The film ends by showing Mohan staying in the village and wrestling with his friend Nivaaran near a temple.
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swades
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Brahmāstra: Part One - Shiva Spin-off: The Varanasi lovers
FantasyHow did Mohan become Vanarastra? And is it possible that he could be alive? Let's find out in my rendition of his character. Happy reading!
