Hasith Goli’s profound progressive politics of gender and wealth; and intelligent wit of Sree Vishnu’s ease of performing four roles makes SWAG a must watch funny enlightening entertainer. Hasith’s second feature after Raja Raja Chora (2021) made a fun and profound cinema without being preachy even for a moment. SWAG will leave a mark on Sree Vishnu as his career’s best performance.
Sree Vishnu’s Dasavatharam 0.5
In Dasavatharam, Kamal Haasan played 10 roles, In SWAG, Sree VIshnu played 4 roles varying from an adult son, middle-aged father, old-aged father and a grandfather too. He did fantabulous effortless acting while playing all these characters. Mind you, Sree Vishnu did all these while he is also playing a transgender character.
Sree Vishnu plays four roles under the lineages of Swaganika and Singareni. Everyone is fighting for the same thing: the property- that is supposed to be only inherited by the patriarchs. Hasith very intelligently questions the idea behind the patriarchal inheritance of generational wealth through binary gender, and non-binary gender. The strong commentary supplied with satirical witty humour punching at almost every comical scene is a cinematic delight to watch. Vivek Sagar’s signature fusion style of rock and traditional music is as groovy as the goofiness of Hasith’s humour.
Hasith Goli’s Genius Wit
What makes SWAG more than a absolutely funny entertainer is the progressive politics of gender and wealth weaved brilliantly into the confusing screenplay running across not just the ages but also centuries. SWAGanika lineages story begins in 1551. That was an era of matrilineal society. Matrilineal societies are ‘groups adhering to a kinship system in which ancestral descent is traced through maternal instead of paternal lines’. This concept was popularised through Marxist thought of evolution of familial structures and generational transfer of wealth through marriages– where the women were subjugated to the inferior baby-making-machines to keep the system of patriarchy functional.
The progressive themes have certainly been inspired by writers like Gudipati Venkatachalam, popularly known as Chalam and Muppala Ranganayakamma. Hasith doesn’t hide the inspiration. We see Anubhuti (played by Ritu Varma) reading the books Stree authored by Chalam and Ramayana Vishavruksham written by prominent Marxist Muppala Ranganayakamma. Hasith Goli’s love for Telugu literature can be seen in the title cards of his films, including his debut movie as director Raja Raja Chora (2021). All the names in opening credits will be only in Telugu script.
Right Creator Meets Right Producer.
The production quality of SWAG is to be appreciated. Producer TG Vishwa Prasad hasn’t treated SWAG as a “small” cinema that SWAG isn’t– even budget wise and thematic wise. The huge sets erected for the world building imagined by Hasith Goli speaks volumes about what good cinema can achieve when creative liberty is supported through right finances.
The prosthetics done for older characters played by Vishnu can be seen. We are living in an advanced cinema era where we have already begun to feel that even the graphic-heavy VFX should also never feel like a made-up VFX. Ofcourse, it’s a good parameter to gauge the best quality the audience deserves for their money and time. However, if the content of the story triumphs added with splendid performance despite imperfect prosthetics, then anything can be excused for the sake of a good cinematic experience that SWAG delivers as promised.
Telugu Funda Rating: 4.5/5
SWAG is now playing in cinemas.
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