On Swades's chances

For some unknown reason, like many people I feel Swades is probably not going to do as well as Lagaan. Some feel its story won't stand up, some feel the length (about 3.5 hours) will be a detriment as will the lack of crowd-friendly elements. Perhaps it will be too moralistic & sermon-like. Shah Rukh Khan is the most subdued we have ever seen on screen (in trailers), not necessarily a bad thing. I wonder nervously about the talents of Gayatri Joshi.

One reason why I would like to see Swades triumph is for Gowariker's sake. Evidently, he is passionate about his themes and has perhaps moved away from his 1st two attempts where he picked plots unfamiliar to his sensibilities. I have had no reason to be cynical yet. Atleast, it's better than some Arindam Chaudhari-Vashu Bhagnani credit/debit ledger based effort.