India/1987/35mm/Col/Hindi/112 mins/Fiction
Winner of the National Award for Best Children's Film-1987. Based on R.K. Narayan's delightful novel Swamy and Friends, the film Swamy, set in the pre-independence era, is a pure escape into irresponsible boyhood through various exquisite and gently comic episodes in the life of the obstinate and yet capricious 11 -year-old boy Swaminathan, fondly called Swamy.
After making friends with the new kid in town, Swamy quits school repeatedly, and eventually runs away from home to escape his teacher's torments and his father's displeasure. The daily challenges of school, both academic and social, are by far the most important facets of Swamy's life. Other highlights include an incident when Swamy gets caught up in a day of political protest that winds up trashing the school, and the time Swamy runs away from home and has to face the terrible tiger.
An engaging film which faithfully captures the warm and humoursome nature of Narayan's story in the fictional town of Malgudi. Manjunath, in the role of Swamy, delivers a sterling performance and is one of the film's high points.