Gowariker claimed that people were bound to compare Swades to the Oscar-nominated film, Lagaan.
"There has been speculation galore -- about the movie, the cast, my ability to come up trumps once again... Comparisons [between Lagaan and Swades] are inevitable, but unfair. Swades is set in the rural areas and the similarity ends there," he says.
The film has been largely shot at Wai village in Maharashtra. Certain portions have been canned at the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.
"Swades is a simple film," says Gowariker, seen here with wife Sunita. "It's not something that you haven't seen before. What will be different is my take on it. It's a contemporary film set in rural India. It deals with issues like patriotism, social issues, realising one's responsibilities."
"Mohan Bhargav [Shah Rukh Khan] plays the protagonist who realises it's high time we stop dreaming about greener pastures abroad and giving a blind eye to our responsibilities at home. Geeta [newcomer Gayatri Joshi] plays a school teacher in a village."