<p>Mohan Bhargava is an who works as a Project Manager on the (GPM) program for in Mohan relocated to the U.S. to attend college and stayed there after his parents died in a car accident in India. He worries about his Kaveri Amma, a nanny in his native , who raised him during his childhood. After his parents’ death, Kaveri Amma moved to an old age home in and eventually lost contact with Mohan. Mohan wishes to return to India and bring Kaveri Amma back with him to the U.S. Following the recent success of Phase I of his project, he takes a few weeks off and travels to India. He visits Kaveri Amma’s old age home but learns that she no longer lives there and went to a village named a year ago. Mohan decides to travel to Charanpur. Mohan uses a to reach the village, fearing that he might not get the required facilities there. Upon reaching Charanpur, he reunities with Kaveri Amma and learns that his childhood friend Geeta, whom he referred to as ‘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. The village, however, is divided largely by and religious beliefs. Geeta disapproves of Mohan’s arrival, believing that he will take Kaveri Amma back with him to the U.S, leaving she and her younger brother, Nandan ‘Chiku’ alone. Kaveri Amma tells Mohan that she needs to get Gita married first as it is her responsibility. Gita is a strong believer of and , which attracts Mohan to her and he decides to help her by campaigning for education among and girls. Mohan befriends villagers, Nivaaran and Mela Ram, and they support him in his campaign. Mohan also gains the attention of Dadaji, a kind village chief. Mohan and Geeta eventually grow closer. Kaveri Amma asks Mohan to visit a nearby village named Kodi to collect money from a man named Haridas who owes it to Geeta. Mohan visits Kodi and feels empathetic towards Haridas for his poor condition, which is such that he is unable to provide for his family with meals each day. Haridas tells Mohan that since he belongs to a , his job as a weaver wasn’t earning him enough money, so he started . However, this change in profession led to him getting shunned by the villagers, who even denied him water for his crops. Mohan begins to understand the situation and realizes 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 stay by three weeks. He learns that electricity inconsistency and frequent power cuts are a major problem in Charanpur. He decides to set up a hydroelectric power generation facility from a nearby water source. Mohan purchases the equipment needed from his own funds and oversees the construction of the power generation unit. The unit works and the village gets sufficient and consistent power. Dadaji’s health deteriorates and he passes away. Mohan is repeatedly called by NASA as the GPM project he was working on has reached its final stages, and he has to return to the U.S soon. Kaveri Amma tells Mohan that she prefers to stay in Charanpur as it would be difficult for her to adapt to a new country at her age. Gita also tells him that she would not settle in another country, and would prefer it if Mohan stayed in India with her and Kaveri Amma. Mohan returns to the U.S to complete the project. He begins to have flashbacks of his time spent in India and considers returning. After the successful completion of the project, he leaves the U.S and returns to India with the intention of working at the , from where he can still work with NASA. The film ends showing Mohan wrestling his friend Nivaaran near a temple. is inspired by the story of Aravinda Pillalamarri and Ravi Kuchimanchi, the couple who returned to India and developed a pedal power generator to light remote, off-the-grid village schools. Gowariker spent considerable time with Pillalamarri and Kuchimanchi, both dedicated (AID) volunteers. He supposedly visited , an village in the valley, which is the backdrop of the (NBA) movement. The people of Bilgaon are credited with doing 200 person-days of (community service) to make their village energy self-sufficient. The Bilgaon project is recognised as a model for replication by the . The film was reported to be inspired by two episodes of the series titled on Zee TV’s (1993–95). The story of the lead role setting up a micro hydro electric project to generate electricity was reported to be inspired by the Kannada novel by and by Rajni Bakshi. ‘s great-grandson, , noted the theme of in the film. The name of the main character portrayed by is Mohan, which was Gandhi’s birth name (Mohandas or “Mohan”). The film opens with the quotation: Hesitating to act because the whole vision might not be achieved, or because others do not yet share it, is an attitude that only hinders progress. — Mahatma Gandhi Gowariker tries to address the lack of scientific temperament and widespread ignorance among the rural folks through the energetic number “Ye Tara Wo Tara”, where Mohan is seen encouraging the children to experience the fascinating world of stars through his telescope. In a symbolic manner, the song rejects the defunct divisions of caste and class and at the same time, through its protagonist, tries to instill in the audience an appreciation of curiosity and observation. Gowariker initially offered Mohan’s role to (who worked in Gowariker’s 2001 film ), but he rejected it because he found the story to be weak. Mohan’s role was then offered to , who refused after reading the script. Gowariker contemplated casting before offering Mohan’s role to Shah Rukh, who finally accepted it after listening to the story and he started crying during the story’s narration. , an winner for (1982), was the for the film. was the first Indian film to be shot inside the headquarters and inside the NASA research center at the Launch Pad 39A of the in . The rainfall monitoring satellite known as the (GPM) in the film is an actual mission and was launched in 2014. A major part of the film was shot in , . The song “Dekho Naa” is a modified version of the song “Kichchu Tha” from the film, (2002). All lyrics are written by ; all music is composed by . On 27 March 2021, members of sang “Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera” for , the Ambassador of India to the United States and at a special dinner event. The video of the band members singing surfaced on and received praise and nostalgia from , and netizens alike. The Tamil soundtrack under the title was composed by A.R. Rahman. All Lyrics were written by . According to the Indian trade website , with around 13,00,000 units sold, this film’s soundtrack album was the eleventh highest-selling of the year. The film received universal critical acclaim and went on to become a cult classic, and Khan’s performance as Mohan Bhargava is considered one of his best to date. Subhash K. Jha of gave the film 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, ” is a unique experiment with grassroots realism. It is so politically correct in its propagandist message that initially you wonder if the funded the director’s dream.” from gave it 4 stars, stating, “I cannot think of a better film for the longest that deserved a stronger recommendation for both touring cinemas of India’s villages, and plush multiplexes of or .” of the gave the film 4 stars and said “After , what? The answer’s blowing in the wind. ! Here’s the verdict: This is a gutsy and outstanding film. Welcome back to real, solid film-making.” He added, ” is undoubtedly the No. 1 movie of the year.” Shradha Sukumaran of gave it 3.5 stars and said, “At the end of it, is a far braver film than . It could have hit the high note – if it hadn’t tried so hard.” Avijit Ghosh wrote in , “With its gentle humour, the film acts as an entertaining vehicle for social change. And hopefully, it will do more for positive nationalism than the Union government’s Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP) ads ever will.” earned (US$1.8 million) net box office in India. In the overseas market, the film made $2,790,000. It had a lifetime worldwide gross of (US$4.1 million). The film topped the box office in on its opening weekend. The character of Mohan Bhargav, played by Khan, was reprised again in . Director confirmed that it is the same character from . In the 2023 film , Khan’s character Azad is raised by a character named Kaveri after his parents are presumed dead.</p>