Janaagraha inspires a movie

Says director Ashutosh Gowariker,

Any inspiration behind the making of "Swades"?

I found a lot of empowerment examples in a book `Bapu Kuti' by Rajni Bakshi about people who are selflessly working towards the community's development in small towns and villages of India. Then I read about this guy, Ramesh Ramanathan, who had a cushy job in Citibank in the U.S. who gave up all comforts to return to his hometown in Bangalore to set up Janaagraha, a citizen initiative to improve governance through public participation. The result of Ramesh's hard work is that today, Bangaloreans have a say in the city's corporation budgetary allocation. And that is what "Swades" is all about — every man can make a difference to the society.

Read the full interview in The Hindu.