Phantastisches Indien

As an Indian, I found this gem of a documentary as a perfect piece to look at my country with genuine curiosity and awe.

So much different from how India came to be portrayed in the West. The land of snake charmers and cows...It is the first time I have seen any documentary which talked about how India focused on building up post independence. Dams, modern city of Chandigarh, Mumbai with its busy streets and cars.

And another aspect which continues to charm people across the world is Spirituality which is practiced in many different forms even to this day. Jagganath procession, Kumbh mela at Allahabad, Jama Masjid of Delhi, all showcase the unifying diversity of India.

How it starts with narrating the story of a baby elephant which is taking its first steps on this planet to being sold off to ferry tourists up to the Amer fort in Jaipur is so mesmerizing that you begin to wonder what made the makers to put in so much thought in making it.

They could have just shown some ancient temples and yogis (though they are here too) but decided to seek deeper understanding of what India is and how it fuses with the modern world of today.

If you want to see something that is free of bias and prejudice without being overly romantic, this is it. Enjoy!

India with it's swathes of customs, people, cultures and languages is not an easy country to portray in it's entirety. The documentary here does an appreciable job.

It is story driven with characters who are also named. A few scenes are set up to catch the concept. But the thing that most caught my attention was the cinematography, great for the times. You have the camera mounted on a jungle rail and on a boat in two shots. Gives a nice perspective.

As another reviewer also mentioned, the elephant's journey was heartwarming and a nice touch.

Narration is well paced and precise. Music can be over the top sometimes. And apart from the culture, a few cities are mentioned like Bombay, Allahabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, etc surprisingly with the exception of Delhi, the capital of India! I presume there were time constraints with the film.

Overall: Recommended.