CBC - India Reborn (2011)

India today has a middle class that is bigger than the total population of the United States, yet half her children go to bed hungry. While the Indian economic miracle powers on, corruption, pollution, water shortages, inequity, ethnic and religious strife, and cold war with Pakistan cloud the future. As India is poised to become the third biggest economy in the world and play a stronger role in international politics, this series will consider the challenges facing the next superpower.

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Part 1: Myth and Might
Myth and Might is a front row seat at the birth of a new superpower. Explore India’s rich tapestry of myth – from the flames of the Gange’s ancient cremation pyres to the unforgettable Navrati festival with its tens of thousands of dancers. Experience the force of India’s might – in the jungles where a war for the country’s future is underway, and the concrete streets of the capital where millions demand justice. Restore yourself in the re-emergence of the healing art of ayurveda. Filled with charismatic characters, Myth and Might introduces you to a panoramic India as you have never seen it before.


Part 2: India on the Move
Capture the excitement of life in cities pulsating with new wealth and a rising middle class. The Indian economy is a giant awakened and “the centre is moving east”. Onboard his private jet, meet a billionaire ringmaster of the good times economy; around the club pool, a power couple, returned from the U.S. In Calcutta, a determined young woman seeks a place in a surging economy that has not yet created enough jobs for this teeming nation. The countryside is rife with loss and longing. High tech and high hopes in this up close look at an economy on the move.


Part 3: Manufacturing Dreams
From Mumbai’s strobe-lit studios, to back-alley village sets, Manufacturing Dreams shines a spotlight on a society where rising prosperity has traditional values in turmoil. Seen through the colourful prism of Bollywood, our characters include a wealthy bride at her Bollywood-style wedding, a super-successful DJ on the prowl in Mumbai, a young “item girl” who hopes her sexy dances will catapult her to stardom. A popular actress wants her TV soap to take away the stigma of a dark complexion. Manufacturing Dreams pulls back the curtain on the new India, revealing a grand spectacle of bright profiles… and stark divisions


Part 4: Mother India
From the shimmering beauty of the Golden Temple in Amritsar to the desert barrenlands of Rajasthan, Mother India shows us how food unites and food still divides in today’s India.
A dignified Kabab King suffers in silence as a nephew steals his 100 year old recipe to peddle it in one of India’s fast food malls.
A celebrity chef introduces olive oil to adoring fans and a dailit cook returns to herding goats when higher-caste children refuse to eat her food.
Modernity and tradition collide and merge in a spicy episode set in “the land of a thousand dishes” at a time of unparalleled change.