Richie Mehta tells the story of India through lens

An old man suffering from cancer, who was shot by his granddaughter

An old man suffering from cancer, who was shot by his granddaughter

I truly believe that if you understand India, you can understand how humanity works," says Canadian Richie Mehta, director of Google's India in a Day, which released this Friday. The film, which is a collaboration between Ridley Scott's Scott Free Films UK and Google, is the first crowd-sourced, footage film.

Almost 16,000 entries came in from all over the country, of Indians and moments from their lives - some talking to the camera, some ranting, some telling the tale of others. "India is a mix of millions surviving on limited resources. Knowing what Indians are about could provide the roadmap for the future of our species," says the 37-year-old, also known for his award-winning 2007 movie, Amal.

Getting to know India
"Google has done this before with other countries like Japan, but it was finally possible to do it in India, because now everyone has a smart phone. It's probably the first 'developing' country to have done this," says Mehta. After Google announced the project, Mehta and his team got down to sifting through miles and miles of footage to put together the 90-minute film. From 16,000 entries, 330 stories made it to the movie. As they went through the good pile and the bad pile, Mehta and his team saw a theme emerge. "It's about an evolving India. People are giving their philosophical standpoint of what they think India's future is. They are asking questions like - where are they from, where are they going, and what are they leaving behind?"

Richie Mehta

India in a Day features stories that are as varied and as interesting. If one tells the story of an old farmer in Dehradun, another tells the story of journalist/cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, shot by his brother just before he passed away. "One woman, Priya, who is a single mother, filmed herself sitting on the terrace of her middle-class DDA home in Delhi. She is smoking and drinking coffee and talking about how these are the only 10 minutes she gets away from her son. These are the moments she uses to reflect on life. She is overweight and doesn't have a man. She ponders on her life choices," says Mehta.

Reflecting on life
For Mehta, the film also became about the fact that India is at a unique place right now, between the past and the future, a situation he says "merits reflection". "It's got a large chunk of society in it. I don't think anyone can watch the movie without subtitles." We ask - so did nobody "rich" or "upper middle class" send an entry. "No, surprisingly, not even one." So, then it could be argued that it doesn't tell the entire story. "Sure, I think it tells A story, if not THE story."

Cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, who was shot by his brother, actor Rajesh, before he succumbed to cancer last year

Mehta is also busy working on developing a TV series about the Delhi police. "It talks about how it's hard to always be compassionate and do everything by the book, and why they can't be like that all the time. It will tell you how and why the system is flawed."

Right now though, Mehta, fresh off the appreciation the film has received at the Toronto International Film Festival, is looking forward to seeing how the masses will react. In a month, the movie will be free to watch on YouTube. "We got all the footage for free, so, it makes sense to give it back for free."