India is on the mind of Google and British film director Sir Ridley Scott.
India opened its Google home page on Oct. 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s 146th birth anniversary, with this unusual invitation: “The story of new India. Produced by Ridley Scott and Anurag Kashyap. Starring you.”
On next Saturday, Oct. 10, Google is urging all Indian citizens in India to contribute personal footage on the theme of 24 hours of one day in the life of India.
The expected flood of creative offerings – perhaps numbering hundreds of thousands, or millions – will be edited, compiled by Scott, of Hollywood blockbuster ‘Gladiator’ fame, and leading Indian film makers Anurag Kashyap and Richie Mehta.
“This is a unique moment in our history, a time of great change,” said Google, referring to India’s ongoing transformation, unprecedented in past 2,500 years of one of the world’s oldest civilizations.
Google, very much part of this historic technological revolution, urged India to share the personal special moments of Oct. 10 — socializing with friends, connecting with family, at work, recording aspirations, hopes or anxieties. Google services are available in nine Indian languages, apart from English.
The aim is to enable Google’s production team to compile an historic, user-generated epic capturing “how India is rapidly changing: what can you do today that you couldn’t five years ago? What do you hope for? What would you like to change or achieve?”
The result is “India in a Day – Presented by Google, executive produced by Ridley Scott and Anurag Kashyap, directed by Richie Mehta, and filmed by You”– with camera, smart phone or “anything,” from anywhere in India, in any language.
Provided Ridley Scott and Co. avoids stereotypes about India, the project has the potential to be a stunner, given the sheer cultural depth and diversity of the country.
Google has urged India’s estimated 354 million Internet users to spread the good word: “share the website via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and any other social media, tell your friends and family about it, pan a ‘film up’, during which you and your friends can meet up and film together. Post about the project on your own Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts using #indiainaday.”
For more details on eligibility, participation and filming tips for this project, click here: India in a Day – a film with Google