SYNOPSIS

From the shimmering beauty of the Golden Temple in Amritsar to the desert barren lands of Rajasthan, MOTHER INDIA shows us how food unites and food still divides in today’s India. Modernity and tradition collide and merge in a spicy and delicious episode that looks at how this sprawling, diverse land feeds itself at a time of unparalleled change.

“Kings and beggars” eat together at the holiest shrine of the Sikhs and wealthy potato farmer Raghbir Sing Gill is happy to serve up the daily free meal to all who come. But he worries about the poor farmers around him who must “grow big or go under” to feed the appetites of a growing middle class.

A celebrity chef introduces olive oil to adoring fans while a dalit cook returns to herding goats when higher-caste children refuse to eat her food.

In Lucknow, a dignified Kabab King suffers in silence as his nephew takes his 100-year-old recipe and peddles it in one of India’s fast food malls.

A determined young dabawallah weaves his way through ever-growing crowds and jam-packed trains to deliver home-cooked lunches to Mumbai’s office workers.

Special Economic Zones and shiny supermarkets crowd out farmlands and market stalls, challenging time-honored methods of growing, and selling, food.

Caught between tradition and change, MOTHER INDIA captures the splendour and the turmoil of “the land of a thousand dishes” with a fascinating cast of characters and stunning location images.

CHARACTERS

Raghbir Singh Gill

A wealthy potato farmer, at 52, Gill is a devout, earthy character who enjoys Chinese dinners and Subway sandwiches. Right now, though, he’s worried that the small farmers around him will go under if they can’t expand and he frets that his fertile beloved Punjab may soon run out of water.

Mangesh Adale

This 27 year-old Dabbawallah, is a member of one of the world’s most efficient services in one of the world’s fastest growing cities. Six days a week, he must push his way onto trains and through vast crowds in Mumbai to deliver, with ballet-like precision, freshly cooked lunches for hungry office workers.

Bhavna Parik

Client of Mangesh, housewife and devout Jain. She prepares her tax-lawyer husband’s lunch each day according to the rules of her ancient religion which restrict consumption of any living organism. In the new India, she enjoys dining out occasionally in one of the modern international restaurants catering to Jains.

Mohammed Usman

The owner of Tunday Kabab, in Lucknow is the keeper of a 100 year old kabab recipe. The moist meatballs once graced the tables of the Nawabs but now attract celebrities and ordinary folk to his downtown kabab house. A dignified, honorable man, he is under considerable stress. His nephew, Ahrar Ahmad, has opened a fast-food stall in a local mall, selling what he claims are the famous kababs.

Ramaswami Subramanian

In Chennai, the fast-talking Managing Director of Subhiksha, presides over a rapidly growing chain of supermarkets. The supermarkets threaten the livelihood of thousands of small market vendors, but middle class shoppers are finding they like the new air-conditioned surroundings.

HH Maharaja Gaj Singh II

Maharaja of Jodpur – once rulers of their own kingdoms, today’s Maharaja’s have turned themselves into tourist attractions, and this Maharaja’s hotel palace is one of the most sumptuous in Rajasthan. He has had to content himself with domestic fare at his banquets though, as hunting for game is now forbidden.

Sanjeev Kapoor

Celebrity Chef
With TV shows and flashy cook books, Kapoor capitalizes on the nostalgic need for “mom’s best recipes” and the curiosity about international products, like olive oil.

Baban Gangadhar Kolsepatil

Former Judge at High Court, Mumbai and activist.

Mr. Sonewane

Once on opposite sides of the law, Baban Ganadhar Kolsepatil and Mr. Sonwane are now allies in the fight to preserve farmland from Special Economic Zones for India's new industries.

C. Linkesh and Dr. Viswanathan Mohan

Diabetes Patient and Diabetologist
A doctor whose patient list is swelling in the new India, sees a 14 year old boy who is suffering from diabetes, brought on by rich new junk foods and not enough exercise.

Soni Rammeghwal

Dailit Goat herder
Soni was delighted when the local school hired her to cook for the students, then crushed when higher-caste students refused to eat food cooked by an “untouchable.”

BROADCAST CREDITS

Directed, Written and Produced by
GERT ANHALT

India Producers
SACHIN SINGH
VIBODH PARTHASARTHY
ANIRUDDHA DAS

Narrator
MICHAEL MURPHY

Editor
WALTER FREUND

Camera
JÜRGEN RAPP

Field Sound Recording
LUDGER NÜSCHEN

Original Music Composed by
KEN MYHR

Sound Design
GÜNTER-ULRICH HAAS
JODY ELLIS

Art Director / Graphic Design
STEPHEN DUTCHESHEN

Business Manager
WILMA ALEXANDER

Project Manager
ANNE EMIN

Series Producer
KELLY CRICHTON

Executive Director, CBC Documentary Programming
MARK STAROWICZ

Executives in Charge of Production
SUSAN DANDO (CBC)
CLAUDIA RUETE (ZDF)
LOWRI GWILYM (S4C)
ANN JULIENNE (FRANCE 5)

Production
OLIVER HASSINGER
PETRA ZIEGLER

Character Voices
RONICA SAJNANI
AMISH PATEL
ALI RIZVI
SUGITH VARUGHESE

Casting Director
GAIL CARR CDC

Musicians
KIREN AHLUWALIA
GEORGE KOLLER
RAVI NAMPALLY
ERNIE TOLLAR

Production Manager
DAVID WILSON

Unit Manager
BEVERLEY HAFFNER

Post Production Supervisor
PAT GOODLAND

Associate Director
IAN CAMPBELL

Resource Coordinators
ANALISA AMOROSO
MEGAN BEECKMANS

Communications Manager
NANCY BOYLE

Associate Business Manager
DINA PINO
TAMMY RAYMOND

Assistant to Susan Dando
MARIA KNIGHT

Assistant to Mark Starowicz
NADINE SIMUNIC

Field Producers
SHABNAM VADHERA
R. VASUDEVAN
RAHUL JOSHI
ASHISH MAURYA
PONNAM CHAND BISHOI

Graphic Design
KIMBERLY MacDONALD

Voice Recording
STEVE CUPANI

Foley
WILMONT SCHULZE

Online Editor
MURRAY GREEN

Acknowledgements
Annalakshmi Restaurant (Chennai)
Fort Jodpur
Maharaja of Jodhpur and the Mehrangarh Museum Trust
Sanjeev Kapoor and the Team of Khana Khazana
Surjeet Chicken House (Amritsar)
H.E. Gaj Raj Singh II
Tosa Restaurant (Mumbai)