In 4 vibrant hours of HD television, INDIA REBORN charts the kaleidoscopic rise of one of the world’s newest and most unlikely superpowers. Epic and cinematic in scope, each episode unfolds with fascinating intimacy and insight revealing characters who reflect India’s dramatic transformation. INDIA REBORN is a potent mixture of dreams and despair, an entertaining and informative window into a land that could soon shape the future of the world.

Home to charismatic gurus, prowling tigers and shimmering temples, India today boasts 28 billionaires, 100,000 millionaires and a middle class that is now bigger than the total population of the United States. A sprawling, chaotic democracy with 850 languages in daily use, 28 federated states and a stubborn caste system, India has a population of more than a billion people, half of them under 25. Almost in spite of herself, she is poised to become the world’s third largest economy, and a powerful voice in world affairs.

Propelled by an IT sector boasting some of the best engineers on the planet, India is taking over the world’s cyber business. Multi-nationals around the world are rushing to her doorstep and superpowers both east and west aggressively court her affections. Thousands of “medical tourists” flock to India’s luxury hospitals for cut-price, first-rate treatments while sumptuous new hotels draw in growing crowds of vacationers seeking Indian secrets to rejuvenate mind and body. Movie-goers around the world worship the stars of the world’s largest dream-factory, Bollywood. In India, actors are the new gods and goddesses, or, at the very least, some of the country’s more successful politicians.

INDIA REBORN shows how the Indian miracle is among the strangest stories in economic history. It is a “jobless” boom, with the IT sector employing just 1.6 million lucky people. Outside the formal job economy, five hundred million workers wait impatiently for their turn at fortune in the Indian renaissance. The starker reality is an impoverished village life that is the norm for over 70% of Indians. Every night, half of India’s children go to bed hungry. Rampant corruption, patronage politics, cities that are choking on their own growth, staggering pollution and severe water shortages – all conspire against the Indian dream. Hanging over it all is another cloud; nuclear war with neighbouring Pakistan and the constant threat of communal violence from religious tension at home. But just like a Bollywood movie, hope and an enduring belief in happiness are a part of the soul of India.

The series will take full advantage of India's breathtaking land and seascapes, its colourful festivals and religious ceremonies and most of all, its diverse and articulate people, to bring this portrait of a nation to a broad, prime time audience.

SERIES AIRDATES

Myth and Might, 8:00 pm, March 15, 2009 on CBC-TV

Manufacturing Dreams, 9:00 pm, March 15, 2009 on CBC-TV

India on the Move, 8:00 pm, March 22, 2009 on CBC-TV

Mother India, 9:00 pm March 22, 2009 on CBC-TV

WEBSITE CREDITS

See broadcast credits on individual show pages.

Designer, Graphics and Flash Production
Steve Mackey

Producer
Annette Bradford

Project Managers
Kim Fox
Karem Fontecilla

Associate Producer / Writer
Griffin Ondaatje

Writers
Kelly Crichton
Cedric Monteiro
Amit Vachharajani
Susan Teskey
Sanjay Talreja
Sarah Spinks
Gert Anhalt
Neil Docherty

Developers
76 Design
Sarah Wong

Production Assistants
Michelle Demeyere
Darren Yearsley

Editors (for Video Extras)
Jim Goertzen
Ilona Crabbe

Series Animation
Steve Dutcheshen

Logo Design
Sang-Mi Jeon

Director, Digital Programming and Business Development
Rob Mclaughlin

MPS Support
Blake Crosby

Quality Assurance
Carey McLelland