India,
1.4 billion people and counting.
Its growth seems unstoppable.
I can't say no to you, Ram. [LAUGHS]
I'm a businessman, so they may say, "What the hell are you wearing?"
So I said, "But am I in the boardroom? No."
[LAUGHS]
Oh, wow, are you kidding me?!
Its beating heart - Mumbai...
Kamil Khan, we've all been watching him since we were like...
Don't tell him I said that.
He's still really hot.
...the boom town that was once Bombay.
If you're basic, you're not invited.
A city electric with opportunity...
I would like to be a supermodel.
...where your billionaire neighbour might live in his own skyscraper.
Have you ever spoken to the family next door?
No.
You know, he has waved at me once. [LAUGHS]
This is the inside track...
Let's see... [LAUGHS]
Is it actually the city of dreams?
From the way people flock here, it definitely must be.
It's a crazy city, but it makes you believe.
Mumbai is all about, you might be living in the trenches,
but you're still looking at the stars.
...from the people who are riding the wave.
I'm the one to be cancelled first. [LAUGHS]
ON PHONE: Please do something about the AC in the lounge.
We're all dying.
This time, as India looks to the coming century...
Hiya!
...the baton is passed to the next generation.
Come on, now you have to eat.
We meet the young Indians
who hope to become the super-rich of tomorrow...
Thank you!
...whose actions today will shape the country's future.
If it doesn't work, you might have to find me a job in the UK.
Super Hits 93.5 Red FM.
I'm Malishka.
I'm going to say
O-M-G-T-H-I-K!
Which means, Oh, my God, the heat is killing me!
March in Mumbai.
The Indian summer is just around the corner,
and the city is in its final flurry of activity
before the stifling heat takes over.
It's the last chance for young go-getters to make serious cash.
Do it so that there are more people attending to everybody who's coming.
Yeah.
And not. . . [CROSS TALK]
[SPEAKS IN HINDI]
This is 29-year-old Sudipan Das
and his business partner, Hitesh Keswani.
Lots of hard work and sweat has gone into this.
Blood and sweat.
To see all of this come to life together is amazing.
The son of an investment banker and a teacher,
Sudipan is Mumbai born and bred.
He's travelled the world, but has settled in his home town
to start his latest business venture...
...a brand-new music festival he's calling Dunk Fest.
The idea is to create India's
home-grown, erm, festival,
music festival, that travels not only throughout the country,
but also throughout the world, hopefully.
We have nine artists playing all clay.
Music, food, partying nonstop.
Everything.
But the only thing different here
is that we also have Holi combined into all of this.
For centuries, Holi has been a countrywide street party
to which the whole of India is invited,
in which people plaster the streets and each other in a rainbow of dye.
Sudipan's idea is to create a Holi music festival
and to charge customers for what has traditionally been a free event.
How much is a general admission ticket?
1,500 for general admission ticket.
1,500 rupees.
2,500 for a slightly higher category,
and about 50,000 rupees for the VIP.
1,500 rupees for the cheapest ticket is £15.
The most expensive tickets are £500,
and grant access to a VIP area yet to be constructed.
This is an exclusive celebrity lounge.
So, these sheets, they would turn into colourful acrylics like that.
I took three clays to convince him to spend money on this.
This is very expensive.
How much?
Er, how do I convert?
You can tell me in rupees and I can...
In rupees? We're spending about 15 lakhs, 1-5.
£15,000. Only on this, only on this third. Yeah. Yeah.
Where's that money coming from?
We're investing all of it.
It's all you?
Yes, me and my, er, partner Hitesh.
Tomorrow, it's hoped that 6,500 ticket holders will descend here.
All expecting to find what has been billed
as Mumbai's hottest Holi party.
How long until this place has to be ready?
Er, by morning. Six.
Tomorrow by morning, six.
So, you've got less than 24 hours.
Yeah. Yes.
So, what else is still left to do?
There are box offices.
That's our main entry where people come in.
This is the main stage, and this is where, erm, public is going to be.
All the celebs, they come in through the red carpet here,
which you guys can check.
This will convert into a beautiful red carpet
when you are here tomorrow.
Are there any concerns from your perspective
that it's not going to be ready?
No, not at all.
That's how this country works. You get everything last moment.
jugaad, it's a jugaad country.
What does jugaad mean?
jugaad means...
...you don't go the traditional way to fix something,
you just figure out a smart way.
There's always a smart solution to every problem. Yeah, smart solution.
jugaad is a Hindi word that sums up
how, in India, there's a way around any problem.
Got creases in your clothes, but the iron is broke?
Jugaad.
Trying to beat a personal best at the gym,
but you've run out of weights?
Jugaad.
A drain is blocked on the street and you need to sweep away a flood?
Jugaad.
In India, "cannot" is not a word in their vocabulary.
For Mumbai's young entrepreneurs,
a dose ofjugaad can turn a pipe dream into a reality.
Are you guys the kind of people who rely on jugaad?
Oh... He is, definitely.
SUD“) AN LAUGHS
I'm an entertainment person.
I don't understand how technicalities
of alcohol and things like that work.
Food, alcohol, set-ups, licences, all of it is a bit tricky.
Erm, I can just dream up a thought.
If it doesn't work, you might have to find me a job in the UK.
Yes?
I do see, er, two types of youth.
The ones with fire that you have in your belly
to make something of your life.
Ancl that comes from watching your family
go through hard work or hardships.
Ancl then there's the other kind who just have a lot
that has been handed over to them on a plate.
Ancl the attitude is a little bit complacent.
When we were growing up, we had two career options.
You could either be a doctor or an engineer.
But young India is very clear about what it wants,
and that is exactly opposite of what its previous generation did.
So many options. So many choices.
Choices... We didn't have those kind of choices.
...of professions.
There's much more money.
The young are making much more money.
They all have huge aspirations, huge dreams.
That's how it should be.
When I was growing up, you know, 18 to 20 years ago,
I think youngsters were looked at as aspiring youngsters.
But today youngsters are looked at as, erm, game changers.
They're looked at as the future of this nation.
Youth has become into, er, an aspiring, raw material
advantage of India.
Where's my body shaper?
How long until you've got to go on?
15 minutes.
I have to get my body make-up clone,
get changed, get accessorised,
styled, click backstage pictures...
...and then stand and line-up.
It's insanity.
23-year-old Shimona Nath has been tipped as this year's one-to-watch
at Mumbai Fashion Week, which kicks off today.
This is my second season as a...
...official model.
It's difficult to get into Fashion Week.
Only the top of the top make it.
Move, move, move, move, move, move, move!
There are millions of models here.
They want to go out there and make a name for themselves.
They want to earn the money that they can
and build things for themselves.
On my shoulders, also. OK.
But I have to go out there, and I have to make it,
and I have to work, and I have to take care of things.
Do my back, also, please.
Modelling is something I started because of looking at my mum,
she was a model.
Ancl seeing her life, I was like, that's something I want to do.
Back when Shimona's mum was walking the runway,
Indian fashion was a niche industry,
employing just a handful of people.
Today, Fashion Week boasts over 100 shows over five days,
employing hundreds of models.
Baba, can you give me lips?
It is hard work, for sure.
Ancl watching the hustle that it is, it gets really hectic.
[SPEAKS IN HINDI]
It's OK! It's OK!
OK, now I've learned to be a big girl and handle myself, for sure.
Wait a second. Wait a second.
Shimona has recently landed the gig
as the new face of India's oldest make-up brand, Lakme.
Her campaign will be shown on gigantic screens
before the start of every runway show this week.
Oh, the ad! The ad is playing.
As the face of Lakme,
she was paid 30 times more than the average model earns
across the whole of Fashion Week.
# Did you start the gossip
# That all my time my money goes on the way I look?
# When I look like a million bucks
# It's all right
# 33 shades of red lipsticks
# Still scouting
# Not posing for any selfie
# Yet pouting. #
Lakme - unapologetically me.
This is her first big campaign.
Actually, if I tell you very honestly,
I feel like taking a shit right now. [LAUGHS]
Cos it's like my blood's pumping, my heart is...racing.
[CHEERING]
It's a little bit of a narcissistic job, being a model.
Everyone wants to look their best.
They only care about me and my look and how I'm going to look there.
Especially this city, Bombay.
It's so fast paced over here.
It's chaotic.
People are running here 24/7.
They're working in the mornings,
spending the nights trying to think, "What else can I do?
"What next step for my job?"
Because you can become a millionaire overnight.
It's crazy.
But also, if you're not in your best shape
and you're not achieving here,
it will chew you up and spit you back out. Absolutely.
Fashion Week takes place in Bandra,
a hub for Mumbai's young professionals.
It's a neighbourhood with a 24-hour buzz.
Every week sees the opening of a new bar, boutique, or coffee shop.
And today, there'll be 101.
This morning, this former bakery will reopen
as Mumbai's latest brunch spot.
I have been told I have to make my own coffee.
I think my team bullies me a lot.
Yash Bhanage is the brains behind Veronica's.
This is his fifth venture in Mumbai,
where a young generation with disposable income
are driving a boom in new restaurants.
In the last five years,
most people from Bombay have better disposable incomes.
They know what good coffee is, or they know what good food is.
People want to go out, they want to go for that luxurious spend,
they want to have that extra glass of wine
or a glass of cocktail with it.
But today, I'm a bit worried that we don't have people lining up.
I was hoping we'd have a couple of people,
but I'm sure people will wake up late on a weekend and come in.
Yeah, so, a bit anxious.
Hi!
OK. [LAUGHS]
That's, like, a lot more people than I thought.
Hi, guys, welcome!
Today's our first clay, and you guys are inaugurating the cafe.
So, we are called Veronica's.
So, please do the honours.
[APPLAUSE]
What a great turnout it is.
It's a bit overwhelming.
We are running out of space, which is good. Good problems only.
For the second time in my life I'm eating poached eggs.
So good.
In a city where a chapati and a cup of chai costs 10p...
Tastes so good!
...the people of Bandra are happy to splash out 80 times that amount
on a cup of coffee and an artisan bagel.
I need an avocado, cream cheese, no dairy on a buckwheat toast.
The last time I ran breakfast service was ten years ago,
and, like, ten years later, it's...different. Super different.
What's the most popular choice so far?
Salmon, cream cheese,
and hangover tacos - a lot of them.
Way too many.
BLT bagel out on table number 50.
5-0? 5-0, brother.
We decided to get the hangover tacos because it's Saturday
and some people were very naughty last night.
[LAUGHTER]
It is... It is so cute.
Honestly, there's so much to take in.
Yeah. [LAUGHS]
Generally, I order a flat white.
It's a black coffee with ice, that's it.
A mocha Frappuccino is my favourite.
Sometimes I do the, er, macchiato, which is a smaller coffee,
but 90% of the time, yeah, it's Americano.
The black coffees.
I think people are being very pretentious.
I want to slap everyone who's in love with coffee.
[LAUGHS]
This whole coffee culture drives me nuts.
Everyone's like, "Oh, my God, I can't wake up
"until I have my cup of coffee."
Please, you lived with chai for the longest time.
Everyone across the world is drinking your chai.
Relax with this coffee culture.
Everyone's just constantly wired and awake and wants like some close...
I'm sorry, I do not subscribe to this at all.
I certainly don't go to the swanky coffee places
because they frustrate me.
I don't even know how to order that coffee.
So, I'd rather drink the coffee that I have at home.
300 to 500 rupees for a coffee
in a country like India, I mean, would seem sinful.
But you see all the Starbucks in this country
packed to the hilt,
because you're not selling a drink,
you're selling a brand, a lifestyle.
[THEY SPEAK HINDI]
Around the corner from the new cafe,
Shimona has wrapped up at Fashion Week for the day.
She's hanging out with her flatmate, fellow model Chandani Purohit.
Thank you.
The friends share this £500-a-month rented apartment.
This is your first smoothie of the clay, no?
Yeah. This is my second.
What do you want? Knife.
Finely chopping them.
Don't have that bigger knife. [LAUGHING]
I need to get myself a bigger knife.
Need to get myself a better kitchen, so I can get myself good utensils.
Big house, basically. Yeah.
Chandani has been in the modelling business for a year
and has recently moved out of her parents' house.
My parents lives in Bombay and I live in Bombay, too,
but I am living apart from them.
My father, er, still he doesn't earn much.
Where we live, that house is very small
and we have, like, one room,
and in that only we have kitchen, bathroom, everything.
We all sleep together - my mum, clad, me, and my brother.
Four people.
In that small house, I couldn't do certain things, like,
because we have, like, really hectic schedule.
We have 3am call time and everything,
and I wasn't liking it because they are a little bit strict,
like, about my timing and stuff,
certain way of clothing I wear.
Cheers. Cheers. [CHANDAI LAUGHS]
To a good, healthy, green life. Yeah.
Are they traditional?
Very much!
They are like, "No, don't do this, don't do that,
"don't do this, don't do that."
I'm just like, "Oh, my God, OK."
But now they know the way I live,
the type of clothes I wear,
and they are OK with it because they are seeing me growing every clay.
This is my little vision board.
Oh, yeah, she has a vision board in here. That's really pretty.
Oh.
Marilyn Monroe.
That's my clad.
Ah. Yeah.
I remember the first time my father,
he saw me in the newspaper on the first page.
He called me and he's like, "Chandani, is that you?"
I was like, "Yes, Papa."
He's like, "Oh, my God, I'm so proud of you."
How did that feel?
Amazing. That's why I kept this picture here,
to remind myself that you can do it.
Shimona may have already found success in the modelling business,
but Chandani's career is just starting out.
Give me some advice. [SHIMONA LAUGHS]
Please! I need that.
Oh, my God, it's a lot going on,
and you've got to just absorb all the good energies
and show up on that ramp like that, all pumped.
We've got to show that on our faces and our walk when we're there.
I'm very excited because I get good money through modelling.
How much money would you earn in one Fashion Week?
Well, I don't know yet. [LAUGHS]
I don't know yet.
Maybe, er, around one lakh.
That's about £1,000?
Yeah. Yeah.
For the average Indian, £1,000 - one lakh -
is the equivalent of six months' salary.
This season there feels like there is this little pressure.
You've got to turn up, you've got to show spunk,
you've got to show energy and all of that.
Did you see the line-up of designer? Yeah. Yeah.
I'm excited. I got you. Yeah! LAUGHS
I've got you, girl. We've got each other.
Half of Indians are under 25.
There are over 200-million teenagers here,
more than any other country in the world.
Pretty much everyone in Mumbai is on social media...
...trying to make their dreams a reality.
This is 15-year-old Maleesha Kharwa.
That's my picture.
It is a photo shoot I have clone.
I would like to be a supermodel.
I look very different, huh?
What do you think of the clothes?
It's too short. I have never wore it in my life.
That was my first time, that's why.
I love my hair doing straight, not too much curls,
but in this, I love.
And how was the photographer?
She was so amazing!
Her name is Sashajairam.
This video was posted online by an American tourist,
who spotted Maleesha on the street two years ago
and saw her potential as a model.
The video went viral and gave Maleesha the confidence
to contact one of her favourite fashion photographers
via social media.
She asked her for help to create a portfolio,
which the photographer agreed to do for free.
It's one shoot about my favourite photographer.
This is also, she only took this.
Was the photograph published in a magazine or was it a photo shoot?
No, only for the shoot.
Like Shimona and Chandani, Maleesha also lives in Bandra.
She lives in an illegal squatters' settlement,
in a secluded part of the waterfront.
This is my house.
This is where we sleep.
Who sleeps in the bed?
Erm, my father and my brother, and I sleep there.
My daddy built this house.
We need electricity to earn, and there is no electricity.
What do you do at night if there's no electricity?
I'll show you.
See. This.
And that's a power bank?
Yes, power bank.
Although Maleesha's family have lived here for over 20 years,
they're under constant threat from slum clearances.
As Maleesha grows her portfolio, her likes and followers are stacking up.
How many followers do you have?
How does it feel to have over 200,000 followers?
Very HAPPY-
How many followers do you want?
One...
MOUTHS: "million.
One million? Yes.
With its booming young population,
Mumbai is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world...
...and it's practically filled to the brim.
[HORNS TOOT]
As Mumbai is an island, there's nowhere to expand to.
So the city is embarking on one of the world's biggest mega projects.
A series of motorways are under construction out in the sea
that will allow Mumbai to expand down the coast into rural areas
on the mainland, like the town of Alibag.
This sleepy seaside resort
is currently a three-hour drive from Mumbai.
The new road will cut the journey to under an hour.
This has sparked a property gold rush in the area.
There's a certain level of crowd that is coming in.
Typical high society and a lot of people from Bollywood
also have shown interest.
[APPLAUSE] The Best Actor goes to...
...Ram Kapoor.
Bollywood star Ram Kapoor...
Thank you so much.
...is on his way to his new villa in Alibag.
Alibag was never on the radar earlier.
Now it's getting developed so fast.
There's even an eight-lane expressway coming.
Getting from Mumbai to Alibag, it'll be so easy.
That's the reason why I started looking,
and I got lucky with this particular property that you're going to see.
Here we go! Home sweet home!
Welcome.
Hi, guys.
That's my lovely staff.
I pay a fee for them, and they're fantastic. I love them.
They come part of the house.
Ram has just bought this off-the-peg, 10,000 square foot
show home, the first in a new development
where homes start at £2 million.
This place is, er, is not cheap.
It comes, er, at a considerable cost.
That right there is an 18 foot, er...
...gorilla made of metal.
Very cool.
That was built as part of one of the outdoor features
when the house was built.
So, when I came and saw it, it was already there,
and I loved it, so I didn't want it removed.
This room has an entire lilypond.
Wanted to kind of surround the house by water
because we love the sound of water, in the night, especially.
Come, this is the bedroom, where all the magic happens.
Best thing about the room is the view.
That's the view I wake up to in the mornings.
With most of the plots still to be sold,
Ram's view doesn't yet extend beyond the perimeter fence.
It's a good investment.
Whether we live in it in the future, whether I give it out on rent,
whether I sell it five years later and make a profit on it,
it doesn't matter, because whatever you do in Alibag right now,
you can't make a bad investment.
With house prices in Alibag sky rocketing,
Ram plans to expand his property portfolio.
We have bought this guy, right opposite.
This construction coming up is our second villa.
This one is my mother and my sister...
...which is the corner plot.
Ancl we're in talks of me buying this centre plot,
which, as you can see, makes sense.
I mean, I own this, which is the corner.
My mother owns that, which is the other corner.
Now we own this plot.
We don't really want to have somebody in the middle.
Doesn't make much sense.
Hello. Hi.
Hi, Ram, how are you?
Hi.
Ram has invited round Adithya and Natasha,
two local property developers.
Sit, sit, sit.
How's everything at Avas Living?
Very good. No complaints.
With property prices in Alibag going up by the week,
Ram's plan is to shake hands on a deal on his fourth property today.
So, this is now for the...
...for the middle plot.
I would rather not discuss exact figures... Yes. ..in front of them.
Listen, the figure that you're at...
Yes.
...you include the interior for that figure,
and I will shake hands with you right now.
I can't say no to you, Ram. [RAM LAUGHS]
Done. Good.
BBC's lucky for me.
That is good.
Thank you. Thank you.
Now give them some good coffee! [LAUGHS]
Four plots with one client.
Four plots.
That's just... And it's still February.
[LAUGHS]
So, we have plans for...
We have plans for Ram and his family.
[RAM LAUGHS] So it's not going to stop here.
But not everyone is happy about the Alibag property boom.
We've had this home for almost close to 30 years.
I really find this a very gracious way of living, you know.
Mumbai-born retiree Meena ks hi Matthew
lives in a secluded villa in Alibag on an acre of manicured rainforest.
So, this is a little space -
we call it the machan -
where we sit, and...and we have a drink sometimes.
We have tea in the evening.
Well, I sit in the morning and have my tea,
and watch the sunrise over there.
When Meenakshi moved here from Mumbai,
she was part of a first wave of young, monied professionals
looking for respite from the cut-throat hustle of the city.
What are you having?
Er, martini.
Ah, martini.
Today, she's hosting a get together for a select few of her neighbours,
and there's only one topic of conversation.
When I came here, the road to my house was just fields.
And now there are about, say, 40 bungalows there.
40.
[CHATTER]
I don't like the new development.
The aesthetics are missing, which you will see.
Really, the aesthetics are missing.
Ancl the parking is a nightmare.
I find that, well, a lot of people have come,
and they've started building these modern homes
that, to my mind,
it just doesn't lend itself to the place.
Yeah. It's like you're just making it
one of those concrete, glass and, erm,
you know, marble places.
Alibag used to be a very sleepy outpost of Mumbai.
Only the very few had the foresight way back then -
my husband being one of them - to buy land in Alibag,
because it was just a perfect getaway from the city.
It's sort of the Indian version of the Hamptons in the US, if you will.
Minus the nightlife.
As yet.
I'm sure that's going to change, too.
Bombay has this rushed vibe.
When you're in Bombay, you can have a heart attack any time,
because you're always running.
So, when you want to get off that roller-coaster,
you go to Alibag.
So, people who started to buy and acquire property in Alibag then -
40 years ago, 50 years ago, like my husband -
today are wondering, "My God, what has hit us?"
Hello, my name is Riya.
She's my grandmother, she's my mumma.
A stone's throw from Ram Kaposi's new house
lives 16-year-old Riya Rani.
Riya was born and raised in Alibag.
Yeah. My mother work hard here and make this empire.
So, yeah, this village is special for me,
Alibag is special for me,
and my mother is very too special for me.
Come on, sit down. Breakfast time.
Riya's mother works as a housekeeper
for one of Alibag's wealthy residents.
For generations, the women of Riya's family
have had next to no formal education.
Come on, now you have to eat.
Sit down.
The upcoming road is already bringing unprecedented changes
to Alibag.
Alibag is developing.
There are so many big colleges for students,
so we have so many chances to make our career.
And with those changes come new aspirations.
I would like to become a teacher,
because my school teacher are always, like, very motivating
and supporting, so I also want to play this role, too,
to motivate people who want to become big
and complete their dreams.
Would you ever live anywhere other than Alibag?
Other than this place?
South Korea. [LAUGHS]
I would love to live in South Korea.
He's Kim Nam-joon, leader of BTS.
He's Min Yoon-gi.
Parkji-min, Jung Ho-seok...
...Jin.
[SHE SPEAKS KOREAN]
All the poorer people who live in Alibag
will be able to come to Bombay to work.
Most children of, er, home staff, domestics lab our
is studying to become hairdressers,
cameramen, dancers in Bollywood,
erm, drivers.
Slightly more dignified work.
We've got these massive infrastructure projects going on.
Once that's complete,
it will almost make Alibag part of the city.
If we want to be a nation to be reckoned with,
there has to be some degree of equality.
And, er, there has to be that big change in India.
But, yes, it's absolutely happening in front of our eyes.
Hiya.
Fashion Week is still under way.
This afternoon, Chandani has been booked to walk the runway.
Yeah, a little bit.
Whoa.
Deep breaths, girl. It's going to be an awesome clay. Yeah.
Thank you, bhaiya. Thank you so much, bhaiya.
Woo!
So, you want to mix the colours up? Do that, do that, do that.
It's fine. just send the reds from the inside.
It's two, guys, we have to start at one.
It's very hectic and too much drama happening around us.
Let's see how the rehearsals goes.
Guys, what's going on?
In the country's elite industries like fashion,
the working language is English.
Chandani grew up speaking only Hindi.
What is the cue for the last two to walk?
When Pragathi takes position,
Chandani joins.
There's no hard and fast...
What?
I'm very, very, very nervous.
It's like they think English...
English is important if you're in, like, you know,
certain kind of work environment.
But my English is too bad.
Everybody understood?
Single file, peel out. This is our opening.
Ancl in this industry, they treat you in a different way
if you can't speak English.
Oh, shit, no.
That's gone wrong.
Chandani, over this way. This way.
Outside.
Outside!
Come on, come on, come on!
Hurry, guys, form a cluster.
[SHE ISSUES INSTRUCTIONS]
How important is this job to you?
00ft! To be honest, it's very, very important.
I have my family.
They are, like, totally dependent on me.
I think I am the only one in my whole family
who earns like this much of money through this job.
I just need money, so that I can take care of my family.
just give me one year, and I'll make it.
I cannot tell you how many young adults
who work at my company come and proudly tell me
that they used their first salary to buy a sari for their mum,
they managed to invest their last five years' income
to buy a house for their parents.
It is such a moment of pride.
It is not a burden, it's joy.
When I got my first pay cheque when I moved to the US,
the first thing I did was buy presents
for my parents and my sisters.
I even then bought my mother a house.
[LAUGHS]
But, listen, that's what I'm saying, like, it was a dream.
I was a child and I was like,
"Dang, I'm going to buy my mother a house in Mumbai."
And I don't feel that anybody in India considers this a burden
because it's how we've all grown up.
You know, maybe they just loved us so unconditionally
or maybe they made us feel so guilty that we can never get rid of it.
I don't know what the answer is, but we feel duty-bound.
Last month, Maleesha was photographed
for one of India's biggest skincare brands.
I love it! I did not expect this.
Thank you. Yes!
I'm so happy!
Mumbai has too much of, you know, I would say poverty.
It is sad to see that.
It hurts because, as a citizen of this country,
we have so much of a disparity between our people.
There's so much... There's so many rich people
and there's so many poor people.
And that kind of disparity makes it harder
to have an obnoxious display of wealth, is what I would say.
So, I feel that I'm grateful that Mumbai
is not a very, very loud, blingy city.
There's no question in my mind that my grandkids are going to grow up
in an India which is, of course, qualitatively different
from the India I grew up in, because that India was...was deprived.
The citizens were deprived of many of the things
we take for granted today.
But today, it's a... The story's different.
I feel very optimistic,
because we have a highly ambitious generation who have a focus.
They don't want to run away to the west.
They have figured, unlike my generation,
that their future is here. It's in India.
If they want a better life, India is going to provide it.
Tomorrow is the Hindu festival of Holi.
Across Mumbai, bonfires are lit in anticipation of the festivities.
I'm losing it now. I'm having a brain fog
for the number of calls I'm getting.
Sudipan is hoping that all 6,500 tickets will sell out overnight
and that guests will start arriving in just eight hours' time.
What's left to do, from your perspective?
Everything. See, the thing is still the time you don't see everything
being clone, you're not at peace.
Ancl it also adds to the decor of the place,
so that's why the colourful drapes.
There's not very many of them up for so close to the party.
Yeah, yeah.
The £500 a ticket VIP lounge
is still not much more than scaffolding and sheets of plastic.
Now it is reaching a point where it's stressing me.
What are you going to do if this isn't finished on time?
Oh, my God, no!
I don't even want to think that!
You're also doing one puja.
Er, what's a pup?
A puja is a little prayer with some rituals that you do.
So that will happen now.
You have your Pandajee who's arrived, will do Holi puja.
With preparations behind schedule,
Sudipan has invited along a priest
in the hope that some divine intervention
can get his plans back on track.
[PRIEST BLOWS HORN]
Prayer ceremonies like this one are common here.
They're believed to bring good fortune to any event.
We don't need to necessarily just follow the traditional route.
We can keep it alive, but give it a more modern take,
take it to a place that people love it more, enjoy it more,
and it's an extended experience.
It's 2023.
SUD“) AN BLOWS HORN
[GROUP CHEERS AND APPLAUDS]
How important is religion and tradition to you?
You know, we're keeping the elements of the Holi festival alive.
There is colours, there is celebrations, there's all of that.
They're just breaking the coconut.
Supposed to remove all the evil energy.
But the world is fast moving and fast changing.
That is the end of the puja, so we're clone, we're good to go.
There is so much... I don't know when I'll get some food
or some sleep today, but...
Chandani's fashion show is about to begin.
This industry, it's not easy.
I'm very, very grateful. Every clay I wake up and I'm just like,
"Thank you so much, God, for giving me this opportunity."
I can feed my family.
I can do a lot of things for them.
[APPLAUSE]
It was good.
I mean, once you wear that lehenga and that dress,
you feel like a diva.
Now I'm going to go out and there'll be, like, a lot of people,
they'll be like, "Hey, you were so amazing, it was so nice."
I'm feeling amazing right now.
[CHATTER]
How's it going?
This is...
Life has changed now.
Yeah.
[MEN SHOUTING IN HINDI]
My favourite festival of the year is here.
[SINGS IN HINDI]
[LAUGHS]
Yep, it's time for Ho-o-o-o-oli,
the festival of colours,
the festival that signifies the beginning of spring,
the festival that brings every atom in your body alive.
[LAUGHS]
As you know, there are some super parties happening in the city.
I'm going to a couple of them.
Let's go! Let's have some fun.
All right, that's a wrap for me.
Even I need to go, cos I need to play with some colour.
I think this is...
...a good time to leave the office.
After a sleepless night,
construction on Dunk Fest is complete.
Tickets have sold out, and 6,500 paying customers
have descended on Mumbai's hottest Holi party.
MUSIC: Spicy Tikka Beat by Brice Montessuit 8; Charles Caste-Ballereau
The event is fun.
I love Holi, it's one of my favourite festivals.
[CHEERING]
I just came to get dirty. [LAUGHS]
The festival has even attracted stars of Bollywood...
[CROWD CHEERS]
...and the VIP area is full.
This feels nice!
That's how much competition this brand has created.
Leaving things to the last minute is no barrier to success
in a city where jugaad is the philosophy.
It went so, so well.
I was so stressed, but, yeah, everything went well.
Ancl now we have got the finale performance onstage,
the main, main attraction of the party, DJ Chetas.
Ancl now I can finally have a drink!
Mumbai is something else.
You have to be here to experience it.
There are more opportunities to make money than there aren't.
I can tell you, Mumbai is the city of dreams.
When I came to Mumbai, I had nothing,
and now I just feel grateful
that I have everything that I ever dreamt of.
Mumbai is a tough city.
You have to be a tough titty to make it.
It's a city that's really pushing you to the edge.
I mean, either you make it or...or get out.
Mumbai absorbs everything.
Everybody sees the pavement full of gold.
It's gold dust that's attracted us. Yeah.
And everybody, in their own strange way, makes it.
Without sounding immodest, if I may say so,
your own Prime Minister today is Indian.
Some of the biggest companies in the world, starting with Google,
is run by an Indian.
So, Indians today have this great sense of self-worth
and this great buoyancy in them.
I think the next two decades are going to belong to India,
especially young India, because there is no other country
in the world that will have the kind of opportunities
and the kind of ambition that India has.