Challenge

#WhatMakesUsOne

The challenge was to celebrate the many unifying threads that make up our Idea Of India. Despite our diversity and multiculturalism, the threads that unite us, also drive our growth in the world today powerfully. This initiative should spark conversations and build more connections with the youth of India across social and digital and music platforms. From Republic Day to Independence Day, on this 75th Year of India, The Times Of India sets out to celebrate the invisible thread that binds us all as one in spite of our diverse differences. Because India is the melting pot of multiple cultures and multiple languages where people of all religions live together in harmony and the Times of India welcomes everyone in the world to come and grow with it, as one family. Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam. The whole world is one family.

Inspiration

INDIA WAS AN IDEA LONG BEFORE IT BECAME A FREE NATION

It was the song from a thousand years ago. It was the spirit of thousands of freedom fighters. It was the same thread of unity in diversity and adversity and festivity. It is the same thread that continues to bind us as one nation, in spite of diverse differences. The invisible thread that binds all India as one family connecting the dots between multiple religions, regions, cultures, languages, festivals and dissolving our differences at the speed of light. Inspired by this insight, we set out to reveal the Idea of India represented by the illuminated thread of light that embraces our differences and elevates our unity in diversity.

Idea

THE IDEA OF INDIA AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

The narrative reveals our invisible thread of unity in diversity through the visible thread of light in the video timeline and stitches a billion voices into one song in the audio timeline. The invisible thread represented by the visible thread of light that binds all India as one family connecting the dots between multiple religions, regions, cultures, languages, festivals and dissolving our differences and distances at the speed of light. India is a journey you can’t complete in one lifetime but the thread of light travels across the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Mumbai to Meghalaya at the speed of light, cinematically and metaphorically capturing a day in the life of India through time-lapse and timeless transitions, just like the national newspaper should by stitching thousands of miles geography together in split seconds through the medium of time-lapse and seamless light transitions that blur the boundaries as time travels at the speed of light.

Over a thousand forms of the same thread of light transform Temples, Churches, Mosques, Gurudwaras, Monasteries, Monuments, Gods, Idols and Statues across India. Light travels through trains, trucks, boats, rickshaws from one location to another occasion, from one region to another religion, dissolving our differences at the speed of light. The Visual Thread for this film is the travelling flickering festival of lights captured by multiple camera crews and hundreds of commissioned cinematographers and drone photographers and time-lapse content creators throughout the festive season from Navaratri Lights in October to Diwali Lights in November, Christmas Lights in December to Sankranti Lights in January at multiple locations across the country.

The musical narrative is inspired by the sound of the ektara (single string instrument). The one string that binds a billion voices into one song, delivering the Idea of India through the voices in our head. Celebrating the same thread of unity in diversity, adversity and festivity. The audio travels through a historical timeline of India and binds the speeches of our inspiring leaders into one national narrative, through song and speech, powered by the voices of National leaders from the past and the present; Mahatma Gandhi, Subash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Indira Gandhi, AB Vajpayee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Growth

#WhatMakesUsOne

Over 27 million Indians have participated in expressing their views and one word reviews to celebrate the Idea of India in their own way.

The films, music videos and songs have recorded over 36 million views and crossed over a million downloads across various social, digital and music platforms. The communication is live across national news media, social media and various digital video and music platforms to invite engagement from across the country all the way from Republic Day in January to Independence Day in August aiming to reach over a billion people during this momentous 75th Year of India's Independence. The campaign invites every Indian to participate and celebrate the Idea of India in their own way. The objective is to celebrate the idea of India across the nation and elevate the people of India into one emotion.

THE TIMELINE OF INDIA X 90sec

Please provide your contact information to continue.

Before submitting your information, please read our Privacy Policy as it contains detailed information on the processing of your personal data and how we use it.