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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →India in a Day turns footage recorded by people across India on October 10, 2015, into an 86-minute feature documentary. Google invited people to film their daily lives and reflect on technology; director Richie Mehta and his editors then shaped thousands of submissions into a shared portrait. Calling it “one step ahead of the selfie” is an interpretation of that shift in perspective, not a stated anti-selfie mission by the filmmakers.
What is India in a Day?
India in a Day is a crowd-sourced feature documentary assembled from footage filmed across India on a single date: October 10, 2015. Its central question is both personal and national: what does it mean to live in India today?
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Google announced the project on October 1, 2015, asking people in India to record their lives on the chosen day and submit clips for possible inclusion in a feature. The campaign asked how technology was changing everyday life and what people could do now that they could not do five years earlier. Google described its aim as capturing “the story of 24 hours in evolving India.” Google India Blog, October 1, 2015.
The production company, Jeva Films, describes the completed film as an answer to the question of what it means to live in India today. It reports more than 16,000 videos and over 365 hours of footage in the project description; that page does not state a publication year. Jeva Films: India In A Day.
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#1 Best Overall
Why it is one step beyond the selfie
The title’s selfie comparison works as an editorial reading of the film, rather than a documented slogan or production intention. A selfie typically centers one person’s chosen image of themselves. India in a Day starts with individuals recording their own surroundings, but combines their perspectives into a film about many people’s lives.
- Attention: a selfie usually foregrounds its maker; this documentary draws attention across contributors and their daily settings.
- Audience: personal recordings may be made for sharing with friends or followers; these submissions were gathered for possible selection in a feature film.
- Editorial control: a contributor frames a clip, while the finished documentary reflects the director and editors’ selection and arrangement of footage.
- Representation: the result offers a broad portrait assembled from public submissions, but it is still a curated film—not a complete or statistically representative account of India.
That distinction matters: the documentary makes private acts of looking outward into a collective portrait. The sources establish the invitation, the footage, and the finished film; they do not establish that Mehta, Google, Ridley Scott, or Anurag Kashyap set out to criticize selfie culture.
Rank #2
How much footage went into the film?
The project’s reported totals changed as production continued. Google’s January 18, 2016 update said it had received more than 8,000 submissions at that point and introduced a preview focused on three people and technology in their lives. That was an interim count, not the final total. Google India Blog, January 18, 2016.
| Reported figure | Source and qualification |
|---|---|
| More than 8,000 submissions | Google India Blog, January 2016; interim production count. |
| More than 16,000 videos and over 365 hours of footage | Jeva Films project description; publication year not stated. |
These totals describe submissions and source footage, not the length of the finished film. The British Council UK Films Database lists the completed feature at 86 minutes. British Council UK Films Database: India In A Day.
Rank #3
Who made it, and when was it released?
Richie Mehta directed the film. The British Council database credits Beverley Mills as editor and Stephen Warbeck as composer, and lists Ridley Scott, Anurag Kashyap, and Carlo Dusi as executive producers. It identifies the film as an India–UK coproduction and lists Scott Free Films as production and sales company; the database page was updated May 12, 2025. Google’s initial 2015 campaign announcement named Scott and Kashyap as executive producers and Mehta as director, while the British Council record supplies the fuller credit list.
Release milestones refer to different events, not competing dates for a single release:
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- June 2016: the film’s world premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest, according to the British Council interview page.
- September 9, 2016: the Toronto International Film Festival premiere reported by Jeva Films.
- September 23, 2016: opening in selected Indian theatres, according to the British Council interview page.
Mehta described the result as “a genuine expression from vast groups of people who do not have a public voice.” British Council India: interview with Richie Mehta.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you watch it?
Jeva Films’ project page links to the full film on YouTube. That is the viewing option the production company currently points to; availability on other platforms is not established here. Check Jeva Films’ India In A Day page.
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