Hit the Road: India

The basic idea for this documentary is simple. We follow a couple of participants in a race between Chennai and Mumbai in India. The vehicles used are what make it unique. As a nod to their preponderance in India because of their cheapness to run, the contestants all drive the auto-rickshaw, a light-weight mini motor mainly used for taxis. It's the choice of vehicle that ultimately provides most of the drama here, seeing as it is not designed in the slightest for crossing the Indian subcontinent. Unsurprisingly, it constantly breaks down, leading to lots of frustration for the racers. The very fact that this constitutes most of the drama sort of illustrates that not an awful lot actually seems to happen over the course of the race though. The main obstacles are a combination of poor quality roads and the monsoon conditions. The people they encounter along the way, on the other hand, seem pretty much universally nice. The lack of adversity does affect the impact of the film to be honest, as there aren't too many in the way of interesting events along the journey. In this way I guess it ensures that the feel is pretty authentic, however, and you do get a feel for the conditions.

Maybe it could have been edited together better though, as sometimes things suddenly happen and people appear and we have no real idea of why. The narrative aspect could definitely have been stronger for sure. And while the photography captures the road well, I often thought it would have been nice if it caught the landscape the racers were passing by more – it has an authentic feel but visually it doesn't necessarily sell India as well as it could. I suppose though it is not so often that we see the unglamorous back roads of this country so in that respect it's fairly interesting. The two racers we follow seem like nice guys though and it's easy to feel their increasing discomfort in their difficult trek cross country. For a small-scale travel documentary this is fine, even if it lacks an overall dynamism to make it last in the memory.

In our technologically advanced era there is an endless amount of methods for exploring a foreign land and it's often impossible to choose one that will best suit our needs. Given that nowadays even the seemingly most luxurious options tend to be somewhat affordable, people often choose those, which are the least tiring and the most pleasurable. Yet, there is still a small group of people willing to take up the challenge and begin a life-changing journey into the unknown. Although very short, that's an adequate summary of what happens in Hit the Road: India.

Directed by Armenian brothers Gor and Mushegh Baghdasaryan, Hit the Road: India closely follows two friends, Richard Gazarian and Keith King, as they travel across the country in a rickshaw, a means of transport that most would probably call old-fashioned and impractical. It's not an ordinary expedition, however. As a two-man team they've decided to participate in Mumbai Express, a 12-day-long rickshaw rally across India, along with 5 other adventure craving pairs. Although very enthusiastic at first, they gradually come to realize it's a race that demands not only lots of mental and physical strength, but also a great deal of determination and good will.

The documentary doesn't really focus on the race per se, but on the experiences that the two men have during their long trip. Days filled with enthusiasm and luck often intertwine with days marked by pain and signs of resignation, creating a very diverse travelogue of the most engaging kind. Mixed emotions only confirm that even though the decision to take part in the event might've been a bit foolish, it will surely have a greatly rewarding effect.

In the form of an audiovisual travel journal, the boys present their many escapades with the help of camera's attentive and inquisitive eye. Due to many wonderfully picturesque shots the journey is blessed with excitement, vigor, and that rare kind of beauty worthy of a true travel documentary. Complemented by an interesting, often emotional narration by the travelers, Hit the Road: India only proves that India is a country of great allure, but the further we go the more tiring such an unusual expedition might soon become.

Apart from its huge attention to eye-popping landscape shots, the camera offers a close insight into the everyday lives of Indians, who are often enormously fascinated and amused by the presence of white people. Scenes that were the most appealing to me, however, were the ones filmed by a camera hidden inside the tuk-tuk. Those short sequences have the ability to exhibit genuine feelings in a funny and surprising way.

Even though I'm perfectly aware that the directors' intentions wasn't to concentrate on the entire course of the rally, I would've loved to see what all the other participants felt about this challenging adventure. With supplementary, probably completely different perspectives on the whole thing, the film would've gained an additional driving force to give the story a more meaningful tone. It's a lot of fun to watch the guys in action, but there are a few slower moments that could otherwise be improved by an alternative point of view.

Hit the Road: India is not a remarkable documentary, but an inspiring one. What makes the film enticing is its lively and eventful depiction of the journey, meant to encourage the viewers to take a risk and experiment a bit during their own journeys. As I've mentioned earlier, there are really lots of exciting and original ways that will make an initially ordinary getaway unforgettable. So, instead of buying a plane or train ticket next time why don't you just hop on a motorbike and take a cross-country road trip somewhere in India or in any other place that still waits to be fully explored?

Original review here: http://twitchfilm.com/2013/12/review-hit-the-road-india-an-inspiring- and-vibrant-travelogue.html

I'll be honest about how I came to this film – not how I came to hear about it but rather my attitude towards it coming in the door. Looking at the title and plot summary, I was ready to really hate the film. Ironically considering I travel a reasonable amount, I really do not care for those people who deliberately put themselves through hardships for the sake of "experience", nor backpackers who make a song and dance out of not changing clothes for two months and look down their nose at anyone they come across in a city who did not get there by hitchhiking or crawling through mud. To me it is snobbery and I am always surprised on travel forum how so many conversations quickly turn into the equivalent of the famous Yorkshiremen sketch where the next person dismisses the previous travel story as "luxury" and then undercuts it with more hardship.

Anyway, I digress, but suffice to say that the story of two Americans living rough for two weeks in some form of basic race across India really had me on edge ready to dislike the whole thing. And for sure there are aspects I did dislike but generally what I found was a breezy travelogue film where we have a well chosen soundtrack playing over some well filmed and well edited footage. India is not somewhere I have ever really wanted to be, mainly because of the intensity and chaos you hear about, but on the basis of this film it does appeal to me for the sake of experiencing it – albeit I would do so in a more controlled and planned way. To those who have been to India and had these sorts of experiences, I guess the film will really help the memories rush back and be enjoyed on that level. But even for those that don't, it is a nice looking travelogue.

The problems come if you want more than that. I have no idea how the film was made but it feels like the planning was to follow these guys and then all efforts were taken up with getting good shots during each day; I think the filming of the trip must have been as grueling as the trip itself and a result it does feel like the makers were not able to step away from the experience and decide what they were trying to achieve with the film beyond just cool footage and soundtracks. I wanted to know a bit more about pretty much everything – who are the people doing this trip and why are they doing it? Is it really a race or just an adventure package holiday? What are the good and bad things about the places they go? And most of all – instead of telling me about things, why not let me see them? So we hear lots about things that happened after they occurred, and we see the aftermath of going off the road but we rarely see these events despite near-constant filming across the whole trip. I have no idea why these things are described and not seen.

I am not sure why we follow the two American guys and nobody else; given the frequent news stories and impressions we get via the media of India, it would have potentially been much more interesting to follow the all female team and see their experiences. Richard I liked though – he is a nice guy with a positive outlook and a good presence for the camera. Keith though, I really struggled not to dislike. He is very quick to complain about standards of bedding and food (which makes you wonder where he thought he was going when he decided to do this), he quickly takes his "experience" and makes it as normal as possible with his wifi music system etc (some of the other contestants don't seem to have much time for him) and I really disliked how frequently he mimicked the head movements of others – although the film makes everyone do it at the end, which just felt disrespectful. That said, the two men are good enough company of this series of events.

And it is really just a trip and series of events, most of which we hear about rather than see. The film is very well put together and filmed but I really wish there had been an agenda behind it to try and give the viewer more structure, information or insight – as it is without any of this it is just a fun travelogue – which is a shame because it is well- enough made to have been more than just this.

Hit the Road: India (2013)

*** (out of 4)

Good documentary about two friends who decide to tackle the 12-day Mumbai Xpress, which is a rally from Mumbai to Chennai and is according to many one of the greatest adventures in the world. HIT THE ROAD: India comes from co-directors Gor Baghdasaryan and Mushegh Baghdasaryan and I'll admit that the subject matter really didn't spike my interest very much. I really wasn't sure what to expect but by the time the 80-minute film was over I found myself entertained. I'm not going to call this a masterpiece or anything like that but if you're familiar with the old James A. FitzPatrick 'TravelTalks" shorts then I think you're going to enjoy this film. Those shorts just had FitzPatrick going to countless places and showing off the locations and the locals. The main attraction to this film is getting to see a city by city tour of India and this here is reason enough to watch the film. I thought the camera-work was quite good for a film like this and there's no question that the directors know where and how to shoot a scene. I'm not going to pretend to sit here and say what the directors were trying to do with this film. However, if it was to show off this event and the beauty of India then they're certainly succeeded. There are many memorable moments scattered throughout the film but I think one of the best things is that it actually makes you want to pack your bags and head to India to live some of this stuff for yourself. This was actually the first time I had ever heard of this race but it was interesting seeing the contestants make their way from various cities and the hardships that happened along the way. I think the one flaw with the picture is that I really didn't connect with the main people very much and I think a little more information about them would have made this journey better.

A very intense , riveting documentary, it was funny, it was serious , it was educational, it was inspiring, we thoroughly enjoyed it. great job to the both of you , Keith and Ric. having been to India ourselves, myself and my hubby can relate to the traffic conditions and how incredibly dangerous it is. it is a beautiful place to travel the people there treated us well, so seeing you both experience this and you made it look so easy , despite what you both went through you made us laugh and you touched our hearts in places with your kindness towards others. the filming was great, the soundtrack was great , we enjoyed the music. for anyone has hasn't been there, it is a learning tool. you get to experience an every day life in India.the extreme danger of it all, alone gave me chills. having meet both keith and ric in our travels to Thailand, we can honestly say ,they did a great job and we are proud of them both .