1 00:00:04,580 --> 00:00:07,300 I'm on the move in six of the greatest cities of the world 2 00:00:07,460 --> 00:00:10,740 and I'm on the trail of their top movers and shakers. 3 00:00:11,460 --> 00:00:13,780 They're not all cut from the same cloth. 4 00:00:14,900 --> 00:00:17,780 In our globalised world, don't make the mistake 5 00:00:17,940 --> 00:00:19,660 of thinking everywhere's now the same. 6 00:00:19,820 --> 00:00:23,740 Each great city marches to its own tune. 7 00:00:24,820 --> 00:00:28,020 My background's diplomacy, cultivating networks. 8 00:00:29,140 --> 00:00:31,220 As an ambassador, my job 9 00:00:31,380 --> 00:00:34,140 is to get to know some of the most powerful people in the world 10 00:00:34,300 --> 00:00:36,900 and find out what really makes them tick. 11 00:00:38,660 --> 00:00:43,100 Crime, glamour, power and influence - it'll be there. 12 00:00:43,940 --> 00:00:45,980 In these six cities, I'll grapple with 13 00:00:46,140 --> 00:00:48,980 the dark, Machiavellian heart of politics. 14 00:00:49,140 --> 00:00:53,140 I'll witness up close the lives of the immensely rich. 15 00:00:54,060 --> 00:00:57,540 And I'll get into the minds of those who really rule the roost. 16 00:00:58,820 --> 00:01:02,460 This is a journey to uncover the networks of power. 17 00:01:19,380 --> 00:01:22,700 Mumbai, India - previously known as Bombay. 18 00:01:22,860 --> 00:01:25,820 This is one of the world's greatest cities 19 00:01:25,940 --> 00:01:28,060 and somewhere I barely know at all. 20 00:01:30,740 --> 00:01:33,860 Welcome to Mumbai, sir. It's great to be here. 21 00:01:34,020 --> 00:01:35,940 Yes. Thank you, sir. And your name is Parag? 22 00:01:36,060 --> 00:01:37,820 Yes. I am the chauffeur for the day. 23 00:01:39,340 --> 00:01:41,460 Tell me, what is this car? 24 00:01:41,620 --> 00:01:43,340 It's an Ambassador car. Ah. 25 00:01:44,660 --> 00:01:47,100 I'm rather chuffed, for obvious reasons, 26 00:01:47,260 --> 00:01:50,420 to be in the famous Hindustan Ambassador car. 27 00:01:50,580 --> 00:01:53,820 But it doesn't exactly look on trend today. 28 00:01:55,060 --> 00:01:57,540 Mostly the VIP people use this car. 29 00:01:57,700 --> 00:02:00,260 So everybody's gonna think I'm a VIP. Yes, why not? 30 00:02:01,180 --> 00:02:03,260 I was last here in the 1980s, 31 00:02:03,420 --> 00:02:06,580 and since then the population has doubled. 32 00:02:06,740 --> 00:02:11,180 Close to twice London's numbers squeezed into one third of its space. 33 00:02:12,540 --> 00:02:15,780 Most live in slums, but this one city contributes 34 00:02:15,940 --> 00:02:19,260 a staggering 40% of India's tax revenue. 35 00:02:19,420 --> 00:02:22,020 That's not just down to a lot of people - 36 00:02:22,180 --> 00:02:24,380 it's a lot of extraordinarily rich people 37 00:02:24,540 --> 00:02:27,460 and some of the world's most successful businesses. 38 00:02:28,580 --> 00:02:31,740 The skyline may not yet quite be Manhattan, 39 00:02:31,900 --> 00:02:34,380 but the property prices certainly are. 40 00:02:35,620 --> 00:02:37,780 I'm staying right by the Gateway of India, 41 00:02:37,900 --> 00:02:39,860 the city's most famous monument. 42 00:02:41,460 --> 00:02:44,780 This is the legendary Taj Palace Hotel. 43 00:02:48,660 --> 00:02:51,540 Admittedly, by staying here I'm rather pampered. 44 00:02:52,620 --> 00:02:56,460 But having the right address will, I hope, also help me open the doors 45 00:02:56,580 --> 00:02:58,460 to Mumbai's elite. 46 00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:01,060 And I'm pleased to see everyone who's anyone 47 00:03:01,180 --> 00:03:02,660 stays here when in town. 48 00:03:08,300 --> 00:03:11,620 Talk about power! They're all here. 49 00:03:11,740 --> 00:03:13,900 The Queen, Prince Charles, 50 00:03:14,020 --> 00:03:15,980 Obama, George W Bush, 51 00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:18,580 Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger, 52 00:03:18,700 --> 00:03:20,300 John and Yoko. 53 00:03:20,420 --> 00:03:22,340 And in pride of place, 54 00:03:22,460 --> 00:03:24,380 the biggest picture of them all - 55 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:27,300 Shobhaa De, whom I'm off to see. 56 00:03:28,020 --> 00:03:32,060 All the more alluring and glamorous for sitting on a swing. 57 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:37,180 I've got some quick homework to do on Shobhaa, 58 00:03:37,340 --> 00:03:39,540 Mumbai's equivalent, if that were possible, 59 00:03:39,700 --> 00:03:43,300 of Tina Brown, Jilly Cooper, Joanna Lumley and Nigella in one. 60 00:03:44,940 --> 00:03:47,100 Model, best-selling author, 61 00:03:47,260 --> 00:03:49,980 columnist, magazine editor, and top socialite. 62 00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:52,260 She's my ideal first port of call - 63 00:03:52,420 --> 00:03:55,860 and acknowledged queen of ritzy South Mumbai. 64 00:03:55,980 --> 00:03:57,900 (MELODIC DOORBELL) 65 00:03:58,020 --> 00:03:59,940 (CHUCKLES) 66 00:04:01,020 --> 00:04:03,820 Good afternoon, Mrs De. Good to see you! 67 00:04:03,980 --> 00:04:06,140 Welcome to Mumbai. Welcome to India. Thank you. 68 00:04:06,260 --> 00:04:08,620 You live here in a wonderful place. 69 00:04:08,780 --> 00:04:10,860 I used to write looking at the sea here, 70 00:04:11,020 --> 00:04:13,580 and I couldn't write more than three sentences a day 71 00:04:13,740 --> 00:04:16,380 because I'd look at the mood of the sea, the tide coming in, 72 00:04:16,540 --> 00:04:19,660 and all of that, and of course the changing skyline - 73 00:04:19,820 --> 00:04:23,340 the building activity which is frantic in Mumbai. 74 00:04:23,500 --> 00:04:26,980 Last time I was here, and the only time I was here, was 25 years ago. 75 00:04:27,140 --> 00:04:30,500 I need help in navigation. What can you do for me? 76 00:04:30,660 --> 00:04:34,660 You have come to the right woman, because I'm a true blue Mumbaikar. 77 00:04:34,820 --> 00:04:38,660 I'm very much a Mumbai mulgi, as they say - well, girl from the city. 78 00:04:38,820 --> 00:04:42,580 It's electrifying, it's scary, it's sinister. 79 00:04:42,740 --> 00:04:46,020 It's all the things that great cities should be. 80 00:04:46,140 --> 00:04:48,180 With this huge development of Mumbai, 81 00:04:48,340 --> 00:04:52,260 has a new breed of powerbrokers come to town? 82 00:04:52,420 --> 00:04:55,620 Is there a kind of divide between the new people 83 00:04:55,780 --> 00:04:58,140 and the older and more traditional people? 84 00:04:58,300 --> 00:05:01,140 New money versus old money - well, there's much more new money 85 00:05:01,260 --> 00:05:02,580 than there is old money. 86 00:05:02,700 --> 00:05:04,580 This is hard to come to terms with. 87 00:05:04,740 --> 00:05:07,580 All the nouveau riche who are there, flashing their labels, 88 00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:10,020 flashing their cars, flashing a lot of bling. 89 00:05:10,180 --> 00:05:14,100 But we have come to kind of accept it as part of change. 90 00:05:14,260 --> 00:05:16,980 And there's no point getting stuffy about it. 91 00:05:17,100 --> 00:05:19,580 Mumbai is a magnet, and it is a city 92 00:05:19,740 --> 00:05:22,620 which provides the most fantastic opportunities. 93 00:05:22,740 --> 00:05:25,020 It's almost like a Bollywood script. 94 00:05:25,180 --> 00:05:29,340 You can become a billionaire in one generation. 95 00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:33,220 What I want to do is to plunge myself into the bubble. 96 00:05:33,340 --> 00:05:35,100 How do I get in? 97 00:05:35,220 --> 00:05:37,140 I'll tell you what I can do. 98 00:05:37,300 --> 00:05:40,940 I do have a few wonderful friends, and I could make a few calls 99 00:05:41,060 --> 00:05:42,820 and see how it goes. 100 00:05:42,980 --> 00:05:45,700 I think you're a nice guy. I don't think there'll be a problem. 101 00:05:45,860 --> 00:05:48,460 Mumbai has a tremendously generous spirit, 102 00:05:48,580 --> 00:05:51,940 and I have some really fine friends. 103 00:05:52,980 --> 00:05:54,940 (CAR HORNS HONK) 104 00:05:58,260 --> 00:06:00,540 They may not be billionaire businessmen, 105 00:06:00,660 --> 00:06:02,580 or Bollywood stars, 106 00:06:02,740 --> 00:06:06,860 but the countless millions on the Mumbai streets do have a real say. 107 00:06:07,020 --> 00:06:09,980 India is far and away the world's biggest democracy. 108 00:06:11,660 --> 00:06:14,580 I'm not gonna get plain talking from any politician, 109 00:06:14,740 --> 00:06:18,900 but the man I'm off to see now is famous for calling a spade a spade - 110 00:06:19,020 --> 00:06:20,940 very loudly indeed. 111 00:06:21,100 --> 00:06:24,380 How sincere is this attempt? You answer the question. 112 00:06:24,540 --> 00:06:27,140 Let me ask you a counter question. No, don't ask ME! 113 00:06:27,300 --> 00:06:30,140 (THEY TALK AT ONCE) One minute, one minute. 114 00:06:30,260 --> 00:06:32,020 Meet Arnab Goswami, 115 00:06:32,140 --> 00:06:35,780 sort of India's shoutier...Paxman. 116 00:06:35,940 --> 00:06:38,940 Renowned for calling the powerful to account. 117 00:06:39,100 --> 00:06:42,180 I want to say a big thank you for joining me on Newshour Debate. 118 00:06:44,180 --> 00:06:45,500 Sir, how are you? How are you? 119 00:06:45,660 --> 00:06:47,740 I can't get up because I'm all wired up. 120 00:06:47,860 --> 00:06:49,780 I'll get up and shake your hand. 121 00:06:49,940 --> 00:06:51,820 You sounded very passionate. Yes. 122 00:06:51,980 --> 00:06:54,860 You had a very passionate debate. Yeah, absolutely. 123 00:06:54,980 --> 00:06:56,860 This is a superb... You see, 124 00:06:57,020 --> 00:06:59,460 this debate sets the agenda strongly. Yeah. 125 00:06:59,580 --> 00:07:01,180 You know, at the end of the day, 126 00:07:01,340 --> 00:07:04,540 Indians, by nature, are very argumentative and passionate people. 127 00:07:04,700 --> 00:07:06,940 And more and more in the nine o'clock slot nowadays 128 00:07:07,100 --> 00:07:10,300 people are moving away from watching soaps to watching the news. 129 00:07:10,460 --> 00:07:12,740 This has happened through the last four or five years 130 00:07:12,860 --> 00:07:14,620 as we've been broadcasting. 131 00:07:14,780 --> 00:07:17,740 Do you know what your viewership is? The show has a reach of 132 00:07:17,900 --> 00:07:21,940 anywhere between, I would say, 25 to 30 million every night. 133 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:23,460 Impressive. I've got to go back. 134 00:07:23,620 --> 00:07:25,140 You watch the next bit. Yup. 135 00:07:26,700 --> 00:07:29,380 Omar Abdullah was the first to condemn the terror strike 136 00:07:29,500 --> 00:07:30,820 on one of his top ministers... 137 00:07:30,980 --> 00:07:33,620 Arnab's been at it at this level for an hour and a half, 138 00:07:33,740 --> 00:07:35,660 and it's not even his day job. 139 00:07:35,820 --> 00:07:38,980 How are we taking that story forward on Kashmir? 140 00:07:39,140 --> 00:07:41,820 We should force a reaction from the government on it. 141 00:07:41,980 --> 00:07:45,940 He's also editor-in-chief of the Times Now channel. 142 00:07:47,540 --> 00:07:50,100 I was determined to extend his day still further 143 00:07:50,220 --> 00:07:52,140 over a quiet drink. 144 00:07:52,260 --> 00:07:53,740 Well, a drink anyway. 145 00:07:53,900 --> 00:07:57,500 In Mumbai, power is defined by your business clout, 146 00:07:57,620 --> 00:07:58,940 your financial clout. 147 00:07:59,100 --> 00:08:02,700 The richest people in Mumbai weren't born the richest. 148 00:08:02,860 --> 00:08:05,980 You'll find a thousand rags-to-riches stories, 149 00:08:06,140 --> 00:08:08,700 and I'm telling you, each one of those people out there 150 00:08:08,860 --> 00:08:11,900 actually believes that he or she can make it big tomorrow. 151 00:08:12,060 --> 00:08:14,740 You see, when you look around the city here today, 152 00:08:14,900 --> 00:08:17,260 and you look at the people who live in those apartments, 153 00:08:17,420 --> 00:08:21,260 each of which cost two to three to four to five million rupees apiece, 154 00:08:21,420 --> 00:08:24,700 the fact of the matter is 90% of those people 155 00:08:24,820 --> 00:08:26,740 are self-made people. 156 00:08:26,900 --> 00:08:29,980 And I can tell you 99% of the people who you find on the streets 157 00:08:30,100 --> 00:08:31,420 believe they can get there. 158 00:08:31,580 --> 00:08:34,860 I mean, I've arrived from a depressed country 159 00:08:35,020 --> 00:08:38,500 in a repressed continent, where people are not very optimistic 160 00:08:38,660 --> 00:08:43,100 about the future. You have described a very optimistic picture. 161 00:08:43,260 --> 00:08:46,940 How far will Mumbai be in 25 years' time? 162 00:08:47,060 --> 00:08:49,180 Is this a constant upward curve? 163 00:08:49,340 --> 00:08:51,700 I don't think I'm being overly optimistic. 164 00:08:51,860 --> 00:08:54,580 But consider this - just before doing the TV show, 165 00:08:54,740 --> 00:08:57,180 we said, "Oh, my God, we are so upset 166 00:08:57,340 --> 00:09:01,620 because we might just hit only 7.5% growth." 167 00:09:01,780 --> 00:09:04,820 (THEY CHUCKLE) That answers your question. 168 00:09:04,940 --> 00:09:06,260 I take your point, yeah. 169 00:09:06,420 --> 00:09:08,460 If this country averages this kind of growth, 170 00:09:08,620 --> 00:09:11,060 A: Does it have the workforce? It does. 171 00:09:12,420 --> 00:09:15,620 Is there entrepreneurship? It's growing meteorically. 172 00:09:15,740 --> 00:09:17,940 Has this city changed? It has. 173 00:09:18,100 --> 00:09:20,820 So the future is when you come here 25 years from now, 174 00:09:20,980 --> 00:09:23,900 then you will find probably in this vicinity 175 00:09:24,060 --> 00:09:26,100 25 other buildings as tall as this one. 176 00:09:26,260 --> 00:09:29,140 Simply put, I think 25 years from now 177 00:09:29,260 --> 00:09:31,900 will inevitably be 178 00:09:32,060 --> 00:09:34,980 one of the greatest financial centres of the world. 179 00:09:35,140 --> 00:09:38,180 Because the Indian economy could outpace the Chinese economy 180 00:09:38,300 --> 00:09:40,020 as the world's greatest economy. 181 00:09:40,180 --> 00:09:42,100 And I wish when you come 25 years from now 182 00:09:42,260 --> 00:09:46,020 you're going to have to say that I told you first. (LAUGHS) 183 00:09:48,740 --> 00:09:51,220 Arguably, it's because of people like Arnab 184 00:09:51,380 --> 00:09:54,020 championing freedom of speech and free society 185 00:09:54,180 --> 00:09:57,740 that I back India in the big coming global race with China. 186 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:03,340 Tomorrow I try to meet one of those who has truly made it - 187 00:10:03,460 --> 00:10:05,940 one of Mumbai's famous billionaires. 188 00:10:07,140 --> 00:10:10,020 And I also get to meet the biggest star in the world. 189 00:10:24,690 --> 00:10:27,370 Sunday is race day in Mumbai, 190 00:10:27,530 --> 00:10:31,490 and a good place to try to hobnob with the city's high-rollers. 191 00:10:32,970 --> 00:10:34,970 They've been racing here for almost as long 192 00:10:35,090 --> 00:10:37,010 as the Derby's been run at Epsom. 193 00:10:39,170 --> 00:10:42,290 And today's race card includes one of the four classics 194 00:10:42,450 --> 00:10:46,130 of the Royal Western Indian Turf Club, the Two Thousand Guineas. 195 00:10:47,810 --> 00:10:50,650 Though I am completely clueless about horses, 196 00:10:50,770 --> 00:10:52,330 I'd better have a flutter. 197 00:10:52,490 --> 00:10:56,250 Er, excuse me. 500 rupees on Cardinal to win. 198 00:10:56,370 --> 00:10:57,850 Thank you. 199 00:10:58,010 --> 00:11:01,290 That's £6.50 resting on the outcome of the big race. 200 00:11:02,370 --> 00:11:05,410 Shobhaa De had come good on her promise of a warm welcome 201 00:11:05,570 --> 00:11:08,370 from her well-heeled, powerful friends. 202 00:11:08,490 --> 00:11:11,490 This is Adar and Natasha Poonawalla. 203 00:11:11,650 --> 00:11:14,290 They'd invited me to their family box. 204 00:11:15,290 --> 00:11:17,890 The Poonawallas' wealth comes from pharmaceuticals, 205 00:11:18,010 --> 00:11:19,930 but their passion is bloodstock. 206 00:11:20,050 --> 00:11:22,330 And I'd chosen my horse with care. 207 00:11:23,450 --> 00:11:24,650 They're about to start now. 208 00:11:24,810 --> 00:11:28,490 Which one have you bet? 500 on Cardinal to win. 209 00:11:28,650 --> 00:11:31,850 How about that as a statement of faith? 210 00:11:32,010 --> 00:11:35,250 It's bred by us, so let's hope. I know. I know. 211 00:11:35,370 --> 00:11:37,290 We're off. Yup, there we go. 212 00:11:54,850 --> 00:11:56,810 Come on, Cardinal! 213 00:11:58,410 --> 00:12:00,610 (GROANS) 214 00:12:00,770 --> 00:12:04,530 The bad news was I was 500 rupees down. 215 00:12:04,690 --> 00:12:07,770 The good news was that Natasha and Adar 216 00:12:07,930 --> 00:12:09,890 introduced me to the Poonawalla patriarch, 217 00:12:10,010 --> 00:12:11,930 Dr Cyrus Poonawalla. 218 00:12:12,090 --> 00:12:14,810 Hi, let me introduce you to my father. 219 00:12:14,970 --> 00:12:18,330 It's a great honour to meet you. Shall we go to the box? 220 00:12:19,850 --> 00:12:23,370 Poonawalla senior started out with just $12,000 221 00:12:23,490 --> 00:12:25,410 that he raised by selling horses. 222 00:12:25,570 --> 00:12:29,570 He's now worth three billion, and is one of India's richest men. 223 00:12:30,690 --> 00:12:33,130 He runs the country's top biotech companies, 224 00:12:33,290 --> 00:12:37,810 selling the world's lowest-priced vaccines in 140 countries. 225 00:12:37,930 --> 00:12:39,730 I don't know about the power, 226 00:12:39,890 --> 00:12:42,490 because I generally don't like to misuse power, 227 00:12:42,650 --> 00:12:45,610 unless one has to do it in exceptional cases. 228 00:12:45,770 --> 00:12:49,130 But what I like most about Mumbai is the warmth of the people. 229 00:12:49,290 --> 00:12:54,570 You can walk in somebody's party almost uninvited and feel welcome. 230 00:12:54,730 --> 00:12:58,650 And do you think the explosion in prosperity here, 231 00:12:58,810 --> 00:13:02,650 the creation of new, mighty moguls of Mumbai 232 00:13:02,810 --> 00:13:07,610 hasn't started to corrode the spirit, the shaking of hands? 233 00:13:07,770 --> 00:13:11,770 No, it's because these billionaires, including myself, 234 00:13:11,890 --> 00:13:13,810 are self-made men. 235 00:13:13,970 --> 00:13:16,850 And we know what it was to be at the bottom of the rack. 236 00:13:17,010 --> 00:13:21,450 So, since we are not some aristocratic family, 237 00:13:21,610 --> 00:13:24,250 guys that like to keep their nose up in the air, 238 00:13:24,370 --> 00:13:26,530 we would be very down to earth. 239 00:13:26,690 --> 00:13:30,130 Beyond that, Mumbai has got a tremendous potential 240 00:13:30,290 --> 00:13:33,810 to have more billionaires than any one city in the world. 241 00:13:33,970 --> 00:13:36,250 But as long as they don't misuse that power. 242 00:13:36,410 --> 00:13:39,650 Do you worry that there's a great gulf opening up 243 00:13:39,810 --> 00:13:42,290 between those who are extremely wealthy 244 00:13:42,450 --> 00:13:44,890 and those at the bottom of the ladder? Yes. 245 00:13:45,050 --> 00:13:47,810 It is a very worrying thing, and what worries me is 246 00:13:47,930 --> 00:13:49,850 it shouldn't lead to a revolution. 247 00:13:50,010 --> 00:13:53,650 It could be a revolution? It could...ultimately, 248 00:13:53,810 --> 00:13:56,570 but at the moment the Hindus are very passive people. 249 00:13:56,730 --> 00:14:01,450 And as long as the rich and famous don't overstep themselves, 250 00:14:01,570 --> 00:14:04,130 and behave themselves, 251 00:14:04,290 --> 00:14:08,930 er, I think we are alright for the next century. 252 00:14:10,650 --> 00:14:12,570 (SQUAWKING) 253 00:14:13,490 --> 00:14:14,610 (BLEATING) 254 00:14:14,730 --> 00:14:17,330 (CAR HORNS) 255 00:14:17,490 --> 00:14:20,650 There's one thing ordinary people in Mumbai dream of 256 00:14:20,810 --> 00:14:22,610 even more than becoming a billionaire, 257 00:14:22,730 --> 00:14:25,730 and that's making it in Bollywood. 258 00:14:27,530 --> 00:14:29,810 As Mumbai Sunday draws to a close, 259 00:14:29,970 --> 00:14:34,490 one of its most popular malls is about to host its greatest celebrity. 260 00:14:36,530 --> 00:14:38,770 It's the mark of my complete ignorance 261 00:14:38,930 --> 00:14:43,010 that I'd barely heard of Shah Rukh Khan before I arrived in India. 262 00:14:44,890 --> 00:14:50,290 But put quite simply, Shah Rukh is the biggest star in the world. 263 00:14:50,410 --> 00:14:52,650 (SCREAMING AND CHEERING) 264 00:14:52,810 --> 00:14:56,610 Shah Rukh is universally known as the King of Bollywood. 265 00:14:57,850 --> 00:15:00,450 Many more people have heard of him than Tom Cruise, 266 00:15:00,570 --> 00:15:03,210 and his audience is far bigger. 267 00:15:05,850 --> 00:15:08,770 (SCREAMING AND CHEERING) 268 00:15:08,930 --> 00:15:12,050 Today the king is accompanied by Bollywood's leading lady, 269 00:15:12,170 --> 00:15:14,810 former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra. 270 00:15:16,370 --> 00:15:19,050 They're strutting their stuff to launch the computer game 271 00:15:19,210 --> 00:15:23,090 which accompanies their new movie - the gangster action flick Don 2. 272 00:15:23,250 --> 00:15:26,490 Thank you, everyone. (CHEERING) 273 00:15:28,050 --> 00:15:30,570 Thank you very much all of you for coming here. 274 00:15:30,730 --> 00:15:33,290 (CHEERING) Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! 275 00:15:33,410 --> 00:15:35,330 (WHISTLING AND CHEERING) 276 00:15:35,490 --> 00:15:38,010 The great news is the Don 2 publicity machine 277 00:15:38,170 --> 00:15:41,530 have promised me a private audience in Bollywood tomorrow 278 00:15:41,650 --> 00:15:43,570 with the man himself. 279 00:15:43,730 --> 00:15:46,170 I've got some revision to do overnight 280 00:15:46,290 --> 00:15:48,450 to pass as an entertainment reporter. 281 00:15:49,570 --> 00:15:51,410 I'm lucky to get out of that in one piece. 282 00:15:51,570 --> 00:15:54,290 I've been stamped on, I've been kicked, I've been pinched, 283 00:15:54,450 --> 00:15:56,530 I've been elbowed, I've been pushed aside - 284 00:15:56,650 --> 00:15:59,730 I've never seen anything like it. 285 00:15:59,890 --> 00:16:03,130 Politicians would kill their grandmothers 286 00:16:03,250 --> 00:16:05,170 to get adulation like that. 287 00:16:07,690 --> 00:16:09,730 I'm just a big fan, sir. Sir? 288 00:16:12,250 --> 00:16:13,370 Call me Don. 289 00:16:16,890 --> 00:16:20,090 Shah Rukh's people told me to be sure to report to his studios 290 00:16:20,210 --> 00:16:22,130 at 12 noon sharp. 291 00:16:23,210 --> 00:16:26,130 So this is Bollywood. Doesn't look like much, does it? 292 00:16:27,410 --> 00:16:30,250 This is the biggest film production centre in the world - 293 00:16:30,410 --> 00:16:33,610 a film city countless movies shoot simultaneously. 294 00:16:36,130 --> 00:16:38,410 I'd mugged up on Bollywood as much as I could, 295 00:16:38,570 --> 00:16:43,170 but it would be fair to say I was some way short of being an expert. 296 00:16:43,850 --> 00:16:45,810 Hi, how do you do? 297 00:16:45,970 --> 00:16:48,210 He's in charge of doing the set, is he? 298 00:16:48,370 --> 00:16:49,770 Yes. No, no, no, he's... 299 00:16:49,890 --> 00:16:52,170 He's a hero! Oh, my God! 300 00:16:52,330 --> 00:16:54,210 I'm sorry! (LAUGHTER) 301 00:16:54,330 --> 00:16:56,290 I'll shake your hand again. 302 00:16:56,410 --> 00:16:58,930 That was Rambi Kapoor, 303 00:16:59,090 --> 00:17:02,410 and a bit like not recognising Brad Pitt. 304 00:17:05,290 --> 00:17:08,930 Things weren't looking too promising for my meeting with the king. 305 00:17:09,050 --> 00:17:10,530 And it also looked like I had 306 00:17:10,690 --> 00:17:13,490 the entire Bollywood media pack for company. 307 00:17:13,610 --> 00:17:15,530 The plan seems to be this - 308 00:17:15,690 --> 00:17:17,890 everybody from the press gets 15 minutes each. 309 00:17:18,010 --> 00:17:19,450 And that includes us. 310 00:17:19,610 --> 00:17:23,290 But actually, no-one's got a clue how this is gonna work out. 311 00:17:24,130 --> 00:17:27,530 If power is measured by how long you keep people waiting, 312 00:17:27,690 --> 00:17:30,090 Shah Rukh Kahn is in a league of his own. 313 00:17:32,290 --> 00:17:34,730 That's two hours and 40 minutes. 314 00:17:35,890 --> 00:17:40,090 And if he ever turns up, it's power I want to talk about. 315 00:17:40,210 --> 00:17:42,970 Politics, money, force - 316 00:17:43,130 --> 00:17:47,290 that, traditionalists argue, is where real clout lies. 317 00:17:47,450 --> 00:17:51,290 But Shah Rukh can influence billions worldwide. 318 00:17:52,370 --> 00:17:55,330 That's not just soft power, it's the real thing. 319 00:17:57,050 --> 00:17:59,770 We've just been told it's ten minutes. 320 00:17:59,890 --> 00:18:01,410 That's the fifth time. 321 00:18:01,570 --> 00:18:04,450 He's in fact now been coming in ten minutes 322 00:18:04,570 --> 00:18:07,210 for a full seven and a half hours - 323 00:18:07,370 --> 00:18:10,810 almost enough time to fly from Mumbai to London. 324 00:18:12,130 --> 00:18:14,850 Let's say I've had a while to rehearse my moves. 325 00:18:16,330 --> 00:18:18,290 Here he is. 326 00:18:18,410 --> 00:18:20,130 Here, here. 327 00:18:20,290 --> 00:18:22,370 Mr Khan, good evening. Hi, how are you? 328 00:18:22,490 --> 00:18:24,530 I'm Christopher Meyer from London. 329 00:18:24,690 --> 00:18:27,090 And before we go any further, can I give you a little gift? 330 00:18:27,250 --> 00:18:29,530 Thank you. Which is all the classic 331 00:18:29,690 --> 00:18:33,690 English Ealing comedies from the '40s and the '50s. 332 00:18:33,850 --> 00:18:35,530 Fantastic. Long before you were born, 333 00:18:35,650 --> 00:18:37,050 but they're quite amusing. 334 00:18:37,170 --> 00:18:39,090 Perfect entertainment for you. 335 00:18:39,250 --> 00:18:40,770 We've got this chair for you here. 336 00:18:40,930 --> 00:18:42,890 I'm not sure what he'll make of them - 337 00:18:43,010 --> 00:18:44,930 Bollywood's a long way from Ealing. 338 00:18:45,090 --> 00:18:48,530 And Alec Guinness doesn't burst into song in The Ladykillers. 339 00:18:53,970 --> 00:18:55,930 OK. 340 00:18:56,090 --> 00:18:59,370 What I want to talk to you is about power. 341 00:18:59,530 --> 00:19:05,010 Are you the most famous, the biggest movie actor in the world? 342 00:19:05,130 --> 00:19:07,050 (CHUCKLES) 343 00:19:07,170 --> 00:19:09,570 Er... Well, I read it, 344 00:19:09,730 --> 00:19:13,170 and if it is written like this I feel very happy to know that. 345 00:19:13,330 --> 00:19:17,130 Um, or even to believe that at times. 346 00:19:17,290 --> 00:19:20,170 I won't deny the fact that when people say that 347 00:19:20,290 --> 00:19:23,250 X amount of eyeballs watch my films, 348 00:19:23,410 --> 00:19:26,410 even if it is because every fourth or fifth person in the world 349 00:19:26,570 --> 00:19:29,090 is from the subcontinent, so that gives you an advantage... 350 00:19:29,250 --> 00:19:31,610 an advantage of having an overpopulated country. 351 00:19:31,770 --> 00:19:35,090 Now that you say this to me, I've become even more desperate. 352 00:19:35,250 --> 00:19:37,450 I'll go and work harder the next two hours 353 00:19:37,610 --> 00:19:39,450 just in case they stop calling me The King. 354 00:19:39,610 --> 00:19:41,770 (LAUGHS) I don't want you to suffer from overwork, 355 00:19:41,930 --> 00:19:46,250 but I was very struck to see in such an august publication as Newsweek 356 00:19:46,370 --> 00:19:48,490 that you were considered by them 357 00:19:48,650 --> 00:19:53,450 to be among the 50 most powerful people in the world. 358 00:19:53,610 --> 00:19:55,130 I don't know is it because of my work, 359 00:19:55,290 --> 00:19:58,090 or is it because of the rest of the world now looks towards India 360 00:19:58,210 --> 00:20:00,650 as a rising economy, as a... 361 00:20:00,810 --> 00:20:03,650 You know, I truly believe when an economy is doing well 362 00:20:03,810 --> 00:20:07,210 the first thing you notice about it are the films and the culture. 363 00:20:07,370 --> 00:20:10,250 I haven't bought that Newsweek. So you don't have it at home? 364 00:20:10,410 --> 00:20:12,690 I don't have it at home. But I have the Time cover, yes. 365 00:20:12,850 --> 00:20:16,250 I want to frame it and keep it, yes. Your children would like to see it. 366 00:20:16,410 --> 00:20:18,890 My kids preferred their mother being on Vogue 367 00:20:19,050 --> 00:20:22,130 more than me being on Time Magazine, to tell you the truth. 368 00:20:23,930 --> 00:20:26,810 It may be the size of his audience that makes King Khan 369 00:20:26,930 --> 00:20:28,850 the biggest star in the world, 370 00:20:29,010 --> 00:20:31,010 but his power's about much more than numbers 371 00:20:31,170 --> 00:20:33,410 and it might just help save the world. 372 00:20:33,530 --> 00:20:38,170 (SINGS) 373 00:20:38,330 --> 00:20:41,050 Shah Rukh is a Muslim, and though the mullahs ban his films, 374 00:20:41,210 --> 00:20:45,810 he has a huge following outside India in Pakistan and the Muslim world. 375 00:20:47,650 --> 00:20:49,130 (SINGS) 376 00:20:49,290 --> 00:20:51,850 If the Taliban and violent Islamism are to be defeated, 377 00:20:52,010 --> 00:20:55,810 it won't be because of Western politicians or their armies. 378 00:21:00,770 --> 00:21:04,250 It'll be because ordinary people dream of a more tolerant 379 00:21:04,370 --> 00:21:06,290 and attractive way to live. 380 00:21:08,770 --> 00:21:11,730 Would it be putting too much of a burden on you as an artist 381 00:21:11,890 --> 00:21:13,730 to say that you also stand for tolerance? 382 00:21:13,890 --> 00:21:17,130 You are a Muslim, I believe your wife is Hindu. 383 00:21:17,250 --> 00:21:19,490 You have an exemplary life together. 384 00:21:19,610 --> 00:21:22,210 You set an example to the world. 385 00:21:22,330 --> 00:21:25,410 Yeah, and the scary part is 386 00:21:25,570 --> 00:21:27,370 that people don't know my personal life. 387 00:21:27,530 --> 00:21:29,770 I'm hardly a role model. I don't tell my kids to study. 388 00:21:29,930 --> 00:21:32,890 I have no restrictions and censorship on them. 389 00:21:33,050 --> 00:21:35,970 I'm like, you know, you can follow the religion of your choice. 390 00:21:36,130 --> 00:21:38,650 I'm not going to burden you with my Islam 391 00:21:38,770 --> 00:21:40,570 or the wife's Hinduism. 392 00:21:40,730 --> 00:21:43,610 I think lack of knowledge leads to intolerance. 393 00:21:43,770 --> 00:21:46,930 I was brought up in an atmosphere which is multicultural, 394 00:21:47,090 --> 00:21:49,170 so I have been introduced to the Bible. 395 00:21:49,330 --> 00:21:51,730 I'm Muslim by birth, so I know the Koran. 396 00:21:51,890 --> 00:21:54,650 I've been brought up by Hindus, so I know the Geeta. 397 00:21:54,810 --> 00:21:57,010 So somewhere down the line, the knowledge, 398 00:21:57,170 --> 00:21:59,330 not the full knowledge, makes me very tolerant. 399 00:21:59,490 --> 00:22:01,810 In India especially, it's very important. 400 00:22:01,970 --> 00:22:04,890 I think the world also requires this kind of tolerance. 401 00:22:05,050 --> 00:22:09,090 Otherwise, I think for a very, very simple mistake 402 00:22:09,210 --> 00:22:11,130 of not educating ourselves 403 00:22:11,290 --> 00:22:21,500 we will be at each other's throats for the rest of our lives. 404 00:22:21,500 --> 00:22:24,820 By Mumbai's now now derelict Royal Opera House, 405 00:22:24,980 --> 00:22:27,940 you'll find the city's most tight knit, secretive 406 00:22:28,060 --> 00:22:29,980 network of power. 407 00:22:31,740 --> 00:22:34,260 It's one that arguably trumps even Bollywood 408 00:22:34,380 --> 00:22:36,580 in terms of global reach and glamour. 409 00:22:36,740 --> 00:22:39,700 Though you'd hardly guess it from first appearances. 410 00:22:42,580 --> 00:22:45,780 Everyone in these jam-packed streets and buildings 411 00:22:45,900 --> 00:22:47,820 works in the same industry. 412 00:22:47,940 --> 00:22:49,580 Excuse me. Thank you. 413 00:22:49,740 --> 00:22:52,060 They all hail from the same two Gujarati villages. 414 00:22:52,220 --> 00:22:55,260 You can go inside and on the right. OK. 415 00:22:55,420 --> 00:22:59,980 They are all traders in the world's most desirable, easiest to pocket 416 00:23:00,100 --> 00:23:01,700 commodity. 417 00:23:01,820 --> 00:23:04,060 Hello. God almighty. 418 00:23:04,220 --> 00:23:08,060 Are you selling millions of pounds of diamonds? 419 00:23:08,180 --> 00:23:09,220 Yeah? 420 00:23:09,380 --> 00:23:12,260 Mumbai's diamond network supplies the world 421 00:23:12,420 --> 00:23:16,380 and every deal is sealed with nothing but a handshake. 422 00:23:16,540 --> 00:23:18,860 So you all trust each other... Yes. 423 00:23:18,980 --> 00:23:20,820 ..100%. OK. 424 00:23:20,980 --> 00:23:23,260 And you have no security here at all, do you? 425 00:23:23,380 --> 00:23:25,500 That's your security. 426 00:23:25,660 --> 00:23:28,420 Yes, it's 100% trust-based. 100% trust-based. 427 00:23:28,540 --> 00:23:30,740 Regardless of where they're mined, 428 00:23:30,900 --> 00:23:35,620 11 out of 12 of the world's diamonds are cut, polished and processed 429 00:23:35,740 --> 00:23:36,900 in India. 430 00:23:37,020 --> 00:23:40,540 The industry employs 850,000 people. 431 00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:43,660 And increasingly, Mumbai's Opera House traders 432 00:23:43,820 --> 00:23:46,380 are chipping away the former dominance of Antwerp, 433 00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:49,060 Tel Aviv, New York and London. 434 00:23:49,220 --> 00:23:52,700 Almost everyone down in this crowd is a diamond dealer, 435 00:23:52,860 --> 00:23:56,260 with discreet cargos and little packets about their person. 436 00:23:56,420 --> 00:23:58,660 But I'm lucky enough to have an invitation 437 00:23:58,780 --> 00:24:01,740 from one of the big boys up there. 438 00:24:03,860 --> 00:24:05,820 Firestone. 439 00:24:05,980 --> 00:24:09,060 Firestone Diamonds' CEO is Neeshal Modi. 440 00:24:09,220 --> 00:24:11,500 Mr Modi, how are you? Very nice to meet you. 441 00:24:11,660 --> 00:24:14,340 It's a great pleasure to be here. Great pleasure. 442 00:24:14,500 --> 00:24:16,900 Goodness me! You can see all of South Bombay. 443 00:24:17,020 --> 00:24:19,660 Well, beautiful as it is, 444 00:24:19,820 --> 00:24:22,940 I have a feeling there's something more beautiful on this table. 445 00:24:23,100 --> 00:24:25,060 Could you talk me through this? Sure. 446 00:24:25,180 --> 00:24:26,660 This is rough diamonds. 447 00:24:26,820 --> 00:24:29,180 Neeshal offered me something very special, 448 00:24:29,300 --> 00:24:31,580 something few outsiders witness - 449 00:24:31,740 --> 00:24:33,820 the chance to sit in on a potential deal 450 00:24:33,940 --> 00:24:35,860 with an Israeli diamond buyer. 451 00:24:36,020 --> 00:24:38,820 The customer's waiting outside. How are you? Good. How are you? 452 00:24:38,940 --> 00:24:40,220 Nice to see you. 453 00:24:40,380 --> 00:24:43,380 Er, show me from the cushions, please. Sure. 454 00:24:45,900 --> 00:24:48,820 Thank you. How much it will cost me this time? 455 00:24:48,980 --> 00:24:52,540 Because you're coming to the office, and it's Christopher's first deal, 456 00:24:52,700 --> 00:24:55,220 we're gonna make you a special price. 457 00:24:55,340 --> 00:24:56,900 22,000 a carat. 458 00:24:57,020 --> 00:25:01,020 22,000 times 5.01. 459 00:25:01,180 --> 00:25:04,380 It's 110... I think I paid a little bit less last time. 460 00:25:04,540 --> 00:25:06,940 But the colour is much better than last time. 461 00:25:07,100 --> 00:25:10,060 Look at the stone. Anyway, you're making money off me. 462 00:25:10,220 --> 00:25:13,980 I will be ready to give you 19,000 a carat. 463 00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:15,540 Is that fair enough? 464 00:25:15,660 --> 00:25:17,580 Check the stone one more time. 465 00:25:17,740 --> 00:25:19,940 Neeshal, I really want to do the business, 466 00:25:20,100 --> 00:25:23,180 but really I'm offering you a fair price compared to last time. 467 00:25:23,340 --> 00:25:25,820 I like the stone, I like the make better, 468 00:25:25,980 --> 00:25:27,980 but I think I'm offering a fair price. 469 00:25:28,140 --> 00:25:30,300 What is the final price you can offer me? 470 00:25:30,460 --> 00:25:33,260 You're gonna come back to me again. I'm always happy 471 00:25:33,380 --> 00:25:35,660 with what you supply me. 472 00:25:37,180 --> 00:25:38,980 OK, give me your hand. 473 00:25:39,100 --> 00:25:41,860 OK? And I will give you 20,000, 474 00:25:42,020 --> 00:25:44,860 but this is really a final offer. 20,500. 475 00:25:45,020 --> 00:25:49,260 20,000, Neeshal, let's make it and I'm a regular client. 476 00:25:49,420 --> 00:25:51,860 20,500. 20,250. 477 00:25:52,020 --> 00:25:53,900 We cut in the middle. OK. 478 00:25:54,020 --> 00:25:55,940 That was neat and swift. 479 00:25:56,060 --> 00:25:57,980 But how much was the deal worth? 480 00:25:58,100 --> 00:25:59,740 What's the total value? 481 00:25:59,860 --> 00:26:04,100 1.3... About $110,000. US dollar. 482 00:26:04,260 --> 00:26:06,020 OK, well, that's quite a lot of diamonds. 483 00:26:06,140 --> 00:26:08,940 What interested me in that deal was 484 00:26:09,100 --> 00:26:11,780 you clearly have done lots of deals together. 485 00:26:11,940 --> 00:26:16,020 If you were strangers to each other, how would it work? 486 00:26:16,140 --> 00:26:18,060 Difficult. Er... 487 00:26:18,220 --> 00:26:20,020 We would not be working with strangers. 488 00:26:20,180 --> 00:26:22,420 You wouldn't even have them in this office? No. 489 00:26:22,580 --> 00:26:24,300 He wouldn't probably be in the building, 490 00:26:24,460 --> 00:26:26,500 he probably wouldn't make it to the street. 491 00:26:27,980 --> 00:26:31,820 Firestone's Opera House office is strictly trade only. 492 00:26:33,340 --> 00:26:36,220 If you're in the market to buy some ready-to-wear rocks, 493 00:26:36,380 --> 00:26:39,260 you head for their stunning showrooms. 494 00:26:41,340 --> 00:26:44,900 I'm meeting Neeshal's older brother, Nirav Modi. 495 00:26:45,060 --> 00:26:48,700 And, happily enough, my arrival coincided with a photo shoot 496 00:26:48,820 --> 00:26:50,700 for his latest collection. 497 00:27:02,500 --> 00:27:04,700 When we talk about high-value diamonds, 498 00:27:04,820 --> 00:27:06,740 what's their value? 499 00:27:06,860 --> 00:27:08,700 These are two pear shapes. 500 00:27:08,860 --> 00:27:11,980 Two pear shapes. They weigh two grams each. 501 00:27:12,180 --> 00:27:13,820 Two grams each. And you're holding 502 00:27:13,980 --> 00:27:17,500 two million dollars in your hands. Oh! Makes me... (SHUDDERS) 503 00:27:17,660 --> 00:27:20,580 How long does this process of cutting take? 504 00:27:20,740 --> 00:27:22,660 Three to four months. What?! Yeah. 505 00:27:22,820 --> 00:27:25,780 It's a huge responsibility on the cutter. Yeah. 506 00:27:25,940 --> 00:27:28,340 One mistake and it's... It's worth zero. 507 00:27:28,500 --> 00:27:29,780 It's worth zero? Yeah, 508 00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:31,780 cos it can blow up into smithereens. 509 00:27:31,940 --> 00:27:34,500 Do you ever lose diamonds like that? Absolutely. 510 00:27:37,660 --> 00:27:40,820 Can you break down the market for us? 511 00:27:40,980 --> 00:27:44,900 What percentage sells in India, what percentage sells abroad? 512 00:27:45,020 --> 00:27:47,300 I'd say today 50-50. 513 00:27:47,460 --> 00:27:49,940 Three, four years ago, it was zero India. 514 00:27:50,100 --> 00:27:52,340 Zero India? I didn't sell anything. 515 00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:55,660 And I'm moving all production to Bombay. 516 00:27:55,820 --> 00:27:59,020 So we have necklaces which we have sold for $10 million. 517 00:27:59,180 --> 00:28:03,300 Very important jewellery made in Bombay and sold in India. 518 00:28:03,420 --> 00:28:05,420 I'm beginning to realise 519 00:28:05,580 --> 00:28:08,180 that Mumbai's extraordinary diamond business 520 00:28:08,340 --> 00:28:12,460 is about the most integrated network of power you can find. 521 00:28:12,620 --> 00:28:17,260 Many of us have come from a very small village in Gujarat. 522 00:28:18,820 --> 00:28:22,300 Anywhere from 60 years to 20 years ago. 523 00:28:22,420 --> 00:28:24,940 When I came here at the age of 19, 524 00:28:25,060 --> 00:28:27,060 I was earning a salary of $100. 525 00:28:27,220 --> 00:28:30,380 I worked for my uncle. He taught me the trade. 526 00:28:30,540 --> 00:28:33,460 And they knew who my father was, they knew who my grandfather was, 527 00:28:33,620 --> 00:28:36,580 who my relatives were, and who vouched for me. 528 00:28:36,740 --> 00:28:40,860 And I was doing millions of dollars of business when I had very little. 529 00:28:40,980 --> 00:28:42,980 And this is where the importance 530 00:28:43,140 --> 00:28:46,660 of the single Gujarati village comes in. 531 00:28:46,820 --> 00:28:49,900 Because if you're from there, your word is your bond. 532 00:28:50,060 --> 00:28:53,660 Absolutely. And to break your word in this business... 533 00:28:53,780 --> 00:28:56,060 it's the worst thing you can do. 534 00:28:57,660 --> 00:29:01,900 Sadly for my wife, I left Firestone Diamonds empty-handed. 535 00:29:02,060 --> 00:29:05,620 It was time to leave the rich, glamorous set behind 536 00:29:05,740 --> 00:29:08,020 and head into a very different city. 537 00:29:08,180 --> 00:29:11,340 Well it would be, if it wasn't for Mumbai's habitual gridlock. 538 00:29:11,500 --> 00:29:13,500 Isn't it faster for me to take a rickshaw? 539 00:29:13,660 --> 00:29:16,020 No problem. You cannot move in the traffic. 540 00:29:16,140 --> 00:29:18,060 It's better to take a rickshaw, sir. 541 00:29:18,180 --> 00:29:19,900 (HORNS HONK) 542 00:29:25,660 --> 00:29:29,580 One in ten people here live on less than 25p a day. 543 00:29:29,740 --> 00:29:33,100 Even Mumbai's average daily wage is less than a fiver. 544 00:29:33,260 --> 00:29:36,340 But don't think the poor here are powerless. 545 00:29:36,460 --> 00:29:39,020 Collectively, they have real muscle. 546 00:29:40,260 --> 00:29:42,220 And one genuine source of power 547 00:29:42,380 --> 00:29:45,060 flourishing here in contrast, say, to back home in Britain 548 00:29:45,180 --> 00:29:47,380 are the unions. 549 00:30:04,740 --> 00:30:08,780 This is a branch meeting of the Mumbai Autorickshawmen's Union. 550 00:30:08,900 --> 00:30:11,580 Their leader is Shashank Rao. 551 00:30:21,180 --> 00:30:22,700 Mr Rao. Yeah, hi. 552 00:30:22,860 --> 00:30:25,300 Terrific speech, but I didn't understand a word. 553 00:30:25,420 --> 00:30:27,020 So what was it about? 554 00:30:44,900 --> 00:30:46,220 These chaps don't want that. 555 00:30:47,140 --> 00:30:48,460 Yeah. 556 00:30:50,660 --> 00:30:53,420 You're clearly, I've now seen it with my own eyes, 557 00:30:53,540 --> 00:30:54,860 a brilliant speaker. 558 00:30:55,020 --> 00:30:58,500 I was watching these men and they were hanging on your every word. 559 00:30:58,620 --> 00:31:00,740 You have a lot of power here. 560 00:31:00,900 --> 00:31:03,820 Do you think this is power which you are using 561 00:31:03,980 --> 00:31:06,300 for the benefit of the members of your union, 562 00:31:06,460 --> 00:31:09,180 or do you also include the travelling public in this as well? 563 00:31:11,780 --> 00:31:12,820 Yeah. 564 00:31:18,140 --> 00:31:20,900 So, your ultimate sanction is to go on strike. 565 00:31:25,340 --> 00:31:27,700 So it's a big power you have here. 566 00:31:32,660 --> 00:31:35,420 And the voters are not just them, but their families as well. 567 00:31:35,580 --> 00:31:40,500 So how many voters do you think you can mobilise behind your... 568 00:31:43,700 --> 00:31:46,900 That's two and a half million votes he's talking about! 569 00:31:47,060 --> 00:31:50,260 And surely here, among those with relatively little, 570 00:31:50,420 --> 00:31:52,820 I'll finally find the politics of envy. 571 00:31:53,940 --> 00:31:56,020 Everybody is optimistic. 572 00:31:56,180 --> 00:31:59,140 Maybe they're saying that because I'm a foreigner, maybe not, 573 00:31:59,300 --> 00:32:01,780 but they sincerely seem to be very optimistic 574 00:32:01,940 --> 00:32:05,460 about the future of Mumbai. Are you an optimistic man as well? 575 00:32:28,980 --> 00:32:32,220 The Sharad Rao to whom Shashank refers is his own father, 576 00:32:32,380 --> 00:32:36,300 and one of the most powerful trade union bosses in all India. 577 00:32:36,460 --> 00:32:38,620 Here, it's not just the business moguls 578 00:32:38,740 --> 00:32:40,900 who construct family dynasties. 579 00:32:42,820 --> 00:32:46,140 No-one in India gets overly hung up about nepotism. 580 00:32:48,260 --> 00:32:51,060 Mr Rao senior is currently languishing in hospital 581 00:32:51,220 --> 00:32:53,620 with Dengue fever, but he's determined 582 00:32:53,780 --> 00:32:57,300 I don't leave Mumbai without exploring the power of the many 583 00:32:57,420 --> 00:32:59,060 not the few. 584 00:32:59,220 --> 00:33:02,540 I do hope you're feeling much better, and I assume 585 00:33:02,700 --> 00:33:05,140 that you're being well looked after here. 586 00:33:05,300 --> 00:33:08,020 Because aren't many of these people your members? 587 00:33:15,460 --> 00:33:19,380 So, if you're President of all these organisations, 588 00:33:19,540 --> 00:33:22,820 do you consider yourself a powerful man? 589 00:33:51,060 --> 00:33:54,420 But do you worry that in Mumbai today 590 00:33:54,580 --> 00:33:58,820 the gap between the rich and the poor is growing, 591 00:33:58,940 --> 00:34:00,860 unacceptably so? 592 00:34:21,100 --> 00:34:24,140 Despite Sharad Rao's predictions of revolt, 593 00:34:24,300 --> 00:34:27,700 I don't see any signs of it yet on the Mumbai streets. 594 00:34:29,180 --> 00:34:32,260 That has to be good news for India's richest woman, 595 00:34:32,380 --> 00:34:45,930 whom I get to meet next. 596 00:34:45,930 --> 00:34:49,930 This is the recently built world-famous Antilia House. 597 00:34:51,370 --> 00:34:54,570 It's the most expensive private residence on Earth, 598 00:34:54,730 --> 00:34:57,010 and has been valued at two billion dollars. 599 00:34:57,170 --> 00:34:59,690 Though you'd barely guess at street level. 600 00:34:59,810 --> 00:35:02,450 It supposedly has three helipads, 601 00:35:02,570 --> 00:35:04,210 a staff of 600, 602 00:35:04,370 --> 00:35:06,490 and its floor area is allegedly greater 603 00:35:06,610 --> 00:35:08,570 than the Palace of Versailles. 604 00:35:08,730 --> 00:35:11,810 It houses India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, 605 00:35:11,930 --> 00:35:13,850 his wife, and three children. 606 00:35:14,890 --> 00:35:18,090 Shobhaa De had told me all about it earlier in my stay. 607 00:35:19,090 --> 00:35:21,370 Well, I went to the house-warming party. 608 00:35:21,530 --> 00:35:24,650 It is a spectacular building by any standards. 609 00:35:24,810 --> 00:35:26,690 How many storeys? 27. 610 00:35:26,810 --> 00:35:28,450 For one family - not bad. 611 00:35:28,570 --> 00:35:30,850 But I see it as a landmark. 612 00:35:31,010 --> 00:35:33,210 I've called it the modern-day Taj Mahal. 613 00:35:33,370 --> 00:35:36,530 And I have seen crowds of people from across India, 614 00:35:36,650 --> 00:35:38,170 and Mumbaikars themselves, 615 00:35:38,330 --> 00:35:41,410 who stand across the footpath clicking pictures. 616 00:35:42,810 --> 00:35:46,010 Antilia has, as you might expect, come in for a bit of flak 617 00:35:46,130 --> 00:35:47,650 for its opulence. 618 00:35:47,810 --> 00:35:50,850 So I'm not surprised its doors remain closed to me. 619 00:35:53,090 --> 00:35:56,050 But the great news is, thanks to Shobhaa De, 620 00:35:56,210 --> 00:35:59,850 her good friend Nita, Mukesh's wife, has agreed to meet. 621 00:36:01,330 --> 00:36:05,530 Mukesh Ambani, in 2007 the world's richest man, 622 00:36:05,650 --> 00:36:07,850 runs Reliance Industries - 623 00:36:08,010 --> 00:36:09,770 India's largest private sector company, 624 00:36:09,930 --> 00:36:12,410 which has a stake in countless fields. 625 00:36:14,970 --> 00:36:17,570 Nita Ambani is a qualified teacher 626 00:36:17,730 --> 00:36:21,010 and spends much of her time running this new school. 627 00:36:24,570 --> 00:36:28,450 She founded it to honour Mukesh's father, Dhirubhai Ambani. 628 00:36:32,930 --> 00:36:35,770 His is the emblematic rags-to-riches story - 629 00:36:35,930 --> 00:36:39,490 one-time petrol pump attendant who went on to own the refinery. 630 00:36:40,410 --> 00:36:43,770 Welcome to our school. Pleasure to meet you, Mrs Ambani. 631 00:36:43,930 --> 00:36:46,370 So can I show you part of my school? Yes. 632 00:36:46,530 --> 00:36:49,010 Can I take a closer look at that? Sure. 633 00:36:49,170 --> 00:36:51,210 It's a lovely picture. It represents... 634 00:36:51,370 --> 00:36:53,770 Nita's school is one of the best in India. 635 00:36:53,930 --> 00:36:56,610 But it's not charity. In fact, parents' evenings 636 00:36:56,770 --> 00:36:59,090 may be the best networking opportunity in town. 637 00:36:59,250 --> 00:37:02,570 Even Shah Rukh Kahn sends his kids here. 638 00:37:02,730 --> 00:37:04,690 I think our school is a joyous place. 639 00:37:04,810 --> 00:37:06,730 Everybody is smiling here. 640 00:37:06,890 --> 00:37:10,690 When people look at you... and your husband and say 641 00:37:10,850 --> 00:37:14,370 these are among the wealthiest people in the world, 642 00:37:14,530 --> 00:37:18,770 how do you reconcile yourself with this enormous privilege 643 00:37:18,930 --> 00:37:21,370 of having so much money, if I can put it crudely like that? 644 00:37:21,490 --> 00:37:24,530 I don't think wealth 645 00:37:24,650 --> 00:37:28,970 has truly been our aim or ambition. 646 00:37:29,130 --> 00:37:34,010 For Mukesh, it has been a passion to create reliance. 647 00:37:34,130 --> 00:37:36,370 To generate employment. 648 00:37:36,490 --> 00:37:39,250 And for me, it has always been... 649 00:37:40,490 --> 00:37:45,690 ..the soft power that has always driven me. 650 00:37:45,850 --> 00:37:51,450 Now you're obviously an extremely focused, driving, ambitious lady 651 00:37:51,610 --> 00:37:54,170 who does not like to have obstacles in her path. 652 00:37:54,330 --> 00:37:57,170 I don't think that's my description at all. (LAUGHS) 653 00:37:57,330 --> 00:38:01,410 But nobody without drive and enterprise and initiative, 654 00:38:01,570 --> 00:38:03,690 you couldn't have created something like this. 655 00:38:03,850 --> 00:38:08,690 You know, um, my work has been very distinct from reliance. 656 00:38:08,850 --> 00:38:11,890 From the very beginning, I was brought up in equality. 657 00:38:12,050 --> 00:38:17,170 And it only came with a rider that give your best in whatever you do. 658 00:38:17,330 --> 00:38:21,450 I had a conversation with Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, 659 00:38:21,570 --> 00:38:23,090 and then we went to the races. 660 00:38:23,210 --> 00:38:25,090 And he said that he was so worried 661 00:38:25,250 --> 00:38:29,450 about the gap between the rich and the poor 662 00:38:29,610 --> 00:38:32,210 that he thought that unless something was done about it, 663 00:38:32,370 --> 00:38:37,090 in due course Mumbai might find itself, and these were his words, 664 00:38:37,210 --> 00:38:39,130 in a revolutionary situation. 665 00:38:39,290 --> 00:38:43,410 Have you ever taken such a dramatic view of what might go wrong? 666 00:38:45,730 --> 00:38:48,730 In my... In the world that I deal with... 667 00:38:50,090 --> 00:38:53,930 ..where I see young children coming in from all sections of society... 668 00:38:55,970 --> 00:38:57,770 ..I'm very optimistic. 669 00:38:57,930 --> 00:39:02,610 I'm gonna ask you, because I can't leave Mumbai without doing it, 670 00:39:02,730 --> 00:39:04,970 one question about your house. 671 00:39:05,130 --> 00:39:08,810 But I hope you will feel that it's not prying 672 00:39:08,930 --> 00:39:10,690 into your private life. 673 00:39:10,850 --> 00:39:13,290 And if you don't want to answer it, don't answer it. 674 00:39:13,450 --> 00:39:16,370 It's a stunning piece of work. Some people have said 675 00:39:16,490 --> 00:39:18,490 it's the 21st-century Taj Mahal. 676 00:39:18,610 --> 00:39:20,930 For Mukesh and myself, 677 00:39:21,090 --> 00:39:24,370 it is the only home that we have in the whole world. 678 00:39:24,530 --> 00:39:26,530 The only one you own in the whole world? Really? 679 00:39:26,690 --> 00:39:29,410 Yes. But sometimes in the middle of the night, do you think: 680 00:39:29,570 --> 00:39:32,490 well, people are making these comparisons 681 00:39:32,650 --> 00:39:36,570 with a great Mogul, a symbol of ancient Indian power? 682 00:39:36,690 --> 00:39:39,210 Not at all. I just want, um, 683 00:39:39,370 --> 00:39:43,810 the home to be not a house but a home for my children. 684 00:39:43,970 --> 00:39:48,170 Do you consider yourselves the modern moguls... 685 00:39:48,330 --> 00:39:49,810 No! ..of Mumbai? 686 00:39:49,970 --> 00:39:52,130 No! The modern mighty moguls of Mumbai? 687 00:39:52,250 --> 00:39:54,330 Not at all. Not at all. 688 00:39:54,490 --> 00:39:59,050 My life is so far removed from all that. 689 00:40:00,890 --> 00:40:02,850 Whatever her protestations, 690 00:40:03,010 --> 00:40:06,210 I think Nita Ambani does deserve to be called a mogul. 691 00:40:07,290 --> 00:40:11,210 Very few people out here in the Victorian heart of old Bombay 692 00:40:11,330 --> 00:40:13,530 will end up in the mogul set. 693 00:40:14,450 --> 00:40:17,370 It's that set, for good or ill, 694 00:40:17,530 --> 00:40:20,130 who are nonetheless setting the tone of an era 695 00:40:20,250 --> 00:40:22,210 every bit as much as their forebears. 696 00:40:25,570 --> 00:40:29,490 This remains a staggeringly unequal society, 697 00:40:29,650 --> 00:40:33,850 but wealth and opportunity do more than trickle down. 698 00:40:34,010 --> 00:40:37,330 And the fairytale story of the rich and famous 699 00:40:37,490 --> 00:40:42,650 seems to inspire rather than breed resentment among ordinary people. 700 00:40:54,490 --> 00:40:57,570 You know, Mumbai, with its boundless optimism 701 00:40:57,690 --> 00:40:59,450 and it's can-do spirit, 702 00:40:59,610 --> 00:41:02,330 it's a bit like New York 120 years ago. 703 00:41:02,490 --> 00:41:05,330 It attracted people from all over the world 704 00:41:05,490 --> 00:41:07,690 and gave them the hope that they could rise 705 00:41:07,850 --> 00:41:12,050 from absolute poverty to prosperity within a generation. 706 00:41:12,210 --> 00:41:15,370 Is that the real power of this great city? 707 00:41:24,330 --> 00:41:26,290 It's my last night in Mumbai, 708 00:41:26,450 --> 00:41:29,730 and I've been invited to a wedding at one of the big gymkhanas 709 00:41:29,850 --> 00:41:31,610 on Marine Drive. 710 00:41:33,770 --> 00:41:36,690 This isn't a billionaire's knees-up. 711 00:41:40,850 --> 00:41:44,770 Dimple and Vikeshji are the children of Mumbai gold traders - 712 00:41:44,930 --> 00:41:47,250 middle-class, I suppose you'd call them. 713 00:41:47,410 --> 00:41:50,370 So this is a simple wedding for just 2,000 or so 714 00:41:50,490 --> 00:41:52,610 of their closest friends and family. 715 00:41:53,690 --> 00:41:56,610 Even so, it makes a Big Fat Gypsy Wedding 716 00:41:56,730 --> 00:41:58,650 look an exercise in austerity. 717 00:41:59,690 --> 00:42:02,970 She is my sister's sister-in-law. She's your sister's sister-in-law. 718 00:42:03,130 --> 00:42:06,290 And they originally belonged to a gold family. 719 00:42:06,450 --> 00:42:08,330 Gold family. Yes. 720 00:42:08,490 --> 00:42:11,010 So two gold families. Two gold families meeting together. 721 00:42:11,170 --> 00:42:13,770 That makes a bigger gold family. A bigger gold business. 722 00:42:13,890 --> 00:42:15,810 (RULE BRITANNIA PLAYS) 723 00:42:26,010 --> 00:42:29,610 I think I'm the only guest here who feels that the soundtrack 724 00:42:29,770 --> 00:42:32,130 to the bridal couple's grandiose entrance 725 00:42:32,250 --> 00:42:34,170 is somewhat odd. 726 00:42:37,490 --> 00:42:40,530 But maybe it's a mark of new India's energy and vigour 727 00:42:40,690 --> 00:42:43,850 that no-one knows or cares this is Rule Britannia. 728 00:42:44,010 --> 00:42:47,690 It's just a good, rousing tune to go up the aisle to. 729 00:42:47,810 --> 00:42:50,250 (RULE BRITANNIA CONTINUES PLAYING) 730 00:42:54,410 --> 00:42:58,330 There are some who worry that India is losing something of its soul 731 00:42:58,450 --> 00:42:59,930 as it modernises. 732 00:43:00,050 --> 00:43:02,130 I think that's patronising. 733 00:43:02,290 --> 00:43:05,570 But more than that, it's completely wrong. 734 00:43:06,930 --> 00:43:09,290 I really don't have anything but good wishes 735 00:43:09,450 --> 00:43:12,890 and a rather sad bunch of flowers to offer the happy couple. 736 00:43:14,090 --> 00:43:18,410 They've got a future as golden as the trade and the city they're in. 737 00:43:23,050 --> 00:43:25,370 Greetings and good wishes from London. 738 00:43:25,530 --> 00:43:27,970 It seems to me that Mumbai demonstrates 739 00:43:28,130 --> 00:43:30,850 that India is growing, taking its rightful place 740 00:43:30,970 --> 00:43:32,850 as a power of the first order. 741 00:43:33,010 --> 00:43:34,610 I wish you much happiness. Thank you. 742 00:43:34,730 --> 00:43:35,970 I hope all goes well. 743 00:43:36,090 --> 00:43:37,690 And doing it its own way, 744 00:43:37,850 --> 00:43:41,170 from which we could learn a good deal. 745 00:44:05,090 --> 00:44:08,010 itfc subtitles