Frustrated by the film business in France in the late 60s, Malle took off to India with a two-man crew and for the next six months filmed everything of interest that he encountered. The result is this unforgettable six-hour immersive documentary portrait of a country of seemingly infinite variety and experience. While editing his footage Malle decided to cut a separate, more impressionistic film, focusing on the city of Calcutta – once the cultural centre of the country but by 1968, impoverished and divided.