Watch Hit The Road: India For Free

Nice effects though.

Fantastic!

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Hit The Road India is an adventure ridden thrill ride that takes us on a journey from Mumbai to Chennai inside Asia's most popular vehicle an auto rickshaw. Brilliantly filmed and well edited, this adventure documentary had me on the edge of my seat and had me thinking I was right a long side them. Loved every minute of it. The element I was most looking forward to was seeing the landscape of India and vision of the people that inhabit the countryside. The film delivers all of this and more.I ordered the downloadable version and loved it so much I had to own the hard copy which was sent out complete with a hand written 'thanks' from the directors Gor and Mushegh. Looking forward to the next instalment, where to next boys??

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 was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to see this film by the film studio handing distribution, Manana Films and what hooked me was the trailer. Seeing the stunning landscape of India, as well as believing that the history behind some of the places would be given hooked me in. And with that said, let's talk about this movie.Characters & StoryThe film focuses on Team US/ Canada composed of Rick, a Chicago realtor, and Keith, a Canadian Chef. These two men are the kind of people who have a thirst for adventure and found India to be the destination to satisfy this thirst. However, their adventure isn't some simple visit to one tourism trap in which they experience Indian cuisine and culture. No, instead they decide to participate in a multinational 2000 kilometer race throughout India on something called a rickshaw, which basically is a 7 horsepower, dressed up, motorbike. But, despite breaking down multiple times, Rick and Keith's rickshaw takes us through India and gives us a taste of their various cities. Each one filled with culture, traditions, and mostly friendly faces. Thus giving any viewer an almost Google Maps quality adventure.PraiseThe biggest bit of praise I can bestow onto the film is that you feel like you see so much of the country, despite them hitting less than a dozen cities or towns. This is because everything is in this tiny rickshaw and the camera seems focused on capturing more than just Rick and Keith, but almost make it so that you can be immersed in the surroundings as best as your viewing screen allows. CriticismHowever, one unfortunate thing I must say about this film is that, due to the race, you hardly learn anything about the various cultures within India. In fact, a lot of the times you aren't fully sure where Keith and Rick are, and aren't given a proper means to identify a place. You just get a large white title over the video telling you what town or city they are near and, due to time constraints, we watch as they, usually, just drive by everything. This includes a ceremony which looked rather interesting, but we are given nothing but visuals for. Then, on top of the fact we get visuals but no depth, unfortunately there are 0 subtitles put into the post-production so we can know what is being said to Keith & Rick, which I assume was done since neither are fluent in Hindi. Lastly, though perhaps this is a little nit-picky, both men do seem a little culturally insensitive sometimes and this does make you feel like they more see India as a place of adventure, as if it is some type of wilderness jungle, than a country with a rich cultural history.Overall: Worth a RentalFor me, the big issue of the movie comes from its lack of depth when it comes to Indian culture. Outside of that, it does present enough to intrigue you and make you want to do your own research and maybe visit the country. Hence why I say this is worth a rental. It may be an adventure documentary, but the narrative for the adventure isn't on the level in which the story really captures you, and the documentary aspect is only strong in terms of the camera capturing images, and not necessarily cultures or lives.

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.