Streets of Gold: Mumbai will introduce us to the playground of India's billionaires, when, for this in new three-part BBC2 series some of the city’s so-called ‘Bollygarchs’ open the doors to their multi-million-pound mansions.
Narrated by former Casualty and Ackley Bridge star Sunetra Sarker, this docuseries has privileged access to some of India’s wealthiest people.
The Indian subcontinent was the planet’s largest economy for most of the last two millennia. Three centuries of colonial rule put paid to that legacy but in 1991 India embraced the free market and this ushered in the fastest economic expansion in its modern history. The sun was shining on the 'Super Rich'.
This observational documentary series is filmed during the busiest months of the year in India's most fashionable city. Mumbai is the playground of India's many millionaires, billionaires and so-called 'Bollygarchs', who live in vertical palaces that dominate the skyline. They have accumulated more money more quickly than in almost any country in history and enjoy lives of unparalleled luxury.
Here's everything you need to know about Streets of Gold: Mumbai on BBC2...
Streets of Gold: Mumbai release date
Streets of Gold: Mumbai is a three-part series that starts on BBC2 on Monday, January 8 2024 at 9 pm, with episodes running weekly on BBC2 at the same time.
The series will also become available on January 8 2024 as a box set on BBCiPlayer.
Is there a trailer for Streets of Gold: Mumbai?
Yes there's a trailer for Streets of Gold: Mumbai which shows the city waking up with the cry of 'Good morning Mumbai!'.
Take a look below..
The super-rich in Streets of Gold: Mumbai and what happens
Streets of Gold: Mumbai shows us a city with such obvious displays of wealth, it inevitably acts as a magnet and people flock to Mumbai from all over the country to try and make their fortune in the 'City of Dreams'.
Alongside the affluence, extreme poverty is everywhere and in plain sight. As one of our interviewees explains, "You might be living in the trenches but you’re still looking at the stars." But for rich and poor alike the air is electric with opportunity. And for the people who are riding the wave, this is India’s Gilded Age.
The first episode introduces viewers to top fashion designers, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, who have dressed A-list stars such as Priyanka Chopra, Dame Judi Dench and Beyoncé. They live in a luxury home stuffed with expensive antiques in the city’s Juhu district, known as Mumbai’s Beverly Hills.
"We’re shopaholics," admits Sandeep. "Whenever we see an antique or something interesting we don’t buy just one, we buy the collection. Then every day three members of our staff polish them all by hand!’
Elsewhere in the shimmering metropolis, business tycoon Jimmy Mistry lives in a 22-storey home inspired by the ancient palace of Persepolis. We also follow 22-year-old businessman and influencer Yash Birla, who’s known for his flamboyant style, and Shobhaa De, India’s answer to Jackie Collins, as she takes tea at the five-star Taj Mahal Palace hotel with her three daughters.
Meanwhile, Abu and Sandeep are preparing to launch their latest fashion collection with a decadent A-list party graced by Bollywood icons, models and reality stars. But, despite the eye-watering cost, will the evening meet their exacting standards?
"The devil is in the detail. You have to throw a party like you would like to party," says Sandeep. ‘"There’s no point having a party without a wow factor. You have to make an effort to make it look special!"
Celebrated novelist, Shobhaa De, known as 'The Jackie Collins of India', is launching her new book Insatiable in Asia’s highest rooftop bar and to mark the occasion she is interviewed by Bollywood heartthrob, Aamir Khan. Shobhaa, born 6 months after Indian Independence, became the voice of a newly liberated India in the 1990s. Her writings, unapologetic and provocative, mirrored changing attitudes towards women, sex and society.
