The Indian city of CHANDIGARH is a capital shared by two states in the north of the country – the Punjab and Haryana region.
Chandigarh had been created for purely political reasons and built from scratch as a symbol of the « new India » after the country achieved Independence in 1947. To design the ‘master plan’ of this « ideal city », as it was termed from the start, Nehru turned to the West and to one of the principal standard bearers of modern architecture, Le Corbusier.
For LeCorbusier, architecture had a role to play as a factor of social changes and, as such, went hand in hand with urban planning. How has this ambitious project wheathered time? We hear from Mr. N.N. Sharma, one of the city builders and former collaborator of Le Corbusier and we meet the people of Chandigarh themselves, representatives of both ends of the social scale, who bear witness.
The film is a faithful and vibrant portrait of the city and its inhabitants, exploring its history from various angles. Not a post-humus trial of le Corbusier’s work, nor a celebration of his vision. The documentary simply proposes to look without prejudice nor euphoria – and with a certain historic distance – at the « past and future of utopia ».
AVAILABLE FOR SCREENING: French version only.