just watch it!

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

I have become the fan of Mr Woods after watching the series of The Story of India. I guess even an Indian presenter wouldn't have presented the way Mr. Woods have presented it. He has imbibed in himself the factor of Indianness which is very much required to explain something about India in this much detail. I should be right if I say most of us(Indians) ourselves wont be knowing about India as much the show is informative about. The show is almost comprehensive about not only about Indian history but whole of Indian subcontinent. It rightly starts from the Indus valley through the vedic age etc along with mind-blowing visuals and silver-mouthed Wood's narration and it get better episode by episode. The documentary doesn't hesitate comparing India with other ancient civilizations while revealing the greatness of rich past and advanced society at the very ancient age.It is very informant for those ignorant about their own past and have turned a blind eye towards their own culture which is very rich, diverse, full of life and colors. So it is a must watch for those who want to know more about India and to those Indians who are ignorant about their own past. Watch it completely to feel proud about your country. Jai Hind!!!

I started to watch this series with a fair degree of scepticism, being of Indian origin, but was hooked within the first 15 mins. The credit almost entirely goes to Michael Wood and the unending passion with which he has presented this masterpiece. It is a daunting task to be asked to cover India's vast and varied history in 6 short hours but Wood tells an intriguing and masterful tale, carefully taking into consideration all of the historical aspects and view points. I was delighted that as an Indian, there was a lot I got to learn and was pleasantly surprised at Wood's tenacity towards fact finding. Also, the history is told not so much in a chronological factual manner, but in Wood's fascinating and poetic story telling style, making it an extremely interesting and entertaining 6 parts to watch.If I had to be picky, the only criticism I would have to offer would be on the lack of attention to the splendid Mughal era. Wood does touch upon it , but only when it is dying. The great Mughal emperors like Jahangir, Akbar and Shah Jahan have played a huge role in shaping Indian history and have given to India such splendid monuments such as the Taj Mahal. But then again, it is a vast country with an over-abundance of history and tales. A must watch in my book !

The man is incredible I have also watched his long trek in the series he produced "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great" and his voyages to pursue Jason and the Argonauts , as well as the Himalayan myth of Shangri-La and biblical one of the Queen of Sheba I in his "Myths and Heroes" series for the BBC.This series is a brilliant and unorthodox cinematographic account of India (which also includes what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh) and its entire history from its prehistoric times, through its ancient civilisations, the invasions of the middle ages and the later arrival of the Moguls to the East India Company, superseded after the 1857 uprising by the ninety years of the British Raj and thence the 1947 independence and partition to the present day .Michael Wood is truly an intrepid traveller in the Victorian mould who seems to be prepared to take all kinds of personal risk in his quest to produce this compelling documentary epic. The term "documentary" is perhaps, misleading as he has succeeded in producing a work of art much different for the usual dull, albeit informative programmes of that genre so often sat through while watching TV on a rainy day. His approach to demonstrate that history is a living phenomenon and not just something that dwells in the past. He emphasises the way that the historic past is ever fresh and present in Modern India. He walks the souks and the bazaars, follows pilgrims, cruises on the Ganges, toils up the steps of numerous mosques, palaces and temples and climbs the remotest and most difficult mountain paths in the Himalayas and struggle along jungle tracks of the Tamil south to make his points.Culture, religions, traditions, festivals and daily life of the Indian people and its symbiotic relationship with animals of all kinds, tigers, elephants, holy cows and urban or temple simians is well covered here in a carefully crafted mosaic. He's not afraid to discus India's relatively untroubled sexual relations with an attractive high-caste Indian woman clad in a sari who has written a book in English about the Karma Sutra "It's not all about different positions" she says with a smile over a cup of tea in her garden. He also discusses the importance for Hindus of cremation with the low-caste foreman in charge of lighting the funeral pyre from a charcoal fire that has been burning continuously for 3000 years on the banks of the River Ganges (where the ashes are scattered) : "Well you see most people won't touch us. They will avoid us in the street but even if they are the prime minister when a relative of theirs dies they must come only to us, "the untouchables" as no other caste may light the funeral fire".Mr. Wood also hobnobs with the maharajahs in their palaces. Nevertheless, he seem to greatly enjoy his long journeys across the sub-continent in shabby third-class overcrowded railway carriages whose only form of air conditioning are pane less windows and dangerously open doors. He has really spurred my own interest to plan some future trip to the sub-continent and see first hand some of the images he has so cannily projected through my TV screen.

This is the first series by Michael Wood that I see and I really enjoyed watching it. The history of India is certainly so rich that one could do a sixty episodes series as well. Wood has a colloquial style that makes complex subjects attractive. Here he catches the pulse of the Indian history and of the diverse civilizations that succeeded on the sub-continent and brings them to life, filming on site and interviewing people who are not only experts but also survivors, continuators and keepers of the traditions of the different religions and peoples who lived and survived in this huge country. His style is never dry, although a little bit superficial, but in the limits of time he is doing quite well. Even folks who were very little familiar with the subject end by learning some useful information and especially by having their interest open to learn more.