Delhi (1938) - Jack Cardiff | BFI

Delhi (1938) - Jack Cardiff | BFI. Subscribe: bit.ly/subscrib...
Watch more on the BFI Player: player.bfi.org.uk/
Shot by the legendary Jack Cardiff - the Oscar-winning cinematographer of 'Black Narcissus' - this is one of a number of short films that he made in India in the late 1930s. As much a study to show off his brilliant Technicolor photography as it is a portrait of Delhi, this film presents the city - and the period - as rarely seen before.
After a brief historical and architectural preamble, the film moves into an extended sequence that shows the Jama Masjid and stunningly coloured saris among the gardens of the Red Fort. Then it's off to New Delhi to see how the British (in the form of architect Edwin Lutyens) 'taught the Indians' how to build... However, despite the colonial pomposity of the commentary, the record of New Delhi in the '30s is extraordinary - especially the scenes of Connaught Place that appear as a sea of calm and green lawns. (Robin Baker)
All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive. To find out more about the Archive visit www.bfi.org.uk/...
Follow us on Twitter: / bfi
Like us on Facebook: / britishfilminstitute
Follow us on Google+: plus.google.co...

[@allahkakafirbanda1939]

Nobody noticed that Delhi sky looked blue back then 😊😊

[@SakshiYadav-lj3ib]

Yes😊

[@FirstFrequency]

A lot was better back then

[@alileevil]

Odd because stubble burnings were a widespread practice those days.

[@SonamKatariyaG]

its artificial colored

[@allahkakafirbanda1939]

@@SonamKatariyaG Good point. But even without this video we know it used to be blue. During corona also it became blue for some time.

[@Ergydion]

I steel feel this indescribable feeling, when i see old movies or videos. When you know that this woman is dead now, but you can see her in a living moment full of spirit and live. I cant describe this feeling, but i love it and i hope you understand what i mean :) Btw Thanks for the upload

[@r.k3261]

Absolutely 💯

[@subhamdas9468]

I relate to you

[@sumitbhattacharya4402]

No she is still living she is now 105 years old, she is my neighbour.

[@NitishKumar-gr2sv]

I can truly relate with you ❤😊

[@Bound2yeezy]

​@@sumitbhattacharya4402actually???

[@satyakammisra]

My beautiful Delhi .. left it 27 years ago but can never forget or disassociate. Delhi is in my DNA. Jai Hind!

[@MaxRation-u8b]

why you left sir

[@AltafHussain-nz6nz]

Money ​@@MaxRation-u8b

[@harshitapandey4892]

@@MaxRation-u8bwent abroad most probably

[@FaisalKhan-md2tj]

It's good that you left. It's super crowded these days and is probably one of the worst places in India due to its overwhelming dense population, liberal environment.

[@Madmansmax]

He just called Saree a shapeless garment? Oh my word! This narrator is a comedic genius !

[@J-Square]

Didn't lie really

[@kanishkatilak7706]

@@J-Square It's called a rectangle.

[@maheshtima1]

Genius?

[@stephenwilson4931]

Its not stitched and shaped

[@cop-innsgaming4256]

High case women put till on forehead! Non sense

[@acs7991]

Everything looks so clean back then

[@Azokyjuf902]

Before Dalitization of country by Ambedkar.

[@bobfrog4836]

No motorbikes...

[@Ashishjaj]

Because it was british rule not some corrupt politicians.

[@ayushparida7040]

@@Ashishjaj then what about INDORE politician

[@AbhayRajKarun]

@@Azokyjuf902 cry more

[@nitsdt]

I went for shopping last week with my wife...and trust me the sarees in this video are still gorgeous by today's standard...

[@vandematram4]

5:33 .. Probably she is not alive today .. But she is more gorgeous then all tombs and makbaras .. In this green sari she looks like a princess at simplicity

[@Abhi00111]

@@vandematram4 Don't just see what they show look past it and you will see all those cries and misery which our people faced 😊

[@rajkishorebehera7489]

@@Abhi00111 i wouldn't be surprised if these were made as propaganda films by British to show how well they are ruling.

[@WaqasKhan-qm9ox]

For sure, she is a Muslim women

[@kanishkatilak7706]

@@rajkishorebehera7489 Bingo

[@vjndr32]

Nahhh

[@FESoul]

It is so pathic to know that all these videos were made by non Indians, and they still preserve it like treasure. This is one awesome channel if you want to learn about India in olden times.

[@kuchbhikahinbhi712]

Indians also preserved their history in Nalanda & Taxila like places before they were looted, burnt for months etc. Hindu temples were not a worship places but also were the schools in India of trigonometry, maths, Science, Bhugol etc but that too were broken, looted & burnt. If u want to concour a place, wipe their history and they will become slaves. When we talk about Indian history, we dont even know 90% of Indian history from 4000BC till 2000s. Our history jumps from Harappa to Gupta to Mauryan to Vijayanagra to Chola to Mughal to maratha to british. so much history lost. Indians did what they could have done at the time of loot, burning & destruction of history - to pass to knowledge verbally and we did that. Thats why in many folk songs & local stories we preserved many past heroes. But today's generation dont thinks of all the above situation and fall for propaganda that Indians were bad for preserving history and were gawars. We were not. Many great empire & civilization collapsed but India is still standing with it's 80% hindu population.

[@Observer-f5k]

​@@kuchbhikahinbhi712 To think that the Indian Muslim doesn't stand with India is abhorrent and you want genocide of them and even want to kill their infant babies is more disgusting

[@PriyankaDas-gj5gs]

@@kuchbhikahinbhi712 Camera aur reel mein behtar preserve hota hain.😆 Ese toh library of Alexandria bhi barbad ho gya tha jis tarah se Nalanda. 40000 BC, Homo habulis ke time mein kaha chale gaye tum khud is time mein rehte ho Ego tab dikhane aana jab dikhane ke liye kuch bache tumhare pas. Khud western technology ka prayog karte ho ,ego kise dikhate ho ? Teri knowledge thik karne ke liye- Hindu Muslim koi bhi is desh mein mulnivasi hain hi nahi . Indus civilisation sabse pehle chal rha tha yaha. Aur Aryans bad mein migrate karke aaye as claimed by Tilak , Saraswati and others. Rigveda mein Indra aur nature ko symbolise karne wale devo ke bare mein likha hua hain. Koi Trinity ko nahi pehchanta tha tab. Trinity later addition lagta hain kyonki later Vedic age mein bhi inki vyakhya nahi milti. Brahma Buddhism mein hain. Aur proto Shiva Indus Valley Civilisation mein with mother goddess. Yaha se bhi toh Vedic religion wale copy kar sakte hain😆. Nalanda mein scriptures the lekin tune bhi abcd se padhai shuru ki hain. Scriptures tu khud bhi nahi padta hain aur gyan batne aa jata hain. Gita se kam chala. Zyada scripture vipture mat kar bacche. Aaj tum jese gadho ke ego issues ki vajay se desh ka bahut nuksan ho chuka hain(Agar iska matlab bhi pata hoga tujhe toh)

[@Aneesh.Asokan]

@@kuchbhikahinbhi712 While as the present government of Bharatiya Joker Party cattle class UNEDUCATED COWS are rather ILLUSTRIOUS in DESTROYING & continues to DISTORT history according to their typical COW IDEOLOGY!😂😁😀

[@trickmaster0096]

@@PriyankaDas-gj5gs or han didi vo jo tumre naam ke aage Das title lga hai na vo devotees ke liye hota hai, or aapko dekhhe lgta hai jitne aap whitewashed ho aap devotee to nhi ho sakte to vo lgane ki zarurrat bhi nhi hai (just incase aapko nhi pta ho vo surname nhi hai )

[@lubnaabhiya3319]

Green sari woman is so beautiful just like a princess ❤️

[@shubhamvyas8249]

😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@ronitparikh2293]

@Mujahid and 60% hindu 🤡

[@sureshpandey9485]

She would have passed away many years back. " Sab jug julta daikh ker, hua Kabir udas"

[@FalggersPoint]

آپ انڈین ہو کیا لبنی

[@britishfilminstitute]

'A Road in India' - one of several short films that Jack shot in in India in 1938 - is also available to view on this channel.

[@DK-sg3oe]

Who can put a tax on the out put of children by these rascals..... 24x7 issue... More population more use of resources.... Not that ita has a lot.... Before u had wars to reduce the population not nowdays

[@timecapsule-for2050]

Your comment was 14 year ago don't you feel old now?

[@Zeno_334]

This propaganda piece, with its subtly civilizing references to the British colonial rule over India, is not dissimilar to how Hitler's favorite filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl used to sell the "benevolent" Nazis to Europe and North America before 1939. Only a gullible fool would believe that the English came to India to civilize the "savage natives" or to introduce Indians to Christ, or to build railways; the ugly truth is that the England that ruled India for nearly two centuries was rabidly racist, rapacious, and genocidal.

[@kshitizbhushan6447]

nothing changed. The whites are still racist.

[@alileevil]

That last shot of the Rajpath is magnificent.

[@buntyonfire3829]

KARTAVYA PATH😅

[@alileevil]

@@buntyonfire3829 I will call it by its original name and not succumb to a name change that was done for purely political reasons.

[@INDYEAH]

2:27 it's a Hindhu temple with south indian architecture and we call it Dwaja Sthamba ! It placed in front of each and every temple in southern India .. And the narrator saying it's unrusted for 100s of years .. It's dated before 2 thousand years

[@salilphansekar9557]

In Maharashtra we call it deep sthambha meaning pillar of lamps

[@dontbeafraidimhere5421]

​@@salilphansekar9557Deepa sthamba is different and Dwaja sthamba is different

[@pipipupu5104]

​@@dontbeafraidimhere5421who built this

[@whyiamhere7770]

I think it's ashoka relic pillar

[@StudyResearchandAnalysis]

Oh My God . Some people are just out There to prove that Nothing Good could be outside a Mosque, Go search on Google “Iron Pillar of Delhi” its a Pillar in the Qutb Compound, it hasn’t rusted because It is made of Highly Pure Iron . Our Group had a Plan to visit India, but in our Planning team (6 of us) was an Indian too who himself asked us to Cancel out India from the Tour What are you guys upto ? Indians here are against the Indians in India ? Sure something terrible is going On inside which You are Hiding .

[@sd268]

To continue, the bindi isn't "the mark of the pooja of the Brahmin", whatever that means, the Jama Masjid was not built to commemorate "a vast Mohammedan invasion from Baluchistan"; the Qutb Minar was not built by the Mughals, who didn't arrive for around 300 years after it was built; etc. Given the Brits ruled the damn place for close to 200 yrs, could they not have got a person who knew some basic history to do the vioce-over? Hilarious.

[@vijayendrasingh1668]

You are right brother

[@LevineLawrence]

Further, the Indian saree worn by Indian women, the most shapeless garment in the world!!!

[@SangitA]

Maybe thsi is purposely done, they have been fooling common people even now..

[@nischaymiglani2617]

They weren't fools. They were deliberately talking like that for their divide and rule policy.

[@pipipupu5104]

​@@LevineLawrenceshapeless lmao average white guy

[@essee3984]

For those saying, those roads are empty as compared to now. Duh. New Delhi was an administrative block, only meant for Government officials hence restricted entry.

[@kanishk5962]

The shot at 5:20 hits especially hard when you remember the fact that she (and all the other ones, too) died a long time ago.

[@NS-gr9cy]

Always struck with how comfortable and 'present' the people of older days feel. They are very still and in a way and we are rushed in our minds.

[@vncstudio]

They did not waste their time with selfies and useless phone related fiddling 24x7.😀

[@NS-gr9cy]

​@@vncstudio you have a point but i will argue this started a nit earlier already with cable tv and internet revolution.

[@vncstudio]

@@NS-gr9cy and in older times people from various cultures around the world had more time to be mindful resulting in profound work in all fields particularly arts and crafts. Some people still do today for sure.

[@NS-gr9cy]

@@vncstudio I like thinking about this topic btw. I agree with your point for sure. On the other hand, not every empty hour is filled with creativity. Try sitting for couple of hours with no internet, laptop, cable, mobile, tv etc (simulate when life was itself doing it for us), you may read a book but if you can't go out or play outside, you will think like the best use of time at home indeed might be to get entertained or to learn something from internet. You see, I am moving towards a point where I feel perhaps we had too much time also in the past and things indeed moved slow. 'We' felt a desire to fill that 'void' and now that we overdid, we want something of older times back. Moderation is not a genetic trait in humans :D With that being said, that empty time is quite needed and in a decent amount (because creativity often comes post boredom). Conscious inclusion of that 'empty' time may be a best balance but better if life or 'social setting' does it somehow ;) (less hopeful there)

[@zooperman87]

connaught place looks so much more beautiful than it is now....

[@bobsingh5521]

zooperman87 Today it looks like a sewer treatment plant

[@GauravKumar-fg7jh]

@@bobsingh5521 na Its better now

[@bobsingh5521]

@@GauravKumar-fg7jh They need to restore it

[@SaebaRyo21]

Exactly!

[@leew1598]

Looks beautiful, I don't know maybe they filmed this at 7 in the morning or something but it looks really un-crowded and calm. I can imagine huge crowds if you went there today, the population of India has surged and if you went there now you'd also gets thousands of foreign tourists too.

[@amolkhobaragade]

This was shot in all times of the day. The population is low and people in other cities didn't had means to travel to Delhi.

[@PanditThanos]

Nah its just a sterotype that india is crowded…. You are only going to see crown in market areas, rest or areas is normal

[@kumarayush4967]

Normal you say, The whole country looks like a circus. this is not stereotype, we have crossed China and you feel we are not crowed. @@PanditThanos

[@PanditThanos]

@@kumarayush4967 yes we are not, our population is high but land is bigger, the population density is in many European countries is higher than India.....and I am in Netherlands currently and I can say India doesn't feels overcrowded compared to normal western countries

[@HanoKato-lm1uk]

Back then it was not a democratic society. High caste low caste conflicts or you can say dominant plays were at it's highest peak. Plus britishers rule were strictly followed. So many people killed every now and then at those time do u even realize that. Nowadays, genocide aur mass killing does not happen. And these videos were shot in popular monumental sites where I guess these high class indians were exploring. Hence not a chance for any poor and illiterate person strolling there among them. And also no tourist visiting at those times in most countries like now a days. Back then wars and battles all they cared, lives don't matter. Only thing that matter was the land occupy policy and dominance upon whole world.

[@prithviraj2921]

I love old videos, it gives feelings about how time pass, how things changes, nothing is permanent

[@jacobwills1229]

Clean, not over crowded, Serene, Decency

[@Polyversitie]

fuc in racist

[@PanditThanos]

Man india is not at all overcrowded, its only the market areas

[@doomer704]

​@@PanditThanosdon't be denial dude it is crowded if you compare it to other country.

[@Concerned_one]

They will of course show the good parts india in this documentary in order to make it seem that British empire was a blessing to india when in fact the opposite is true.

[@dontbeafraidimhere5421]

​@@PanditThanosNow there is a population explosion everywhere

[@sd268]

Really quite extraordinary how the commentary gets virtually bit of history flat-out wrong. Starting with the Babur being the first conqueror; using "Mughal" as interchangeable with Muslim, turning Shah Jahan into Akbar's son; showing pictures of the ruins of Mehrauli and talking about Akbar who came some 350 yrs later; saying saris are 10 yards long .... it's delightful as a piece of unintentional comedy!

[@DarkHeaven99]

yep full of wrong information

[@priyojitchatterjee6164]

not to mention that shah jahan brought prosperity to india

[@incogneshwari]

@@priyojitchatterjee6164 yes yes, as did the nazis for germany

[@HimanshuSingh-rg9qw]

​@@priyojitchatterjee6164Yes, just like the Britishers brought culture to Bengal.

[@raahat_raaga]

Spritely

[@amit4Bihar]

Our women are so beautiful and yet graceful. The power of sari

[@bobsingh5521]

Amit Kumar The power of eating less and walking more 😂

[@angelsasikala4792]

Yes..it is

[@jaanmohdsoofiani1747]

I feel India was more clean and progressed and women look dignified and beautiful before the partition. Jai hind Jai Bharat🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@pipipupu5104]

​@@jaanmohdsoofiani1747this is British propaganda

[@Sabri8964]

But that time every Britisher used to slip with one Indian women daily they slept with countless Indian womens that's how Anglo indians born

[@NerdsBane007]

I love how these old documentaries don't have stereotypical Indian music in background.

[@targetlocked3401]

INDIA HAS GONE THROUGH SO MUCH, MORE THAN ANY OF THE WESTERN COUNTRIES, PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED, DIED FOR OUR BETTERMENT, WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL

[@aaditya9090]

As a guy born and bought up here in delhi this hits different something nostalgic about it how can you miss an era you never lived

[@kshitizbhushan6447]

it was good we were born in Independent India. Otherwise you know we could've been a slave forever. nothing to miss.

[@timemachine1421]

I m surprised i got this recommendation after 14 yrs of upload😮

[@AjitDas-ky3vv]

It feels so bad as an Indian to see some outsiders ruling our beloved land and taking its treasure back to a small island nation. Thank all our freedom fighters for freeing our land from the clutches of slavery. 😅

[@reggiebosanquet1525]

Nope.

[@rishisaini5269]

​@@reggiebosanquet1525Another European who believes in British propaganda.

[@alileevil]

Before the British there was the Mughals, and before them the Delhi Sultanate. Before them Native rulers who did not give a toss about their citizens. Even today the Indian Royals turn their noses up at us peasants. The British were no better in many aspects, but it is because of them India is a Parliamentary Republic where people have the right to vote. We also have a judiciary, a functioning constitution and the rule of law because of British influence. The British were colonizers guilty of many crimes, but in some ways I am glad they took over from the Mughals.

[@kryptonian1371]

Lmao that has to be the most ignorant and uneducated comment I've ever seen on the internet and trust me, I've seen many. "It's because of them that India has a paramilitary republic, judiciary, a functioning constitution, rule of law" damn. What are you on about mate? They didn't do ANYTHING for us! Idk why you live under such misinformation. All of those things you mentioned, we or literally any other culture/society, (especially an advanced society like India) would've eventually developed sooner or later...it's not groundbreaking stuff yk? Look at China and Japan...they weren't ruled by anyone and they were some of the most closed societies known to mankind, they still are up to an extent. Japan was like way backwards before the world war...like ridiculously backwards. Did they not develop? Did they not discover fire? 😂. Both China and Japan literally own the west when it comes to high speed trains and railways ig. Why do you think that without the 200 years of utter slavery and exploitation we wouldn't have developed? Bro, you out here speaking as if the Brits taught us how to fuckin live?!!! India was one of the richest and advanced country of its time and not just culturally, we were pioneers in Astronomy and Mathematics. Even during the Mughal Empire and the Islamic invasion, India was still very rich, although education did take a hit thanks to the Islamic overlords. Do you know why that is? I'm no fan of any invader be it the Mughals or anyone. But they made India their home unlike the British. That meant they kept majority of the wealth inside the country. I mean it was their home as well so they HAD to reinvest the wealth back into the country. That way at least it remained inside the country. Now with the British...they sucked everything and took everything back home...leaving nothing here. So please, you don't have to pick the "lesser evil" here because there is none. Invasion is invasion no matter who did it. They all looted us, they all tortured us, they all tried to put us backwards. But luckily Indians are some of the most resilient people on earth. It ain't that easy to wipe us out. So fuck all the invaders...all of them sucked equally.

[@user-id5fo5fv8r]

Yes but most North Indians of today are also progeny of invading Aryans before Babur and others.

[@donraja7862]

It's feels like I've gone back in time

[@thehindumuse]

The wonder that this land once was! What we have reduced ourselves to is utterly shameful.

[@bobsingh5521]

Sid S It was the British that’s ruined India by their trash, air pollution, corruption, and street shitting.

[@farooqishaq6974]

Fundamental fault of subcontinental culture..over population

[@popefrancis8153]

@@bobsingh5521 again blaming the British for our problems

[@MegaLeoben]

We?

[@vijgokondkar7628]

Past looks better,because you don’t have to live in it.

[@RandomDailies-vi1so]

Wow, this video brings Delhi in 1938 to life! The historical details and footage are fascinating. It's amazing to see how much has changed and yet how some things remain timeless. Thanks for sharing this incredible glimpse into the past!

[@pindiboy2589]

I am glad to watch it. Old memories old places. I am from Pakistan but before we were together. I really like this historical video. I appreciate.

[@internationalbhikaripakist4432]

Rwp Express fuck pak

[@asnaz2684055]

Ya..india and Pakistan were a same nation at the time this video shooted..they should love each other..dont hate each other

[@kamakshiparameswaraiyer5032]

same nation? pakistan is never existed before

[@Priyanka-hy5qs]

I don't get what love u ppl talk about...its like I break my home today to get a part of property and after that act like I'm still their darling daughter and have always loved them. Pakistan is made by traitors...Keep ur love to urself.

[@amaanhussainbarbhuyan9628]

Pakistan zindabad

[@rjkmdb]

It feels so good to see, all these structures are still standing, only things been added

[@RoutesnFoods]

The narrator telling Qutub Minar being built by Mughals, clearly reflects and prooves how much of our history must have been distorted and falsely reported

[@GyanTvAmit]

yes these brits knows nothing but pretend to know everything

[@JCT75]

Then who built it?

[@JCT75]

@@RoutesnFoods Ah ok fine. So you meant that he built it on top of temple ruins? Might be true..

[@nirajandata]

narrator didn't say that. narattor said "qutub minar built by one and successively completed by mughal". he just meant to say that the finishing was done by mughal but someone built it before them

[@swapnilgupta5399]

@@nirajandata qutub uddin aibak started it and it was completed by his son in law illtutmis. They all belong to Slave dynasty of delhi sulatnate period, probably in 12-13 century.

[@mikkifly]

jack cardiff one of the worlds greatest cinematographers

[@shikha9695]

iam not a delhite but still would love to be one!my grandparents live there in delhi and its my wish to pursue my higher education from aiims delhi.now after watching this video..iam even more in love with delhi!

[@saikrishnarankireddy2662]

Hi did you pursued your higher education from aiims delhi?

[@shikha9695]

@@saikrishnarankireddy2662 Unfortunately, no. I still achieved my dream of becoming a doctor, albeit in another college. :)

[@JumpingRock-oo7br]

​​@@shikha9695in what class were you when you made that old comment

[@shikha9695]

@@JumpingRock-oo7br I was in 9th-10th standard.

[@JumpingRock-oo7br]

@@shikha9695 oh god it's so fascinating,I'm currently in 12th and want to pursue medical in AIIMS Delhi

[@gatheringleaves]

I absolutely love their clothes! They look so elegant and refined

[@bobsingh5521]

Infinite Sky They still shit in the streets

[@bobsingh5521]

@R&AW But you are brown from my shit

[@EmJack_Gaming]

That's saree Many indian women are still wearing it

[@aham-mumukshu-asmi]

Bihar used to be seat of education once upon a time. Delhi had so much Indian culture. Everything gone now and all that is left is ashes. What a fall from grace and dignity.

[@Mannequin1235-s4s]

You forgot about Bengal and royalty of Kolkata

[@MAVIA67]

how clean everything is back then

[@moonday4868]

I remember New Delhi in the early 1960s. It was not much different from this video. That was because the population of 'Nai Dilli' was only about 1-2 lakhs then, not more than 2 crores as it is now. The population of India was about 450+ million. It makes a huge difference. Also, we cared more about our heritage then and Government was stronger and more honest.

[@SangitA]

Honest?? 😂 What joke

[@nischaymiglani2617]

Now, delhi population is more than 3 crores.

[@moonday4868]

@@nischaymiglani2617 Thank you for the correction!

[@moonday4868]

@@SangitA Why do you find it so hard to believe? Just look it up on Google. New Delhi was quite small. Ring Road was the outer perimeter of New Delhi. There was jungle behind our govt. flats in Moti Bagh. The bulk of the population was in Old Delhi.

[@SangitA]

@@moonday4868 you said govt was honest and no one believes that, other than that I have no problem.

[@aayushisingh7909]

"The two women at 5:19 and 5:33 respectively are absolutely stunning!"

[@atul9019]

So are you mi lady......

[@atul9019]

@@aayushisingh7909 nvm

[@aayushisingh7909]

@@atul9019 and you, Gentleman...

[@DOGGLOC]

I invite you all to visit Delhi right now and enjoy the refreshing air the city has😊

[@SakshiYadav-lj3ib]

Are you being sarcastic? The refreshing air?

[@abhimanyumenon1689]

Civilised, Elegant and everything in order. India indeed was great at one point.

[@raghavsharma3211]

Except the fact that you'd have to pull rickshaws barefooted. Or get your family pillaged by a cracker

[@DoctorXProducer]

India was so clean back then.

[@bobsingh5521]

DoctorXProducer That was before the Indians occupied it

[@globalcitizenn]

@@bobsingh5521 You mean before the west introduced & flooded India with plastic

[@ApurvSharma-jb7mj]

​@@globalcitizennNo, before Biharis started over-reproducing. 😂

[@TADA00X12]

​@@bobsingh5521before overpopulation

[@atishkumar2654]

The woman in green sari is so beautiful

[@drbvrao2207]

Look at the ladies with the traditional wear and the natural beauty of the women....

[@VijaysinhDilipsinhVala]

I'm from Gujarat. Some of my ancestors were Chauhans who trace their lineage to Prithviraj. Our ancestors lived here before the takeover of the Ghurid Afghans.

[@kamranhashmi1575]

You are from gujrat not a gujrati,if you trace your lineage to Prithviraj you are a punjabi

[@WaqasKhan-qm9ox]

This film was shot 9 years before Indian independence .... at this time, people in this footage most likely did NOT think of independence of India ... and how it would shape up and how the subcontinent would eventually formulate itself

[@SaebaRyo21]

CP was so clean, less crowded, and least dirty unlike the present day. Central Park was also well-maintained than today.

[@cheeru6457]

How beautiful and elegant those women were...

[@nirajandata]

its been more than 1 year and I have been watching it for more than 15 times

[@Indian_Rajput]

India's population was 30cr then now it's 142cr. US population was 13cr now it's 34cr. Whole world's population increased incredibly from 2Billion then to current 8Billion+

[@CellerCity]

Woah! I stumbled upon gold. ❤

[@therash09]

Delhi- the great historic Capital city... a capital of countless empires throughout its history!

[@PankajSingh-dc2qp]

What a great time without phones and TVs ... everyone was talking to one another

[@mayankaranya]

My Delhi was like heaven but overpopulation is now Killing it and no politician or common man will ever understand how we are digging our own grave by not controlling population.

[@syedabdulazizchishty4002]

Population is still not a problem but corruption and lawlessness is the actual problems. Netas don't want to work and beaurocracy is also happy likewise. Unplanned development and lack of implementation of law is widespread in the country.

[@RadhaVallabhVrindavan]

@@syedabdulazizchishty4002 population is the biggest problem in India. Although corruption is very bad too

[@chhayaawasthi6794]

@@syedabdulazizchishty4002 population is the only problem to tell u the truth. If we were able to control the problem we might be successful at the end too but reason of this illiteracy, and all the caste related problems the problems related to girl child are attributed to over population and unless we control the problem we would never come to a pace with developed countries and thats a fact

[@harshthakur1]

@@syedabdulazizchishty4002 corruption and lawlessness is because of overpopulation as government workforce isn't enough to control and be accountable to more and more people. Overpopulation is a factor of every major problem in India

[@flyingbanshee8592]

@@chhayaawasthi6794 also socialism before 1990 was what destroyed india

[@tstanmoysamanta]

More than 800 years we have been occupied....now just 77 years of Independence we have achieved a lot

[@PRATEEKsirji]

Delhi was cleaner back then

[@abhilashdas2460]

Population was less, no plastic, not overcrowded areas. That's why.

[@scarface1974]

Pure class of our indian men and women .. juat pure class and elegance

[@WrestlingManiac100]

Great picture quality

[@amitharle9882]

Thank you BFI for showing us Past memories of Delhi. Vintage footage is very clear, Delhi that time looking far better and livable than its now

[@Unclechips67]

20000 people can assemble inside this mosque, but they prefer to assemble on the roads outside the mosque.

[@MadanKumar-b9e]

Not all people are wealthy that time. But Delhi was so clean, peaceful and crime free.

[@Goluwastudies]

I wish I had a time machine

[@Jjyotsnathagelaa]

loved the movie abt the transformation of the city of my birth, the script boils my blood.

[@creativemortals7316]

The massive population of delhi has made it so much worse even with so much development, look at this, almost 100yrs ago, looks like an ultra modern city with very clean streets and almost no cars.

[@BigBrotherTheWatcher1984]

They showed the lives of a few rich people who didn't even make 1% of the population, the rest of city and the country lived in absolute poverty.

[@aryanverma7800]

They have shown upper caste elite Hindus of that time

[@Wonderlife1219]

Watching the video, every one think to go past, old is always gold

[@interestdigest3901]

Looks clean with blue sky there. What have we done to it ? We - the people and the government

[@koustavdutta6996]

And forever lasted till 1947.

[@ojasviDivyansh1303]

Didn't expect a 9 minute clip can build a an urge to kill the narrator

[@gytx5339]

The delhi during british period is much much better than today's delhi

[@nischaymiglani2617]

Nope that time delhi during British period was very poor. Now delhi is much better than delhi during British times.

[@surinderdalal3974]

for slaves everything looks good, get a life

[@gytx5339]

@@surinderdalal3974 you seem to have quite an experience in being a slave to someone. So everything looked good to you during your slavehood?

[@surinderdalal3974]

@@gytx5339 idiots like you who do not know history talk like this

[@surinderdalal3974]

@@gytx5339 there is no beauty in a slave country for the conquered people, try to understand before opening your ignorant trap

[@g21955]

Historically nice,neat and beautiful city

[@Rawatjay]

6:42 CP It looks exactly same today

[@Stock_Sea_]

watching this video and realising none of them shown in this video would be alive today...they probably lived a great life with simplicity .no branded clothes no mobile phones no club and partying no fake social media life noo celebrity worshipping ...just pure life

[@AshutoshKumar-b8u4c]

Bullock Carts were prohibited but Human Carts were allowed, what a paradox of so called British civilized world

[@WaqasKhan-qm9ox]

What a fabulous footage ... truly epic and strangely nostalgic (even though my parents themselves weren't even born back then)

[@garvitsaini3963]

I am hit by the realisation that a continuous chain of generations must have survived those scourging times to bring my existence. Besides, that fashion style of women at 4:40 still hold on to be the most elitist & modern.

[@408stony]

It cuts at 7:10. I bet he said something derogatory about Indians.

[@himanshuranjan3]

Yes u r right

[@AbhijeetKumarViVi]

These videos are made by british to prove that Indians were happy in British India. See they were biggest conspirators and dividers.

[@teiloturner2760]

" Taught them to lay out ... " there was missed a single word you stupid

[@ashishroh]

Barren land?? Indo-Ganges plains are the most fertile places in the world This how they systematically fed the notion of we being the underprivileged and the slave mentality

[@rainbowmisr7810]

अंग्रेजो का समय बहोत बहोत अच्छा था आज के भारत से

[@SpiderPigggg]

Wow, shot in colour!

[@rohanbhattacharya8613]

No... Shot in black and white but later they edited it and put natural colour.

[@SpiderPigggg]

@@rohanbhattacharya8613 Read the description

[@razzsonu_07]

​@@SpiderPigggg sir are you alive now???

[@SpiderPigggg]

@@razzsonu_07 dead

[@razzsonu_07]

@@SpiderPigggg 🫡

[@YourLocalGuide-YLG-1997ankush]

This video is nothing short of "priceless" ❤❤

[@shamsalfarabi6107]

2:31 Wrong. The Qutub Minar is a pre-Mughal monument. It was completed way before Babur conquered Delhi.

[@rusipathan]

That's right, built by Ghurids (Qutubuddin Aibak) and not Mughals.

[@silkpinch81]

with so many countries following Christianity and as many of them following Islam.....there is only one country who belong 2 Hindus...dats Hindustan.....proud 2 b one.......JAI BHARAT..JAI HIND

[@deepblue3682]

There is no country for hindus

[@aryanverma7800]

Before Hindu muslim or a Christian first try to become good human. And countries based on religious identity never succeed in the long run....most developed nations are secular or secular leaning

[@MrVish6666]

@@aryanverma7800 every country in the west is based on christianity u doofus. even their laws come from judeo christian ethics and morals. dont blab about things u do not know about clown

[@tushaarverma2770]

​@@aryanverma7800the Muslims and Christians don't see that way. They will you(dalit) too when time comes. Presently they are using you to divide more. You are the goat in cycle. Minority(cries) - you talk wisdom and betterment of society - they become majority- they execute people like you, and the natives - revolts happen - the natives comes in power again - the minority (cries). Secular people are only good and safe to judge others in American countries. Here acting like jaichand while ignoring the crimes the minorty does is considered liberal

[@tushaarverma2770]

​@@aryanverma7800u are a cavity in teeth

[@werk_mm]

Superlike for the background score.......!

[@J-Square]

India was so well-kept before Independence.

[@mumbainan]

Would still have been if our population had not grown exponentially

[@MT-qt9mw]

The upholding of caste aristocracy was the major reason why hygienic, philosophical and spiritual standard was strictly maintained by the Ksatriyas and brahmins. These three form the basis of an overall well oriented, just and ordered society.

[@mkr_98]

A lot of Thanks to the American and European scientists who invented camera and due to them we can see history alive....

[@theimperialtelevision]

4:22 there are no trees present in the Red Fort now as they were in 1938

[@jogilife]

As an Indian, I thank God for British Raj.

[@Chaupal_ke_RANG]

Great video 👏👏👏🎶🎶🎶thanks

[@faenor]

Awesome short, thanks BFI!

[@shyamranger]

It's look like India was more better under British Raj.

[@nischaymiglani2617]

It looks like that because you are seeing British propaganda video. This video is filled with their cultural, historical and religious propaganda against India.

[@chinmayjoshi3592]

Duh, its a bri'sh propaganda video. One made in the interim of the 2 wars too.

[@ShivamsinghRajpoot-jc5pd]

Tu gulami kar Bhai

[@KnickGurr]

You are free to go lick your master’s boot and live in Britain. They built these things for themselves not common Indians by exploiting the common Indians, de industrializing the country and ideologically subverting the population, which you’re the byproduct of.

[@SHEEPANDGOATACADEMY]

Really very nice video .Thank you Sir

[@humaneminem]

No plastic, almost no obesity

[@antnauman]

Ironic how narrator was proud of the architecture and 'culture' British brought to this land, while people of the land were making efforts to get rid of their slavery. I can never understand the pride some nations like British and French take in their cultures. A person's first priority is freedom, then peace, and then education.

[@ajsdaman]

Just one small mistake there; the Pearl Mosque in Delhi was made by Aurangzeb. The one Shah Jahan made for his wife is located inside the Agra Fort, Agra, India.

[@GS-er8ms]

India was so beautiful and clean back then

[@shawmitchoudhary6480]

The British built some incredible buildings and parks most of which still stand today and make our cities beautiful, especially in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata. I wonder when Urban planners in India would be able to do even half as good a job.

[@IamAbhishekGurjar]

Even brits don't do it anymore

[@KnickGurr]

We Didn’t ask for it

[@davidratnam1815]

Their colonies have gone but their understanding of the world, and the way they portray it hasn't changed😂