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DELHI: Discovery India today had a power launch of its latest
show, Discovery Atlas, with the plenipotentiaries of
six countries jointly announcing the upcoming programme, which
will comprise two-hour episodes of the best of nature and
culture from India, China, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and South
Africa.
Present
at the launch were Antonio Armellini, Ambassador of Italy;
John McCarthy, Australian High Commissioner; Sehlobo Francis
Moloi, High Commissioner of South Africa; Jose Carlos Fonseca
Jr., Charge d' Affaires, Brazil and Discovery Networks India
EVP and MD, Deepak Shourie.
Shourie
said that this is Discovery's most ambitious programme yet,
and though the first season would show only these six nations,
the others would follow, and stressed that from the outset,
this series has been created for HDTV, which has arrived in
some places in the world and would soon be in India as well.
The
sheer statistics of coverage seems indicative of the scale
of the programming:
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Series
director Chris Thornborn travelled 62,000 km, or two and
half times the circumference of the earth, just for the
Australia episode
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The
Brazil Revealed crew flew 800 hours
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All
forms of conveyance, from hot air balloons to cycle rickshaws
and dinghies had been sued, and so forth.
The
episode, named as "Revealed" after each country,
shows the best of the nature and culture of the country, and
also touches upon their key economic issues.
Each
two-hour episode is narrated by a celebrity, among them Academy
Award winning actor Russel Crowe (Australia Revealed), renowned
film director Mira Nair (India Revealed), three-time Emmy
winner James Spader (China Revealed), Oscar nominee and multiple
award winner Edward James Olmos (Mexico Revealed) deserve
special mention.
Italian
actress and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini will do the Italy
Revealed episode, while two-time Emmy winner Andre Braugher
and Sela Ward who is best known for her Golden Globe and Emmy
award-winning television roles will narrate the South Africa
Revealed and Brazil Revealed episodes, respectively.
Answering
a question on why all aspects of a country have not been shown,
like AIDS in South Africa, Moloi said though there are negative
aspects in each country, the key idea was, as his Brazilian
counterpart Fonseca echoed, to bridge the gap of understanding
between peoples.
This
would augment Australian tourism, McCarthy said when asked
how the series would impact his country, as Indians comprise
a huge number of people coming in each year and such a programme
would definitely create more exposure.
McCarthy
lost no opportunity at boosting tourism stating that though
as a civilisation Australia is 200 years old, the age of the
country is 40,000 years and it has 1.5 million species of
flora and fauna, and most Australian animals are endemic to
the country
Fonseca
stressed the curiosity aspect which would draw people to his
country, especially Indians, who are already swelling in numbers
as tourists.
Shourie,
who said that bad news ought to be left to the news channels
and Discovery is about revealing startling aspects of culture
and nature, said that the timing of the show is 9 pm, since
the target group is the family.
He
also responded to another question and said there are no plans
for going in regional languages, barring translated narratives,
as the channel does not feel this necessary at the moment.
Sweeping
in scope, majestic in visual beauty and rich in scholarship,
as was evident from the show-reel presented at the press meet,
Discovery Atlas was designed to deliver the ultimate
immersive experience by presenting the world in an entirely
new way, Discovery officials said.
The
series will premiere on Discovery Channel on India's Republic
Day, 26 January, Saturday, at 9 pm with the "India Revealed"
episode.
Subsequent
episodes on six other countries - Brazil, China, Italy, Australia,
Mexico and South Africa - will air every Saturday at 9 pm.
The
episodes will repeat the following Monday at 8 pm. Episodes
on Russia, France, Japan and Egypt are currently under production
and will air later in the year.
To
emphasise the key aspect of tourism and spread of greater
understanding, the channel concluded the programme with a
"World Lunch" comprising cuisine from all six countries.
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