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By Danielle Long, Acting APAC Editor

January 22, 2023 | 3 min read

The Times Of India has launched a stunning film celebrating the diverse differences of the nation and the invisible thread that brings all its people together.

The Idea of India campaign, which uses the tagline #WhatMakesUsOne, is a visual feast of colour and light mixed with landmarks and important sites from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Mumbai to Meghalaya.

The campaign aims to bring to life the idea of the invisible thread that unites all of idea and uses the string of lights as a symbolic metaphor. The film follows the string of light across the country as they adorn Temples, Churches, Mosques, Gurudwaras, Monasteries, Monuments and Statues as well as trains, trucks, boats and rickshaws. It also includes footage from the nation's various festival of lights for different religious holidays.

The lights symbolise the seamless thread that has embraced the many diverse people of India and held them all together as one nation for 75 years. The films musical soundtrack is played by the traditional instrument, the ektara,"that binds a billion voices into one song".

The film features voiceovers from iconic Indian leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Subash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Indira Gandhi, AB Vajpayee and Narendra Modi.

Kaustuv Chatterjee, the brand director at Times Of India & Languages, said the campaign aims to spark conversations about what India means to its people.

“Over the past decades India has made rapid strides in various sectors, and this has fuelled a sense of pride in the nation’s growing stature in the world. In this context, our new initiative from TOI - #WhatMakesUsOne, focuses on the many unifying threads that make up our Idea Of India. Despite our diversity and multiculturism, the threads that unite us also drive our growth in the world today powerfully. Just look at what's happening in SpaceTech, Defence, IT, Sports or our cultural influence across the world. We hope this initiative will spark conversations and connections around What Makes Us One, as we prepare to celebrate our 74th year of becoming a Republic.”

The campaign, created by Wunderman Thompson India, will run across national news media, social media and various digital platforms.

Senthil Kumar, chief creative & film director, Wunderman Thompson India, said, “India was an idea long before it became a free nation. It was the song from a thousand years ago. It was the spirit of thousands of freedom fighters. It was written in blood by the thousands who laid down their lives for our freedom. It was the same thread of unity in diversity and adversity and festivity. It is the same thread that continues to bind us as one nation, in spite of our diverse differences. It is the invisible ektara that stirs our souls and ignites our hearts. This binding thread of tolerance and inclusivity is represented as the thread of light cinematically and metaphorically in the powerful Times Of India narrative form.”

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