0:00:02 > 0:00:05This programme contains some strong language
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Three British workers - a fireman, a farmer and a taxi driver -
0:00:08 > 0:00:10have all accepted the challenge to do their job
0:00:10 > 0:00:14under the most stressful and dangerous conditions on the planet.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21These guys are tough, as tough as they come.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25If you did this in our country,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28they'd probably give you about a month off.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Jesus!
0:00:30 > 0:00:36The fumes, the heat, this is unbearable. Welcome to hell.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Mason McQueen is leaving his home and his job as a London taxi driver
0:00:43 > 0:00:48to join the taxi wallahs in the Indian megacity of Mumbai.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Big bus, big bus, big bus.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54What have I got myself into here, eh?
0:00:54 > 0:00:59He'll have to get to grips with some unusual driving conditions...
0:00:59 > 0:01:00Jesus.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Too much problem if you are going to hit the cow.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07He'll meet migrant workers struggling to survive
0:01:07 > 0:01:08in India's city of dreams...
0:01:08 > 0:01:13You can't make a living. There's no money to live there, no?
0:01:13 > 0:01:18...before hitting the streets as a fully fledged Mumbai cabbie.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Feel really stressed. I don't think I can do it, mate.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25I don't think I can do it, cos I don't know where I'm going.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46East Ender Mason McQueen has been driving a London taxi for six years.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51I love this job.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53It's a great city to work in every day. What you're looking at
0:01:53 > 0:01:58in this windscreen, you know, some of the buildings, open spaces.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I just think London's the best city in the world.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06- Where you off to, madam? - Tate Modern.- Tate Modern, certainly.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08You can meet some lovely people,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12but that's one part I do like about the job, cos I do like talking.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15- How's my day been?- Yeah.- Oh, mate, you got an hour?
0:02:15 > 0:02:17You got to know where you're going.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21People get in, they expect you to, you know, take them straight there.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25London's black cabs are strictly licensed.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Mason spent three years studying for the Knowledge -
0:02:28 > 0:02:31a test all cabbies must pass.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33I'm proud of what I do.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36You know, it was a tough road, getting that badge.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39You do take thousands of streets in your head. You know?
0:02:39 > 0:02:42You're just a ball of knowledge hurtling down the road
0:02:42 > 0:02:44looking for your next fare.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49Mason drives a top of the range taxi costing around £30,000.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I've got credit card facilities, I've got air-con in there,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54I've got wheelchair facilities,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56flat-screen media screen in the back.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Yeah, it's a nice cab.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Got a saying, you know, "Be lucky,"
0:03:02 > 0:03:06to other drivers and it really is true, that.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09You know, you could go left and you get a great job, you go right
0:03:09 > 0:03:12and you don't get a great job, but that's like life, you know?
0:03:12 > 0:03:14You want to be lucky in life as well.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Oh, first time.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21- Mace, you want a cup of tea? - Yeah, tea please.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Mason lives in Epping with his partner, Nancy,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25and his youngest daughter, Isabella.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Being a dad, you're a born worrier, I think, and a wallet.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35In just a few weeks' time, he'll be travelling 6,000 miles, to Mumbai.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39- Ah!- Mumbai?- Oh, my God, Dad!
0:03:39 > 0:03:43- Oh! I'd better get me A to Z out. - Will you be all right?
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Of course I'll be all right! I'm a London cab driver.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48- We survive. We're survivors.- Yeah!
0:03:50 > 0:03:53It's time for Mason's last dinner with his fellow drivers.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56- Where you going, Mase? - Mumbai, chaps.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58- So it's Mumbai. - Mumbai, mate, yeah.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Who's taking you to the airport?
0:04:03 > 0:04:04Having curry, Mase?
0:04:04 > 0:04:07No, thanks, Bill, I'll have...
0:04:08 > 0:04:11They're all behind me, they said they'd be behind me.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Safer than being in front.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Oh, I love it in here, it's great. Nice. See the abuse I get in here?
0:04:21 > 0:04:22Yeah, see? See you later then, yeah?
0:04:22 > 0:04:26- See you later, Mase.- Ta-ta, Mase. - Go on you irons! See you later.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Ta-ta.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Mumbai...
0:04:37 > 0:04:41..home to big business, Bollywood and billionaires,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45it's the financial hub of India's economic boom.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Real estate here is some of the most expensive in the world,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52but with more than 30 million people crammed into a space
0:04:52 > 0:04:54less than half the size of London,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57it's one of the most densely populated cities on Earth.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02In just ten years, a growing middle class has doubled car ownership.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Mumbai's roads are now jammed with traffic.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Serving the millions of commuters who cross the city every day,
0:05:09 > 0:05:14taxi drivers battle the chaos and gridlock on Mumbai's mean streets.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Mental here, mate, I'm telling you.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20There's people bibbing you constantly.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24It's like landing on another planet. You got to go, you got to go, babe.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26You got to bob and weave, get with it,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28get with the flow of the traffic.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29In less than two weeks,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Mason will have to drive a taxi here on his own.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37His host will be 30-year-old Pradeep Sharma.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40He's been driving a Mumbai taxi for 12 years...
0:05:40 > 0:05:41How are you, mate? Nice to meet you.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- ..and it's his job to teach Mason the Knowledge...- Nice to meet you.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47...Mumbai style.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- You are welcome to Mumbai, sir. - Sukriya. Sukriya.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52The journey to Pradeep's house
0:05:52 > 0:05:56is Mason's first taste of driving in an Indian megacity.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58CAR HORNS BEEP
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa!
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Oh, my God, there's a little baby in the middle of the road.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Big bus, big bus, big bus! Whoa, whoa.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10HORNS BEEP
0:06:12 > 0:06:15You were just getting out of there, weren't you?
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25What's the top speed you go in this, Pradeep?
0:06:25 > 0:06:30- 120.- 120, in this? Oh, my God.
0:06:30 > 0:06:31Look at that.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Pradeep lives in Borivali,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40a northern suburb 15 miles from the busy streets of the city centre.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Whoa.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51- This is relaxing?- Yeah.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58It's chaos. It's like Mad Max meets the Kumars or something.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59Hairy and scary.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04I feel drained and I was only a passenger.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05That's what I'm worried about.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- ALL:- Hello!
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Wow, this is unreal, mate. Hey! All right, guys?
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Wow. It's like a royal visit.
0:07:18 > 0:07:19Pradeep lives with his family
0:07:19 > 0:07:23in this warren of tightly-packed, two-room houses.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28- This is my house.- Ah. Lovely.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Hello. Namaste. Nice to meet you.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32That's your boy, yeah? Hello.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- This is my mother. - Hello. Namaste.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39- Have a please sit down, sir. - OK, thank you. Thank you very much.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43- La familia!- Yeah. I have a big family.- Big family.- Yeah.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46His family are probably a bit apprehensive about me,
0:07:46 > 0:07:51but I'll win them round with me Cockney charm, hopefully.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59She works part-time in her friend's beauty salon.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04She does all the housework as well, yeah.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Do I press her feet every day? She should...
0:08:15 > 0:08:18She should press my feet!
0:08:18 > 0:08:19Yes.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Pradeep, where does everyone sleep?
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Wow.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35- This is my kitchen. - Ah, the kitchen, huh?
0:08:40 > 0:08:43- Oh, that's where...your bathroom? - Ah, yeah.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45When she had that curtain closed,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47I thought it went right the way round, but it don't.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50It's here. This is it. This is the end of it here.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52God.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57With no space at home,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01Pradeep has arranged a room for Mason just round the corner.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Yes. And your house.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Oooh, lovely.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11- So big. Yeah. - Few pin-ups. Bollywood.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13- Yeah.- Bollywood, huh? - Bollywood, yeah.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15This is nice. This should do, mate.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22Thank you very much.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Double skinny, mate. Nothing, he ain't got nothing.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Living in the front room with his mum staying there
0:09:34 > 0:09:39and his kids and his missus. Grim, mate. Double grim.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43DOGS BARK
0:09:43 > 0:09:46All sharing a toilet here in the street.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49The whole neighbourhood sharing a toilet.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53My God, the smell in there is outrageous.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Outrageous.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00But early days and, uh...
0:10:00 > 0:10:03going to get into it. Got to absorb it.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Got to get into the way of life here.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22It's Mason's first day of training as a Mumbai taxi driver.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Lesson one - keep the gods on side.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31Who is Ganesh?
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Pradeep won't start driving before he's made an offering
0:10:44 > 0:10:46to the elephant-headed Hindu god of success.
0:10:49 > 0:10:50Wow.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53We got a flower stall in here!
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- God bless Ganesh.- Yeah.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09Where's all the punters? I hope I'm not scaring them away!
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Hello, sir.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Before he takes the wheel,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Mason's spending the day watching Pradeep work.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23Your cash.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Hello, mate. Where are you going to? Where are you off to?
0:11:30 > 0:11:32I'm going to pick up my kid from school.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Pick up your kid from school?
0:11:37 > 0:11:40We like the regulars, eh? Keeps us going.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Yeah. Oh, here's all the kids now coming out, eh?
0:11:48 > 0:11:52In Mumbai, the fare doesn't always match what it says on the meter.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56- In your hands...- 20.- Yeah.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00The meter says 26 rupees,
0:12:00 > 0:12:05but Pradeep's regular customer has given him just 20.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09So, he ain't tipped you, he's give you less.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12That don't work where I'm from.
0:12:12 > 0:12:1620 rupees is just 25 pence.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20In a day, Pradeep is lucky to make £10.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Over half of this goes on petrol, insurance and loan repayments
0:12:24 > 0:12:30for his cab. Only then can he buy food and pay the bills.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32That's doesn't leave you with much, mate, does it?
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Wow, it's very tough for you and your family, huh?
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45HORNS BEEP
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Competition is fierce.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Pradeep is just one of 60,000 taxi drivers and more than 200,000
0:12:52 > 0:12:57auto rickshaws vying for business in the city's sweltering streets.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00I'm melting in this cab, mate.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Are you allowed to drive in your pants here? That's what I want to do.
0:13:03 > 0:13:04Right.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Taxi! Taxi!
0:13:10 > 0:13:14But the toughest thing for a cabbie in Mumbai is the sheer weight
0:13:14 > 0:13:18of traffic. Every day, the city is crippled by gridlock.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22During rush house, it grinds to a halt.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Look at these cars. It's like a sandwich.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Oh my God.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31In this kind of traffic,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35drivers can spend hours in the cab without a passenger.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39No sign of a fare. No-one getting in the cab, mate.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49Basically, it's like the North Circular and it's about 100 degrees.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51In these jammed roads,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54it can take more than an hour to crawl just one mile.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01The fumes, the heat... intolerable cruelty, this is.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04It's like torture, that's what it is. It's like torture.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07What have I got myself into here, eh?
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Oh. Welcome to hell.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Oh, I am melting in here.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Mate, you got to get some air-con. You need some air-con.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Only the blue and white cool cabs
0:14:23 > 0:14:26have the luxury of air conditioning -
0:14:26 > 0:14:27a dream for most cabbies.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Ganesh on the dashboard, help us in the traffic.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Please help us.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Mate, how do you do this, mate? I tell you what.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54- Yes.- I don't know how you do it.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02I will never moan about traffic in London again.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Oh, we're moving. Thank God.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11It's the end of the shift.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Time to return home with the last passengers of the day.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19So you're getting a first-hand experience of traffic in Mumbai.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21- Yes.- How do you find it? Crazy?
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Yeah, crazy, depressing. I'm not finished yet, hold on.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26Have you got 20 minutes?
0:15:28 > 0:15:33Pradeep regularly works a 15-hour day, finishing well past midnight.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Mason, I love Mumbai.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Yeah, good. Yeah. I'm glad you do.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Traffic. Just... it's nuts.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Proper gridlock.
0:15:49 > 0:15:55Baking hot in that cab and all, mate, sweating, dripping off me.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57I ain't even driven a taxi yet.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00The mean streets of Mumbai...
0:16:00 > 0:16:02and they certainly are that, I tell ya.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17I'm an East Ender, I'm cleaning me doorstep
0:16:17 > 0:16:19like they used to in the old days.
0:16:19 > 0:16:26I'm cleaning that crap away for starters. I suppose it's dog crap.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Thank you.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29The streets may be tough,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33but Mason's beginning to feel at home in Pradeep's neighbourhood.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36Logistically, I'm really on... I'm right on the water tap,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39so this is a prime location.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41I'm feeling better than what I did.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44I was really drained yesterday, really drained, you know,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47no air-con and that, it was just unbearable.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Before letting him loose on his cab,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Pradeep is taking Mason to a local driving school.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04And you are going to drive the taxi in Mumbai, OK?
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- OK. Yeah.- Fine?- Yeah, that's good.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09- And you're ready for that? - Yeah, yeah.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Yeah. It's very difficult to drive in Mumbai. Really very difficult.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16"Lane driving is sane driving."
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- I ain't seen any sane driving here yet.- Insane.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Mason may be a licensed London taxi driver, but this is India
0:17:22 > 0:17:26and there's a whole new set of rules.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28You should take care whenever you're driving here.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Not only the human being should be take care of here - animals and all.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Too much problem if you're going to hit...
0:17:35 > 0:17:39the cow. The cow is like a god in India.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41- Right.- Understood?- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44If you're hitting the man, it's not a problem, you can say sorry
0:17:44 > 0:17:46- and everything...- I can run. - ..it will be OK.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49You're going to hit the god, it's very problem for us.
0:17:49 > 0:17:50- OK.- Understood?- Yeah, yeah.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52- You should...take care. - I can run over any men.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Of course. You should take care about that.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56- But the cow, I must miss.- Yeah.
0:17:58 > 0:17:59Let's come this way.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03For his lesson, Mason's going to be driving a vintage Fiat Padmini -
0:18:03 > 0:18:06the traditional Mumbai taxi.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Please. There it is.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Wow. It's old, innit?
0:18:12 > 0:18:15I told you, it's not so easy.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Oh, mate. This is going to be fun.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Very, uh, compact.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27- In there?- Good car?- Yeah, fantastic. Ain't there a handbrake?
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- There is no handbrake. - There's no handbrake?- Yeah.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35- Jesus.- There is no handbrake. - Indicators?- Indicator...- Yeah.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38..you have to show your hand when you want to go the left.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41- You what?- If you want to go to the left...- Yeah.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46- ..you have to go like this. - Like that?- Yeah.- Yeah?
0:18:46 > 0:18:51OK? If you want to stop your car, you should do that.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Like this.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55If I want to turn left, I've got to go like that out the window?
0:18:55 > 0:18:58- Yeah, like this. - You're having a laugh, aren't you?
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Yeah, you're going left.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03That's the least of me problems, innit, indicating?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Maybe sometimes, because I'm an instructor, this is my job,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10sometimes getting angry and this and that, you have to understand.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11- Getting angry?- Maybe.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- Very good.- OK?- Yeah, please go.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22And be careful. The dogs are there.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24- Yeah.- OK?- Mind the dogs.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29I check me mirrors, there ain't none. Where's the wing mirrors?
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Stop. Stop. Brake, brake, brake. Brake, brake...
0:19:35 > 0:19:37- Oh, the brakes don't... - Brake, brake here.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Oh, the brakes, they don't work.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- And now we are going left.- Left? - Yeah.- Oh, left.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Yes. OK?
0:19:48 > 0:19:50- Oh.- Take a left.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52HORNS BEEP
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Now, I'll get in trouble if I touch one of these cows, mate.
0:19:56 > 0:19:57That'd be the end of me.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Nice.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03The old Padmini may be short on mod cons, but it does have the
0:20:03 > 0:20:07essential feature of any car in Mumbai.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Horn, horn, horn, horn.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11Give them a bib? Give them a bib?
0:20:11 > 0:20:13- Yeah.- That's OK?- Yeah.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17- It's not rude to do that?- Yeah, you should do that.- Yeah. Do that.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20When you are doing the horn, they can understand he's moving.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23- Right.- Now stop.- Stop? Right, yeah, yeah.
0:20:23 > 0:20:24- Ready?- Gotcha, yeah.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Where's he going? He's gone through a red light.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29No, actually, we are following the rules.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Like Wacky Races.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Shall I stop for these people?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37- No, no, go through. - They're on a crossing.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39- If you stop the car, a lot of people are coming.- Oh, right.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42You can go. It's a human jungle.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44It's a human jungle. You're not shouting yet.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48When are you going to shout?
0:20:48 > 0:20:51"Horn OK please." What does this mean? As in...
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Horn please, OK? All correct.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58- I don't understand.- Horn, please.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01- Please give me the horn?- Yeah. - Give me the horn so I know...
0:21:01 > 0:21:02Any time, please give me the horn.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Please give me the horn. I'll have to rephrase that.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Whoo! Living the dream, baby. I'm in Mumbai.
0:21:08 > 0:21:09- Yeah.- Whoo!
0:21:11 > 0:21:14So is Mason ready to go solo?
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Very well done.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22You did a good job and you can drive properly in Mumbai.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26- Inshallah. - Watch out, Mumbai, eh?- Yeah.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Yeah, it was good, it was exciting. Exciting.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Yeah, the whole thing's a problem.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40You know, you got to be very alert at every junction.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45The signals? I ain't seen no-one else do the signals.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Pradeep, I ain't seen you do a signal once.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54The only signal I've seen is on your mobile phone
0:21:54 > 0:21:55when you're talking on that.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Oh, oh, oh, oh, very good, very good!
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Dinner back home is a chance for Mason to find to more
0:22:08 > 0:22:11about Pradeep's family.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20How many people do you support?
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Pradeep took on the responsibility of four extra children
0:22:32 > 0:22:34when his brother died four years ago.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46So you took your sister-in-law and her children under your wing?
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Now Pradeep has to pay for six children's education.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07I take my hat off to you, how you keep going and keep doing it.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09You're a strong man.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24You need just a little bit of luck, mate, like we all do
0:23:24 > 0:23:26and you'll be fine.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Now, that's the question, that's the question.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39I'd be saving up for one of them cool cabs, I know that, if I could.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42You need a cool cab, that's what you need, eh?
0:23:42 > 0:23:44That's what you need, son.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Pradeep, good night, mate.
0:23:47 > 0:23:48'He's got it harder than I thought.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52'He's looking after his sister-in-law and her four kids as well.'
0:23:52 > 0:23:56To go out every day with a smile on his face is just a testament
0:23:56 > 0:23:58to the geezer, you know?
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Today, mason will take the wheel of the taxi.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11- Oh, Mason, how are you? - Hello, mate.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Although the roads may be chaotic,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Mumbai cabbies are still governed by strict rules.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19By law, Mason has to look the part.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25How comes you ain't wearing a uniform?
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Oh, all right. Renters wear the uniform, nice.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- The uniform.- Top and trousers.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Guys and girls, what do you think?
0:24:54 > 0:24:59- Very nice.- Oh. Yes, yes.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Before they head out in the cab, Mason needs to get his bearings.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Central and South Mumbai are Pradeep's main hunting grounds
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and the first job is to learn how to get there.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23So, yeah, we're hitting the streets. Going to be a challenge.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25HORNS BEEP
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Pradeep starts his day round the bustling northern railway stations
0:25:32 > 0:25:35to find a passenger to take into the city.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41But being too eager to get a fare can have dire consequences.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59So what, they'll attack me if I run someone over, Pradeep?
0:26:09 > 0:26:12If I run someone over, get in the driver's seat.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Where we going? Where we going? Right?
0:26:26 > 0:26:28- Sidhe.- Left.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Sidhe, straight.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32Speaking Indian now, ain't I?
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Once he's picked up a fare south,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Pradeep usually takes the expressway into Central Mumbai.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44- Over there?- Yeah.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53National Park on the left.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59The fast-moving expressway has its own dangers.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Whoa! Whoa!
0:27:05 > 0:27:10Sorry, mate, sorry. They got to put a bit of tarmac down here.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Jesus. Oh, mate.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16- Mason.- What? What?
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Don't think so. I'm having a nightmare.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Off the expressway and into the city centre,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26things start to get more complicated.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Pradeep, why don't they put the street signs on the streets
0:27:31 > 0:27:32so I know where I'm going?
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Whoa, this is nuts, mate.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45I don't know where I'm going. It's a nightmare.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47But where are we now? Where are we?
0:27:47 > 0:27:50- The Times of India Building. - Times of India Building.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52You know, you're teaching me, Pradeep,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55but it's not really making much sense, you know?
0:27:55 > 0:28:00It took Mason three years to learn the streets of London,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03but he has just a few days to master Mumbai.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05If they start going crackers in the back
0:28:05 > 0:28:07and screaming the house down, "Where are you going?
0:28:07 > 0:28:11"What are you doing? Why have you come this way?"
0:28:11 > 0:28:12Not good, mate, not good.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20To be honest, I'm stressed out. Very stressed out.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Stressful experience, you know?
0:28:26 > 0:28:28Pradeep has decided Mason needs a break
0:28:28 > 0:28:30and a cup of the local milky tea.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37- Good.- Good?- Yeah, nice.
0:28:37 > 0:28:42It's not just taxi drivers who ply their trade on the roads of Mumbai.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47The cab rank is a marketplace for beggars and street sellers.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50That's the one. That's the one. I'll have this one.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54- What's your name?- Badami.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Badami?
0:28:57 > 0:29:01Badami, thank you very much. Hello, boys, how you doing?
0:29:01 > 0:29:03You looking after your mum, eh? Eh?
0:29:06 > 0:29:08Are you from Mumbai?
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Up north, huh? North India.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18Badami lives in a community of Rajasthanis
0:29:18 > 0:29:20who have made their home under the flyover.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26With no work in the countryside, Mumbai is a magnet for people
0:29:26 > 0:29:28from India's poorest regions.
0:29:32 > 0:29:33That's it there?
0:29:36 > 0:29:38What, there? That's it?
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Right on the motorway here.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47Badami and her family have lived here for four years.
0:29:47 > 0:29:53Across India, an estimated 78 million people are homeless.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00What is in Rajasthan? Is there anything there for you?
0:30:05 > 0:30:08Do you always have enough money to eat?
0:30:19 > 0:30:24Badami, what's your hopes for the future for you and your children?
0:30:39 > 0:30:42It's like a load of lost souls, isn't it,
0:30:42 > 0:30:46just waiting for someone to help them, I suppose.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47Beautiful children.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Just been dealt a wrong hand, mate, in life, that's all.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54You just want to clean them up and put them in lovely clothes and,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57you know, let them enjoy their life as a kid, innit?
0:30:57 > 0:30:59Ain't no life for a kid, is it, really?
0:30:59 > 0:31:03I don't know, mate. I really don't know any answers.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07This city's just fucking draining me, mate, really, emotionally.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09It's just...I don't know.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16Pradeep's family also came to Mumbai
0:31:16 > 0:31:19from the countryside of northern India.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23For him, the threat of poverty and destitution is very real.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54Poverty, mate. Oh.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Why don't the government do something, sort it out?
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Shouldn't be happening in the 21st century.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04If you ain't got no money, you're fucking...
0:32:04 > 0:32:06you're bang in schtuck in this place, mate.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Just a grind just to live,
0:32:10 > 0:32:12just to eat, just to survive.
0:32:12 > 0:32:13DOGS BARK
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Just to be human, really.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Pradeep has brought Mason to the southern tip of Mumbai
0:32:24 > 0:32:26and the very heart of the city.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30I'm loving the architecture down here, mate.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32This is a beautiful part of town.
0:32:37 > 0:32:43Aha! See, when we make something, mate, it stays, doesn't it, eh?
0:32:53 > 0:32:56But behind the tourist attractions
0:32:56 > 0:32:58live some of Mumbai's poorest people.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02Pradeep wants Mason to meet some taxi drivers
0:33:02 > 0:33:04at the very bottom of the pile.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20- Hello, how are you?- Hello, mate. Nice to meet you.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22- Welcome to India. - Thank you very much, sir.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25- This is my friend, Ragu.- Ragu. - Hi.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28- Nice to meet you. He's from UP as well?- Yes.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Like many cabbies, Pavan and the drivers arrived in Mumbai
0:33:31 > 0:33:34from India's poorest northern states.
0:33:34 > 0:33:35It's nice tea.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40Nice tea, yeah. Shukria. Shukria. Oh, that's a good one.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42That's a good one. That's a vintage one, that one.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48Another cup of rosy with the boys before we start the shift.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52Guys, when you first came down here driving a cab, how did you get by?
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Your geographical knowledge of Mumbai must have been very small.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17Like Mason, these drivers wear the khaki uniform which shows
0:34:17 > 0:34:19that they rent their cars.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Pavan, is this your taxi?
0:34:23 > 0:34:25This is your baby, yeah?
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Cheap to run, the Fiat Padmini is the workhorse
0:34:34 > 0:34:37for the city's poorest taxi drivers.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39Here we go. Come on.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42This is the car Mason will be driving when he goes solo...
0:34:42 > 0:34:44Hey!
0:34:44 > 0:34:46..in just a few days' time.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50This motor is an animal, I'm telling you.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52The white one drove better in my training.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57Where you off to, mate?
0:34:58 > 0:35:00Bombay central.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03This is Mason's first chance to pick up some fares.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06Sidhe. Sidhe.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08Yeah, sidhe.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12With Pavan directing him, Mason's getting into the swing of things.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15So, you work for a call centre, huh?
0:35:15 > 0:35:16Yeah.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20Can you say to me, "Is the homeowner there?"
0:35:20 > 0:35:22- "Hold a minute." - I'm sure it's you.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24You've been getting me out of bed too early!
0:35:28 > 0:35:30HORNS BEEP INCESSANTLY
0:35:30 > 0:35:31Jesus.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Out of me way.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37As the notorious rush hour approaches,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40the Mumbai public just want to get home.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44People walking in the road. There's just so many people in Mumbai.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46I've never seen so many people.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50Where are you going to, madam?
0:35:50 > 0:35:54- I want to go doctor. - Doctor?- Yeah, dockyard.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58- Doctor Jard? Dockyard?- Dockyard. - Oh, the dockyard!
0:36:02 > 0:36:04I'm working. I can't go any quicker, love.
0:36:07 > 0:36:08Taxi! Taxi!
0:36:08 > 0:36:11CAR HORN Yeah, hold on. Doing me job, pal.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15You'll have to hold on, mate. It's what I do for a living.
0:36:16 > 0:36:17Straight on, my man?
0:36:17 > 0:36:22With just days to go, Mason is no closer to finding his way round.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25- Left?- U-turn, U-turn.- U-turn.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28Without Pavan, he'd be lost.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29I don't drink whisky,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33but I feel like having a double or something like that, I really do.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Really fucking stressed.
0:36:35 > 0:36:40Sweating hot. Not knowing where I'm going is just, it's unbearable.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Like the heat. I feel really vulnerable.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48I really don't think I can do it, mate. I don't know where I'm going.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51I really don't. I ain't had time. You know?
0:36:53 > 0:36:55Turn it in. Cup of chai, please!
0:37:00 > 0:37:02Pavan's wife and two-year-old daughter
0:37:02 > 0:37:05still live back in a village in Uttar Pradesh.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09He can't afford for them to stay in the city,
0:37:09 > 0:37:11so instead he sends money home.
0:37:14 > 0:37:19Living apart is another burden on Mumbai's migrant workers.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Pavan, how often do you see your wife and daughter?
0:37:35 > 0:37:39Pavan sends most of his earnings - about £100 a month -
0:37:39 > 0:37:41home to his wife.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43He also pays for his brother's education.
0:37:59 > 0:38:00How long's he got to go?
0:38:05 > 0:38:08He's away from his family, his little girl, for all that time.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10That's something he ain't going to get back.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13It's like he's banged up somewhere, isn't it, really?
0:38:13 > 0:38:15I feel sorry for him, mate, I really do.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17There must be thousands of them doing it,
0:38:17 > 0:38:18though, all coming down here.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22Go to Mumbai, seek your fortune. The streets are paved with gold.
0:38:22 > 0:38:23But they ain't.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30But the lure of huge wealth and opportunity is irresistible.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33As more and more people are drawn to the city,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36overcrowding is reaching crisis proportions.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40At its worst, one million people are crammed, cheek by jowl,
0:38:40 > 0:38:42into just one square mile.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47With rental prices through the roof, over 60% of Mumbai's population
0:38:47 > 0:38:49are forced to live in the city's growing slums.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52Pavan's life is typical.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01To save cash, Pavan shares a room with other migrant workers.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Up to 20 drivers live in this shack.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07- We'll sleep here...- Yeah.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10..in lines, eight to ten people.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13One man, second, third, fourth, in line.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15No-one should live like this, mate.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18This is fucking beyond making a few quid, innit, really?
0:39:18 > 0:39:20About being a human being, innit?
0:39:20 > 0:39:24The Bollywood dream of Mumbai is a long way from reality
0:39:24 > 0:39:27for these migrant taxi drivers.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45With space at such a premium, some natives of Mumbai have begun
0:39:45 > 0:39:49to resent the influx of migrants from the northern states
0:39:49 > 0:39:51of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Some local politicians have whipped up these tensions,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22blaming the migrants for the city's many problems
0:40:22 > 0:40:26and in the past there have been violent attacks on migrant workers.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Marked out by their uniforms, taxi drivers from the north
0:40:29 > 0:40:32have borne the brunt of the violence.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47There is little Pavan or his friends can do
0:40:47 > 0:40:49about the discrimination they face.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Guys, when I go home and I tell my wife about you, like,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06meeting you and what I've seen, she'll tell me
0:41:06 > 0:41:10never to moan again about driving a taxi in London.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15One thing I think we all share is that you need a bit of luck, huh?
0:41:15 > 0:41:16So be lucky.
0:41:18 > 0:41:19Be lucky.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23'Being from UP or Bihar,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26'you ain't exactly flavour of the month down here, are you?
0:41:26 > 0:41:28'They're getting the brunt of it, you know,
0:41:28 > 0:41:30'cos they're easy pickings, ain't they, with their uniform on.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33'The odds are stacked against you.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35'It's a noble job, they say that, you know?'
0:41:35 > 0:41:38It's been going for hundreds of years. Great job, really,
0:41:38 > 0:41:41driving a cab. But here, they're looked at like a piece of shit.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55Back on the old plot. Thank God.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59I've missed the Borivali East!
0:42:00 > 0:42:03Hello, boys. Abisheck, how are you?
0:42:03 > 0:42:07After experiencing the conditions that the migrant drivers live in,
0:42:07 > 0:42:11Mason is seeing Pradeep's neighbourhood in a different light.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17I'm lifted already. Kids are smiling.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Weren't a lot of smiley kids down there, mate.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Nothing to smile about, is there?
0:42:22 > 0:42:24And now I'm back in my old street.
0:42:24 > 0:42:26When I first saw this, I was like, "Oh,"
0:42:26 > 0:42:32and then I went down there and see, you know, how Pavan's living.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Just another level, really. It's brighter here, you know?
0:42:35 > 0:42:37People are smiling, there's a nice community.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39I didn't really get that feel down there.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41They was like people in despair, you know?
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Hello, guys. How are you?
0:42:44 > 0:42:45Hello, mate, how are you?
0:42:45 > 0:42:47You all right? Good to see you.
0:42:47 > 0:42:53- Hi, Sheela.- Hi.- You OK? Hello, mate. - Morning.- How are you?- Fine.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55Opening up me old gaff.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00Any post? Oh, a few bills. Get you every time!
0:43:04 > 0:43:05Another day in paradise!
0:43:10 > 0:43:12Mason is getting in one last practice run
0:43:12 > 0:43:16in Pradeep's taxi before he has to go it alone.
0:43:16 > 0:43:21This is like driving a Rolls-Royce compared to that bloody other thing.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24This is good taxi, Pradeep,
0:43:24 > 0:43:28compared to...Padmini.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32- That's killing me, that cab.- Yeah. - That cab's killing me!
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Oh, fine. Fantastic.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53- Am I blending in now? Am I becoming a Mumbaian?- Oh!
0:43:59 > 0:44:02DRUMS ROLL
0:44:03 > 0:44:07Today is one of the biggest days on the Mumbai calendar.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11What's going on, Pradeep?
0:44:14 > 0:44:17It's the climax of a 12-day festival
0:44:17 > 0:44:20celebrating the elephant god, Ganesh,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22and celebrations have hit the streets.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26FIREWORKS BANG
0:44:26 > 0:44:27Fucking Ada!
0:44:27 > 0:44:30GENERAL HUBBUB
0:44:30 > 0:44:33Millions of Mumbaikars head for the city's beaches,
0:44:33 > 0:44:38carrying effigies of Ganesh which they then immerse in the sea.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46I would have given this one a swerve at home, I think.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50Pradeep and Mason have given Santos and his family
0:44:50 > 0:44:52a lift down to the beach.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54THEY CHANT
0:44:54 > 0:44:57Come on, Santosh. You're nearly there, mate.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59THEY CHEER
0:45:02 > 0:45:05I've never seen so many people on the beach in all my life.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09I can't believe how many people are here. Thousands of people.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12The festival was embraced by the people of Mumbai at the turn
0:45:12 > 0:45:17of the last century as a show of unity against colonial British rule.
0:45:17 > 0:45:22Now, it's a time for all Mumbaikars to celebrate together.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26He's done me no favours so far, Ganesh, traffic-wise, you know?
0:45:26 > 0:45:29But there's still time, there's still time.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32GENERAL HUBBUB
0:45:34 > 0:45:36Keep going.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43Their god...submerged.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47Ganesh is a symbol of hope for all Mumbaikars.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51Whether they were born here or migrated from further afield,
0:45:51 > 0:45:53they're locked in the same struggle to survive
0:45:53 > 0:45:56in India's city of dreams.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Yeah, I'm from Bethnal Green, east London.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00- Fantastic to meet you. - Yeah, and to meet you, sir.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03- I'm very, very happy.- Oh, good. And me, I'm pleased as well.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06- Yes.- Where you from?- Bombay, sir. - UP.- UP?- Yes.
0:46:06 > 0:46:12- Calcutta.- Calcutta. UP? Bihar? Bihar? Oh, UP.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14They're from all over India down here, you know?
0:46:14 > 0:46:17All doing this, you know, they've come down here for this day
0:46:17 > 0:46:19and they're all together, doing it all together,
0:46:19 > 0:46:21which is a good thing, you know?
0:46:21 > 0:46:24How was it? It was good, Santos? You enjoyed doing that?
0:46:24 > 0:46:26Ah, it was very good.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28Very good. You done well, mate, you done well.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32THEY CHEER
0:46:33 > 0:46:36You know, it's nice to see a bit of hope in people's faces
0:46:36 > 0:46:38that haven't got anything.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42It's not all despair and traffic. Very, very special day.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Now Lord Ganesh has got to help me out
0:46:44 > 0:46:46when I take that taxi out on my own.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48I'm hoping he will. I'm hoping he'll do me a favour,
0:46:48 > 0:46:51cos I brought him down here, I've said me prayers and sent him
0:46:51 > 0:46:53off in immersion, so I've done my bit!
0:47:02 > 0:47:05It's the moment of truth for Mason.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Today, he has to drive the cab on his own.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12He'll have to pick up fares for real on Mumbai's streets.
0:47:12 > 0:47:13How are you?
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Thank you very much, darling. Cheers. Thank you.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21Mason is still worried about getting lost, so he's asked
0:47:21 > 0:47:23a neighbour for some last-minute advice.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26- With the lefts and rights... - OK. So...
0:47:26 > 0:47:29- Left.- Left is baia.- Baia.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32- Or right is daya. - Right is daya.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34And in front of you, sidhe.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Sidhe, I've got that one. I'm good with that one.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40- Oh, and behind is pichi. Yeah. - OK, so baia, daya...
0:47:40 > 0:47:43- ..sidhe, pichi.- Yeah. - You're a good teacher.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46- No, I'm not teacher. - I'm a bad student!
0:47:49 > 0:47:52Mason's car for the day is a vintage Fiat Padmini
0:47:52 > 0:47:56and Pradeep is making sure he has all the help he can get.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26I'm feeling a bit...nervous.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Today, I've got to show the... well, I want to show myself
0:48:29 > 0:48:32and Pradeep that I can do the job, you know?
0:48:32 > 0:48:35He's showed me as much as he can and I'm on my own now,
0:48:35 > 0:48:38so, you know, I want to get on with it.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45Pradeep has a last-minute surprise for Mason - a reminder of home.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49- All right, Pradeep?- Hi. - Ah! Ah!
0:48:51 > 0:48:52Good morning!
0:49:04 > 0:49:06It's good.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Very good.
0:49:13 > 0:49:18Seeing the girls' names there has upset me, it has.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Cos I'm missing them at the moment and yeah, it's really nice.
0:49:26 > 0:49:27For hire.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30Hooter works. Let's go.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32Let battle commence!
0:49:35 > 0:49:39With his family behind him and an elephant god on the dashboard,
0:49:39 > 0:49:43London cabbie Mason McQueen is driving out solo
0:49:43 > 0:49:45into the mean streets of Mumbai -
0:49:45 > 0:49:49a taxi wallah hunting for fares.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52Oh, cow in the road, cow in the road!
0:49:52 > 0:49:56Mason's first challenge is to find a passenger heading south
0:49:56 > 0:50:00towards the busiest streets of Central Mumbai.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Taxi, madam? No? Taxi?
0:50:03 > 0:50:06Taxi! Taxi! Taxi.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Come on, Mason, get a job here.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15But he's not having much luck.
0:50:15 > 0:50:1814 million people, I can't get a job.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Driving around the railway stations,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23it's dog-eat-dog in the hunt for fares.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26I'm surrounded by all these auto rickshaws
0:50:26 > 0:50:28and they're all jumping in there.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30HORNS BEEP
0:50:30 > 0:50:33Every passenger is fair game for the auto rickshaws.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39Ah, another one's gone over and nicked me job. Jesus.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43He's just dropped off that geezer and then he's nicked the first job.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45Don't do that.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49Cheaper than Mason's cab, the rickshaws pick up job after job.
0:50:49 > 0:50:55Ah, look, he's getting in an auto rickshaw. Fuck's sake.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59Fucking pests. Three-wheeled pests.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Mason decides to cut his losses
0:51:05 > 0:51:08and heads to the busier streets of the south.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10Empty.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Oh, me luck might change down here, I don't know.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16Come on, you lovely people of Mumbai.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Ah, I'm in.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24Hello, guv'nor. Where, mate?
0:51:25 > 0:51:29Sophia, Sophia. Four-hander, eh?
0:51:29 > 0:51:33Four carpenters are heading to work in the south.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37See how your luck changes? One minute you're down in the dumps,
0:51:37 > 0:51:39the next, you've got a big smile on your face.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41Sidhe? Sidhe? Santa Cruz?
0:51:41 > 0:51:43- Sidhe?- Santa Cruz.- Sidhe.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47Mason's last-minute language lesson is paying off.
0:51:47 > 0:51:48- Baia.- Baia.
0:51:48 > 0:51:53Baia, yeah, I know that one an' all!
0:51:53 > 0:51:56That's what it's all about. Shukria, sir. Nice to meet you.
0:51:59 > 0:52:00First one out the way.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03Armed with just a few words of Hindi, he heads out to work
0:52:03 > 0:52:07the busy streets of the city centre.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18- You know the route?- Yeah, kind of.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Baia? Sidhe?
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Pichi? Behind?
0:52:24 > 0:52:27In the bustling streets, fares start rolling in.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Finally, Mason is feeling like a proper cabbie.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32- Baia.- Baia.- Baia!
0:52:32 > 0:52:35It's a bit limited, mate, but it's all I know.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Do you have a licence?
0:52:40 > 0:52:43Oh, yes, sir, yes. I've got a TV licence!
0:52:45 > 0:52:49There you go, guv'nor. There's just your change, OK?
0:52:49 > 0:52:51Come. What? You are standing there now, I thought you're dead.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54- Come here, now.- Is that the wife? - It doesn't matter.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56- I'll get her? I'll get the wife?- I'll take the...
0:52:56 > 0:52:59- Where has she gone? Let's get her. - She was that side.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02We'll get her. Not a problem, no. All part of the service.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07I'm getting quite attached to this Padmini.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Never thought I'd say that!
0:53:15 > 0:53:19It's gruelling work but, as the evening rush hour begins to kick in,
0:53:19 > 0:53:23thousands of Mumbai taxi wallahs head back north.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27Tonight, one of them is London cabbie Mason McQueen.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32Come on, the old Padmini. Get me home, Pads.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00Oh, I'm minging, that's how I'm doing. Could kill a shower.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04I've got the grime of this city all over me.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09But I'm glad to put it on the belt, clip it on the belt,
0:54:09 > 0:54:13another notch on the belt. Quite an experience.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16Like they say, if you can drive in Mumbai, you can drive anywhere.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22I've had a go. What I've got is what I've got.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24I'm sure he'll be fine with that.
0:54:33 > 0:54:34Hello, mate.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42Just under 500. All right?
0:54:43 > 0:54:46Done my best. Not bad, eh? Not bad for a learner!
0:54:51 > 0:54:55When I get back to London, there won't be a day goes by that I don't
0:54:55 > 0:54:59think of you, thinking, "Right, if he's doing that, I can do it too."
0:55:11 > 0:55:15- OK, mate.- OK.- Yeah, nice one.- Yes.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17GENERAL HUBBUB
0:55:17 > 0:55:20What's going on here? Wow, look at the street!
0:55:20 > 0:55:21Look at the street where I live!
0:55:23 > 0:55:26Mumbaikars love a street party.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Tonight, Pradeep and his neighbours have pulled out all the stops
0:55:29 > 0:55:31for Mason's triumphant return.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35Pavan. All right, buddy? How are you, son?
0:55:35 > 0:55:39Good to see you. Got through it and that was the aim of the game.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43With your help, I made it.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48'This community has, like, kept me
0:55:48 > 0:55:51'going through the despair I'm seeing on the streets every day.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53'They've kept me going, especially the kids.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58'They get by with the minimum of everything,
0:55:58 > 0:56:03'but they do it with a dignity and they just get on with life.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06'Fucking exhausted, but elated that I done it
0:56:06 > 0:56:12'and I've been welcomed into this community like I have been.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15'Really nice people.'
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Got me through it, it really has.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20Special place. Borivali East, mate.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22Welcome to India!
0:56:28 > 0:56:35# I'm a one man band Nobody knows or understands... #
0:56:35 > 0:56:39Mason is back and working the streets of London.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41Bus lane, baby. There ain't none of these in Mumbai.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44Look at this, clear. Going past the traffic.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48Look, open the window... silence.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50Silence is golden.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56One new passenger in his cab is a constant reminder of his time
0:56:56 > 0:56:59with the taxi wallahs of Mumbai.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02There's not a time that I don't think about Pradeep and Pavan,
0:57:02 > 0:57:06you know, I feel for them, pulling them cabs around in that heat.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09We're lucky, we've got it all here. We've got it all.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12You know, we've got our own problems, but I think they're
0:57:12 > 0:57:17really small in comparison to what's going on in Mumbai, you know?
0:57:23 > 0:57:24Evening!
0:57:26 > 0:57:27It's the Mumbai marauder.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33Oh, abuse. I love it in here. I pay you for it.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36- How was the food out there, Mase? - Bill, it weren't as nice as yours,
0:57:36 > 0:57:39- but it was...- Ah!- Oh, Bill!
0:57:42 > 0:57:44Look at that, Plan B. Nasty Terry.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47Look at that, it's Nasty Terry. Cockle, straight away.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Mason knows that even a few pounds will go a long way
0:57:49 > 0:57:52- for the drivers he's met in Mumbai. - Thanks, Nick.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55A whip-round raises enough cash
0:57:55 > 0:57:57to send Pavan back home to see his family.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00Good luck, mate. I'm glad you ain't let me down.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02I thought £11.80, looking at the lot of yous, but no,
0:58:02 > 0:58:04it's really nice of you, guys.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07London's finest. Finest cab service in the world.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10- Well done.- Hear, hear!
0:58:10 > 0:58:12- Gents, I'm going back to work. - All right, mate.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14God bless you all. Thank you very much, yeah?
0:58:14 > 0:58:17- Be lucky, Mase.- Ta-ta, mate.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23Next time, Richard Gibson leaves his dairy farm in Devon
0:58:23 > 0:58:26to work as a Samburu cattle herder.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28This isn't going to be my usual day then, obviously.
0:58:28 > 0:58:33With farmers forced into bloody battles to keep their cattle alive.
0:58:33 > 0:58:35He's prepared to give his life for his cows,
0:58:35 > 0:58:37cos if they haven't got them, they've got nothing.
0:58:37 > 0:58:40He'll be faced with some unusual traditions...
0:58:40 > 0:58:43I just don't want to be circumcised today!
0:58:46 > 0:58:50..and experience a way of life on the edge of existence.
0:58:50 > 0:58:54Been totally in awe of the way they have managed to keep farming.
0:58:54 > 0:58:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd