Intrigued with the Indian democracy and the entire clamor associated with elections, this London-based couple has been sweating it out for the past one and a half month to do their research on polls.

Shooting a documentary that they plan to exhibit in international film festivals, the duo was extremely touched with the City Beautiful — so much so that they chose to cover only Chandigarh for their movie.

Meet Misha Maltsev and Ruhi Hamid, who have made the city their home since they landed here. While shooting non-stop has been hectic, the couple swears witnessing the election scene in Chandigarh has been the experience of a lifetime.

The couple, who have made many documentaries in the career spanning over 20 years, landed in the city on March 27. “Where else would you get such a complete contrast between urban and rural India. Slums and colonies co-exist with the most elitist class,” says Ruhi, an Afro-Asian.

“My father lived in India before partition and went to Africa later where I spent my childhood. But I always fantasised shooting in this country,” adds Ruhi.

With no relatives here, the couple is staying in a hotel and the election scene has given them no time to visit the tourist spots. “We found that people living in slums and colonies are most excited about elections. It is so touching that people involve themselves completely to elect a government... elections are like a big festival here,” says Misha Maltsev who is one his first visit to the country.

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