And when it comes to politics, ours like almost every other country is dominated by party machinery. In midst this sea of party politics, a candidate with no symbol representing them is easy to overlook. A new documentary and YouTube series follows exactly these people, driving thousands of kilometres to find them.

The project began at a creators' convention. Satvik Soni, a filmmaker, attended without quite knowing why and ended up meeting independent author, politician and journalist, Meghnad he had long followed. Months later, when Meghnad decided to contest his first election as an independent in Delhi, he asked Satvik to document it. The campaign, Meghnad says, was part social experiment: he put his name on the ballot expecting almost no votes, which is where the project's name comes from: The Independents

The first season of 'The Independents' was shot over about twelve days in April and May, stretched by two more when they decided to push on to Sikkim. They began in Delhi and tried to chase independent candidates in Ayodhya. From there they travelled through Bihar, where they met a candidate in Patna, and on to Bagdogra and Siliguri. They were drawn to Naxalbari, the birthplace of India's Naxal movement. . The trip then took them to Kurseong, Darjeeling and Sikkim.

They deliberately drove everywhere and kept plans loose. "It's where the story takes us," says Satvik.

They insist they weren't hunting for hyper-specific causes, yet that is what they kept finding. The Patna candidate's concerns were broad. Their theory is that independents are a self-selecting group. They emerge from communities with particular grievances, who grew up hearing those grievances, and now carry them into the electoral arena. For many, an independent candidacy is the only platform available for raising an issue that no party wants. One leader from the Musahar community told them his complaint was with the party he had supported, which, in his words, uses people like him for elections and then drops them. Another candidate, a woman, was fighting over a regional issue rooted in the history of the Koch dynasty.

The makers say they met independents funding their campaigns in ways they could scarcely have predicted. The Musahar leader used ₹10,000 that the Bihar government had transferred to his wife and put it into his own election bid. Another candidate had three brothers working in Dubai who bankrolled his politics from abroad. In Kurseong they met Ajoy Edwards, a patron who runs a heritage bakery dating back to British times, which he says turns over around ₹30 crore a year, and who pours his earnings into local politics, funding candidates, and causes.

Whether such candidates win, the makers say, is a different question.

To find these pockets of independent politicians, a small open-source intelligence team works behind the scenes, finding candidates through their election affidavits and contacting them days ahead, so that by the time the crew arrives, subjects already know the broad idea. What gets them hooked into the project? Well, it’s simple: "We also tell them we're making something for Netflix. Everyone knows what Netflix is, and we're not lying, because we are making it for Netflix. Netflix just doesn't know it yet.”

The same footage is being used in two ways. Satvik has cut a one-hour film that compresses the whole journey, which is being screened across the country in different cities. Meanwhile, Meghnad is producing a series that dedicates an episode to each candidate, with far more depth and context, which will be out on his YouTube soon. 

Season two is already in motion. Shooting has already begun in Goa, where they chased two independent candidates, and the plan is to head north: Kargil, Kashmir, Baramulla and beyond, covering as much of the region as they can.

Meghnad describes his own role as that of "patient zero". He plans to contest the 2029 election from New Delhi, widely considered one of the country's most expensive constituencies. His larger question is whether someone can sustain a career as an independent for three years in a legitimate way, and if it works, he hopes to produce a blueprint others can follow. He likens it to a doctoral thesis, except that he applies his findings in real time. 

Social media has changed the way people interact with power, and can often make heavy topics seem "unserious". "If you're up against a fascist, authoritarian regime and you keep complaining and nobody listens, what do you do? I've been a big advocate of laughing at stupidity. The one thing a fascist is very afraid of is humour. They don't mind being cursed, because that shows fear and deference. But when you laugh at an authoritarian figure or regime and the stupid things they do, that bothers them a lot. So the "unseriousness", that you're talking about is actually a weapon," Meghnad explains.

His use of social media is deliberate. Instagram, he says, is a mobilisation tool, while YouTube is where both his income and his community are. Satvik agrees. "It means you're finding joy in whatever they are throwing at you. It denies them the pleasure of seeing you sad and miserable all the time."

And I think The Independents offers that and more. It is a corrective to a party-centric view of Indian politics. A portrait of tiny, determined actors in some of the most remote parts of our country, who have decided that an independent run, however improbable, is their best way to be heard.

Follow Meghnad and Satvik on Instagram.

Here's more from Homegrown:

'Real Kashmir Football Club' Is Now An Emmy-Nominated Reminder Of Kashmir's Tenacity

Theja Rio's 'Angh' Put Konyak Culture & Naga History On The Global Map At TIFF 2026

Face To Face: K Srinivas Chari’s 1967 Documentary Personifies An India In Transition