Britain has drawn up a map featuring dozens of its locations used by directors of 30 Bollywood hits to attract more Indian tourists to London and the rest of UK.
The tourism body, VisitBritain, will launch the map this week ahead of the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), regarded as Bollywood's Oscars, ceremony to be held in Yorkshire from June 7 for four days.
The map will be handed out to stars and movie moguls at the IIFA awards ceremony. In addition, more than 30,000 copies of the map will be distributed in India where VisitBritain has set up a film tourism office.
Among the less well-known attractions included in the map are an obscure Surrey football ground and a Slough shopping centre. Molesey FC featured in scenes from the NRI film director Gurinder Chadha's 'Bend It Like Beckham', the story of a daughter of orthodox Sikhs battling to realise her dream to be footballer, while Slough's Queensmere centre provided the backdrop for the 2001 Bollywood movie 'Yaadein'.
Other unusual attractions on the map include Bicester Village shopping centre in Oxfordshire, which featured in the 2001 film 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,' and Dolbadarn Castle in north Wales, used in 'Kyun! Ho Gaya Na' in 2004.
More traditional tourist attractions, including Windsor Castle, Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge and Princes Street in Edinburgh, also feature.
"Some 23 million Indians go to see a film every day and you only have to look at the figures to see that more and more of them are being inspired to visit Britain," said Tom Wright, the Chief Executive of VisitBritain.
"Britain's popularity as a Bollywood backdrop can only help us raise our profile among this growing audience and we are confident that this campaign will help them to see it as Bollywood Britain."
The number of Indians visiting Britain rose by 25 per cent last year, spending 294 million pounds. And Indian tourists spent more than tourists from Japan in London for the first time last year.
According to a report in 'The Sunday Telegraph' on Sunday, several of the films on the map feature Shahrukh Khan, popularly known as King Khan in India. He is supporting VisitBritain's initiative.
"I have always loved filming in Britain and hope to do more shoots here in the future," Khan, whose waxwork image was unveiled at Madame Tussauds here last month, said.
"I know that lots of Indians are already coming here on holiday, but we have such a passion for Bollywood films that by making this link I'm sure that it will attract even more."
Some films such as 'Namastey London' and 'Bride and Prejudice', were filmed almost entirely in Britain because sequences shot overseas are particularly attractive to Indian cinema-goers.
The number of Bollywood movies shot in London has quadrupled over the past five years, from 10 in 2001 to 40 last year. A further 160 films were shot at locations across Britain.
Monika Mohta, Director, Nehru Centre and Minister for Culture at the Indian High Commission, feels that using Britain's association with Bollywood will prove successful.
"Indians will go to see the same movie countless times, so sights such as Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace become very familiar, virtually embedded in their minds," she said.
"Tower Bridge is in practically every second Bollywood film. Many cinema-goers aspire to be able to say that they've been to the same places as their icons."
US President Barrack Obama has signed an executive order (G.O.) recently, easing the norms for sanctioning US Visas to the tourists. It is mainly intended to attract the tourists especially from developing countries like India and China, which stood first and second in tourists visit to US.
America is expecting at least 14% growth in the tourists' inflow in next five years. James W Herman, the in-charge of counseling affairs in US Embassy in India has said "The decision will surely increase the inflow of tourists into our country. We have been taking all measures to ease the process for sanctioning US Visas to tourists. We have already increased 6% staff in our US consulates in India and also opened two new consulates at Hyderabad and Mumbai cities. We have also made several changes to reduce the waiting period for Visas in our offices. Majority of our tourists are from India. So, we are trying to ease the process of Visa sanctioning to Indians. India stood in 2nd place in working visas and student visas. We have allotted 68 thousands of H1b Visas during the last year and sorted out 7 lakhs Visa application in India alone. So, we give India utmost priority in granting Visas," said Herman.
2012/5/5 4:02:45 Hyderabad, May 5 (INN): In order to attract large number of foreign tourists to India, there is a need to develop Buddhist and other circuits with quality facilities in the country, a top government official said here on Saturday.
“If we can develop circuits based on the connectivity with logistics and with quality facility for tourists, we can attract a large number of tourists, particularly from Japan, Thailand and other Far East countries,” said R H Khawja, Secretary Tourism, Government of India. He was speaking after inaugurating a special exhibition on Buddhist paintings and Buddhist heritage at Paryatak Bhavan here.
Centre has been emphasising on the development of special niche tourism circuits like Buddhist, Jain, Sufi circuits amongst others, he said and pointed out that there have been a lot of requests from different countries on improving the quality of infrastructure that would help in developing Buddhist circuits in the country.
Khawja also underlined the need to adopt standard operating procedure and asked those associated with the tourism sector, to develop a sense of professionalism in their approach to enable better services.
According to the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Special Chief Secretary Chandana Khan, the State Tourism Department has developed Buddhist circuits at Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam that highlight the Buddhist heritage of the state.
2012/1/22 8:58:07 Mumbai, Jan 22 (IANS) Bollywood megastar and Gujarat brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, who previously promoted areas like Kutch and Dwarka, is now set to attract tourists to other picturesque spots in the state.
“In serene quietness of Gujarat is Bhuj. The welcome and hospitality of the people, as always, extraordinary,” the 69-year-old posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com Sunday.
“Bhuj airfield under repair, so the jet cannot land there, hence landing in Mundra, the private airfield of the business group Adani, who has built the third largest, soon to become the largest port in India,” he wrote on his way for the shoot of the latest ad.
Bachchan, who so far promoted the Kutch region, Dwarka, Somnath and Gir National Park, has been all praise for the development in Gujarat and said the state is worth visiting again and again.
“The day starts early tomorrow and starts at the Rann of Kutch, the white desert where a tent city has been put up for tourists to enjoy the moment,” he posted.
“And subsequently I should be visiting and shooting at all the areas that had got left behind the last time round… A region so close to home yet so diverse in so many ways.
“The clothing the language the food the environment, everything. But all Indian,” he added.
He once said that if the Gujarat government planned a documentary to showcase the state, he would like to be a part of it.
A petition, filed before the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court here has sought a ban on the release of Rohan Sippy's forthcoming movie 'Dum Maro Dum', which has raised much stink in the tourist state.
Savio Rodrigues, a media professional, who moved the Court has pleaded that the release of the movie should be banned as it will have a ripple effect on the state's tourism.
The petitioner has also said that the movie portrays Goa as a destination of sex, drugs and easy availability of women.
"The film is scheduled to be released on April 22, 2011 and given its publicity by the producers, the film will attract criminal minded tourists and offenders and drive away decent travelers and tourists from Goa," the petitioner said.
The bench will hear the petition on Thursday. It names State Chief Secretary, Chairperson Central Board of film certification, M/s Fox Star studios Pvt Ltd and M/s Ramesh Sippy Entertainment as the respondents.
Rodrigues said the movie is against public order, decency and morality and there is clear violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution of India to Goans.
The petitioner also stated that over a period of years, Goa has been receiving negative global publicity on account of issues relating to drugs, sex and murder in some cases of international tourists.
"Goa has been portrayed in media and in the said movie in particular so as to depict it as destination of drugs and sex, both of which are claimed to be easily and freely available in this state," it adds.
This wrong depiction is attracting and shall attract persons who are drug addicts, paedophiles, sex offenders, drug traffickers and persons engaged in trafficking of children and women, he claimed.
Former tourism minister Fransisco Pacheco also raised the issue during the ongoing state legislative assembly session.
Goa tourism minister Nilkant Halarnkar had told the House that the government will 'seriously' take up the issue with the producer.
2011/11/28 8:55:40 New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) The romance between India and gay tourists is growing and, cashing in on the interest, many Indian and international gay travel agencies are keenly pursuing the market by organising packages and special deals to cater to this niche segment.
In the same context, the national capital Monday hosted the first Asian symposium on gay and lesbian tourism, attended by travel agents, agencies, hotels and airlines.
"India is slowly but surely catching up on the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) travel radar as a preferred destination due to its culture, spirituality, awesome destinations and history," Abhinav Goel, founder of OutJourneys.com, a travel agency dedicated to gay travel, told IANS.
According to Goel, the growth potential for gay tourists is so high that it has attracted even established players like Sita, Thomas Cook and Cox & Kings to the emerging travel segment.
"Today there are around 10 travel players which are providing services to the sector including established names and boutique operations," said Goel, who is also one of the organisers of the event.
The symposium is being partnered by the likes of American Airlines, Tourism Thailand, International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) and attendees like Taj and Oberoi hotels.
"We have a good representation at the summit. All this is because the companies today want to know how to market a particular product to this new kind of tourists," Goel said.
Goel said the symposium would be attended by 11 international journalists who write on LGBT issues and will travel to Indian tourist locations.
"They will visit Delhi-Jaipur and Udaipur to see for themselves the friendly tourist environment here. It is important for international customers to know what India is offering," Goel said.
Meanwhile, IGLTA, which is a UN-accredited body to look after the travel trade industry of this niche segment, said that with an improving environment in India regarding the gay issue the country will surely attract more LGBT customers.
"With the political climate changing in India it makes it more viable for travel agencies to expand," said IGLTA president John Tanzella.
Currently, three dedicated gay travel boutique agencies and 10 general tour operators, including travel trade majors like Sita Tours and Travels, are also members with IGLTA.
As many as five gay travel agencies in India offer customised packages including surrogacy tours, spiritual camps, weddings and honeymoon packages and a promise of an experience sans negative incidents that they face in conservative cultures.
"Customised packages which provide tours related to activities such as yoga, spiritual, weddings, honeymoon or even surrogacy are the attractions for gay tourists," Goel said.
While weddings do not carry any legal status in India, gay visitors do it anyway to experience the traditional Indian wedding.
The niche sector provides services such as gay-friendly lodging, transfer and guides in a protected environment, in which they impart specific training to hotel staff, drivers and guides to act in the same courteous manner as they would to any other customer.
Though there is no specific data on the actual numbers of gay overseas tourists, the numbers would be huge even if one percent of all tourists are from the queer community. In 2010, India welcomed 5.58 million foreign tourists, up 9.3 percent over 2009.
The average travel packages to India starts at $200-$600 per night per person or couple depending on the package.
2012/3/24 0:48:58 Maoists have kidnapped MLA Zinna Hikaka belongs to Biju Janatadal party in Koraput district in Orissa two days ago. They have also kidnapped 2 Italian tourists few days ago. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sent two ministers to Koraput to negotiate with Maoists for releasing the foreign tourists and MLA.
2011/10/21 4:32:18 The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation has decided to provide 10 per cent discount on transport cost of all package tours booked from October 20 to December 21 for the benefit of the tourists.
According to APTDC Executive Director (Projects) B Srinivas, presently the corporation has been operating package tours through its coaches to different destinations within and outside the State of Andhra Pradesh. In order to promote tourism in the State, the corporation has decided to give discount.
Tourists have been asked to avail the discount facility and patronize the services of the corporation.
The tourists can book seats of package tours through on-line reservation system by logging into website www.aptdc.in, reservation counters of APTDC, all e-Seva centres in Hyderabad and at Authorised Booking Agents of APTDC. (INN)
2011/10/5 1:47:54 In an act of cold-blooded murder, a bus driver Wednesday ordered tourists to de-board and then ran the vehicle over them in Rajasthan, killing six people, police said.The horrific act took place near a petrol station in Karauli district, 180 km from here. Four of the dozen injured people were in critical condition.The driver, identified as Raju, reportedly got into a scuffle with the tourists after they refused to pay for the fuel.
The furious driver then got into the bus and ran over the passengers who had de-boarded, killing six and wounding over a dozen others."The bus was coming from Agra and going to Kela Devi temple in Karauli," said the police officer to media. After the slaughter, the driver fled from the spot. (IANS)
'Theneteegalu' for release in the first half of August
2007/7/29 22:02:13
A successful Bollywood film 'Bach Ke Rehnare Baba' is being dubbed into Telugu as 'Theneteegalu' with Mallika Sherawat and Rekha by Surya Sekhar on the banner of Sri Chilukuri Balaji Productions. Presented by Atluri Venkata Ranga Rao the film is all set for release in the first half of August.
Producer Surya Sekhar says, 'While Mallike Sherawat was the current generation girl, Rekha was able to attract all classes of audiences even after she completed 50 years. We are confident that the film would also attract the Telugu audiences and hence dubbed the film in Telugu. Paresh Ravel's performance would also attract the audiences. All the songs were choreographed well and would attract the audiences.
Bharatibabu had scripted the dialogues and lyrics well and Anu Malik's music would also enthrall everyone. Already the audio was getting a positive response in Telugu.' Govind Menon is the director of the movie.
2012/2/23 2:25:11 The State Government is planning to develop Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad and Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati at the international level.
This was announced by Forests Minister S Vijayarama Raju in the State Legislative Assembly during Question Hour on Thursday while replying to a question raised by Congress MLAs D Sudheer Reddy, M Vijaya Prasad, M Shahjahan Basha and others. The minister said that both the zoos would be developed on par with other zoological parks at the international level, especially in view of the tourists that they attract every year.
The minister also denied that several rare species of animals in various zoological parts in the State were falling sick and dying. He said there was no dearth of funds or facilities in all zoological parks in the State. (INN)
2012/2/23 2:28:27 Hyderabad, Feb 23 (INN): The State Government is planning to develop Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad and Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati at the international level.
This was announced by Forests Minister S Vijayarama Raju in the State Legislative Assembly during Question Hour on Thursday while replying to a question raised by Congress MLAs D Sudheer Reddy, M Vijaya Prasad, M Shahjahan Basha and others. The minister said that both the zoos would be developed on par with other zoological parks at the international level, especially in view of the tourists that they attract every year.
The minister also denied that several rare species of animals in various zoological parts in the State were falling sick and dying. He said there was no dearth of funds or facilities in all zoological parks in the State.
The makers of a new film about the Taj Mahal hope to have an edge over previous attempts with an epic romance that appeals to both Indian and Western audiences.
At least three Bollywood films over the years and British actor Sir Ben Kingsley's upcoming project pay tribute to the 17th-century monument of love built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz.
Taj, a $25 million project that will cast both Indian and Western actors, is the most recent addition to the list.
Scriptwriter Krishna Shah's narrative caught the fancy of Hollywood filmmakers who said it reminded them of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
"Taj is a mysterious icon to the world outside India and this movie would be pre-sold by its mystical image," said Ken Atchity, one of the producers of the film.
"Then audiences worldwide would be moved by the power of the love that led to its building," Atchity said in an e-mail interview.
"Yes, there are song and dance scenes, but not in the wonderfully delightful Bollywood fashion."
Shooting for the film, to be directed by Michael Radford, is slated to begin in India later this year.
Shah said that though Taj would be set against the backdrop of 17th-century politics, it would focus on how the emperor's love "survives all upheavals and was immortalized in the monument".
"You cannot deny historical pageantry and court intrigues but basically Taj is a pure love story," Shah said via email.
The Taj Mahal in Agra was built by an army of 20,000 stonemasons, gem cutters, marble fitters and labourers who toiled for 22 years. It attracts millions of tourists every year.
"I'd never seen a movie about Taj that translated to the non-Indian audience and I believe, with the resurgence of Indian culture and economy, its time has come," said Atchity.
Yorkshire gets ready to host Bollywood extravaganza
2007/6/7 2:40:22
Yorkshire is all set to witness the glitz and glam of Bollywood as movie stars led by Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan started arriving at the British county to attend the eighth International Indian Film Academy awards (IIFA), which kicks off today.
There will be 50 IIFA-related events in Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, York and Hull during the four-day extravaganza, with an estimated 500 Bollywood personalities expected to participate, according to Sabbas Joseph, director of Wizcraft, which is managing the show.
Judith Donovan, chairman of the Yorkshire Tourist Board, said she expected 28,000 extra tourists, half of them from overseas, to visit Yorkshire during the event, which is likely to be watched on television by some 500 million people worldwide.
"The sheer scale, height, glam, glitz is just going to be mind-blowing," Donovan, who returned recently from a trip to India aimed at promoting Yorkshire's heritent to the Oscars, at Sheffield's Hallam FM Arena on Saturday, which will see in attendance the likes of Bachchan along with son Abhishek Bachchan and his gorgeous wife Aishwarya Rai .
Other top Bollywood stars expected to walk the red carpet include Ajay Devgan and Kajol , Salman Khan , John Abraham and Bipasha Basu , Shilpa Shetty , Hrithik Roshan , Rani Mukherjee , Saif Ali Khan , Konkona Sen Sharma , Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra , Yash Chopra , Karan Johar , Priyanka Chopra , Javed Akhtar , Shabana Azmi , Rituparno Ghosh and Govinda .
Also, a "Global Business Forum" will be held on Thursday where delegates from Yorkshire Forward and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) will meet at the Royal Armouries at Leeds.
A Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be signed, stipulating how Yorkshire could meet India's 160 billion pounds infrastructure requirements by 2012, especially in the field of clean energy, and the right areas for inward Indian investment in the Yorkshire and Humber region.
"There are huge commercial opportunities for our financial services, our environmental companies and others.
The principal reason is an economic one about building long-term relationships between Yorkshire Forward and FICCI," said Riordan, CEO of Yorkshire Forward.
The county is also keen to use IIFA to boost tourism and persuade Bollywood to shoot a big film entirely on location.
"Visit Britain has strategically identified India and China as the two long-term developing markets for overseas tourists to come to Britain," Donovan said.
An Indo-British film treaty is being pursued by Britain's Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, while Amit Mitra, FICCI Secretary General, sees immediate prospects for partnerships in three fields -- animation, gaming and special effects -- which are expanding rapidly in India because of the country's strength in software.
"A digital revolution is under way in India in the entertainment sector," Mitra said. "There can be joint ventures in this because there is synergy with British companies - an Indian animator can tie up with a British animator."
2011/9/27 8:39:02 Aerial tourism is now a reality in Hyderabad. If you can afford to spend nearly Rs 3,000, then you can have an aerial tour of the city's famous tourists spots for 15-minutes.
The AP Tourism Development Corporation in association with the Deccan Aviation Private Limited has launched helicopter services which would take the tourists on a 15-minute ride to the tourism spots. They include Golconda, Falaknuma, Chowmohalla Palace, Birla Mandir, Buddha Statue and the Hi-tech City.
According to Col (Retd) M S Sehgal, Executive Pilot and Base Manager, the helicopter would carry six people in each round and each of them would be charged Rs 2950. There will be no fare for the children below two years. However, the tourists will not be able to capture their visit in camera due to DGCA norms.
Talking to reporters, Col Shegal said that the interested tourists could come to the helipad near Snow World at Lower Tank Bund. They will also have to carry a photo ID card, as per the DGCA norms.
The services were launched by Tourism Minister Vatte Vasanth Kumar at Begumpet Airport here on Tuesday. GHMC Mayor Banda Kartika Reddy and APTDC MD Sandeep Kumar Sultania were also present.
Earlier, the Tourism Minister also flagged off Open Top City Tourism Buses at Charminar. Speaking to media persons, the Minister said that the APTDC has also launched transit tourism for the passengers of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. He said passengers would be taken on the city tour of about three to four hours which would include visit to places like the Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Purani Haveli and Golconda Fort. Fare for each passenger would be Rs 475 and A/c Qualis vehicles have been engaged for the services.
The minister said that the government was also trying to get approval from the Centre for the aerial tourism of water bodies which would include Osman Sagar, Himayath Sagar, Nagarjuna Sagar, Srisailam and other water bodies. (INN)
Tag of 'poor tourists' may haunt India again, fears Ganguly
2012/1/11 15:51:57 Sydney, Jan 11 (IANS) Former India captain Sourav Ganguly fears that the cricket team will be dubbed poor tourists again as some of the big names in Indian cricket are in the fag end of their career.
Ganguly, who led India to draw the Test series Down Under in 2003-04, said Indian cricket has taken a lot of pride in their performance overseas in the past decade.
'But I fear they have taken a huge step backwards in the past year. India are always a strong team at home - almost unbeatable - and the big challenge in the 2000s was to change the performance overseas,' he said.
Ganguly, who is here as a commentator, said India in the last decade have emerged as good tourists with some great players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and V.V.S. Laxman. While Kumble has already retired, others are in the final stage of their glorious careers.
'India did manage to do that with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, V.V.S. Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh over a long period of time but the question now is, at the back end of the careers of these huge names, is India again soft when touring?,' said Ganguly.
'There is still time before coming to a conclusion but time is running away fast for this team, and they quickly need to find a way to get the monkey off their back,' he said.
Ganguly said inability of the bowling and the batting to fire together and failure to seize important moments during a match doomed India during their England tour last years and now against Australia here as well.
'Test matches can quickly turn in such important times and I can recall plenty of times when India has slipped up. Take, for instance, the second Test in England at Nottingham, when England were 8-124 on day one but managed to get 221 and a sniff at the Indians. India never got back into the game and finished off getting beaten 4-0 in the Tests.
'They were in a similar position in Melbourne with Australia at 6-214 before the lower order put together partnerships and got the hosts to 333. India then tumbled from 3-214 to get knocked over for 282, again getting into a position where they had to fight from behind. Winning matches is about seizing the moment and that did not happen,' Ganguly wrote in his column in Sydney Morning Herald.
Ganguly said India, who are trailing 0-2 in the series, have a lot to ponder after the Test losses in Melbourne and Sydney.
'It's not the losses but the way they have been outplayed that will be a big source of concern for M.S. Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher. Sydney was India's sixth consecutive defeat in as many matches overseas and in most cases they have been one-sided Tests , with five out of six finishing in four days,' he said.
Britain has emerged as the world's number one overseas market for Indian films with producers of blockbusters raking in millions of pounds, according to the influential Film Distributors Association (FDA).
Britain has long featured in Indian films, in terms of themes, locales for shooting and actors.
But the relationship between Bollywood and Britain has increased exponentially with increased migration from the Indian sub-continent since the early 1970s.
Bollywood films helped bring in more people to cinema halls in Britain in 2007 than in previous years, according to the FDA.
"The Bollywood segment of the UK market is growing. It is rare nowadays for the top 20 films each week not to feature at least one Bollywood title," says Mark Batey, Chief Executive of the FDA.
Batey told the India-EU Film Initiative, a London-based film think tank, that outside India itself, the UK had emerged as the world's number one market for Bollywood products.
In 2007, after the US, India had the maximum film releases in the UK, figures with the FDA show. Third on the list was the UK. During the year, there were 525 new film releases in the UK from 49 countries.
"Hindi-language films make the UK's top 15 in most weeks, while recent years have seen a sharp rise in the number of Bollywood films shot in the UK, especially in London," he said.
The UK is Europe's largest cinema market and the third largest in the world. According to film organisation Film London, on average, 40 Indian films are shot in London alone every month.
It has become routine for Bollywood blockbusters to be launched simultaneously in India and in the UK.
Batey said: Om Shanti Om, the Bollywood hit of 2007, opened with a glitzy premiere in London's Leicester Square, attended by its stars and filmmakers, and securing a lot of national press coverage, despite the rain.
"Jagmohan Mundhra's film Provoked, shot in London, also had a West End premiere last year. The UK's top three Bollywood releases of 2007, Om Shanti Om, Namastey London and Partner, collectively grossed 3 million pounds at the box-office," Batey said.
According to him, 2007 was a buoyant year for the UK theatre markets. For the first time, box office receipts topped 900 million pounds.
Bollywood films attract more than 50 per cent of the total 5 million ethnic population of the UK, according to the FDA.
The FDA's annual report reveals that more people of Pakistan origin watch Bollywood films in the UK than people of Indian origin.
"With Bollywood films, the Indian and Pakistani communities account for 90 per cent of the cinema audience. 18 per cent of Indian people and 31 per cent of Pakistanis aged 16-60 go to such films at least 2-3 times a year," says the FDA report.
It further says that the top five films in 2007 were Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (collection 49.4 million pounds), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (40.2 million pounds), The Simpsons Movie (38.7 million pounds), Shrek the Third (38.6 million pounds) and Spider-Man 3 (33.6 million pounds).
Experts say Bollywood must scale up to attract funding
2006/10/22 7:38:49 Over 200 delegates from the UK and Indian media industry gathered at CBC-FICCI India Media and Entertainment Forum in London to explore partnerships and exchange ideas.
The Indian media pitched itself as an attractive industry for foreign investment, earning considerable interest from the UK investors. However, Bollywood needs to corporatise in order to attract significant investment, pointed out some investment and private equity experts.
The day-long discussions highlighted the changing trends, market expectations and importance of collaborations and treaties. It was also brought to fore how bigwigs need to keep up to date with the fast changing media. With young 20 year-olds launching channels like You Tube, it was time to think out of the box and challenge traditional channels.
Furthermore, the combination of a large and young talent pool and significant technological advances gives India an envious position. Renowned film-maker Shekhar Kapur who is exploring the Indian animation potential, warned that whilst the media and entertainment industry has a bright future, it must continue innovating.
With Bollywood producing over 1,000 films per year, it was inevitable that the Forum would provide Indian film-producers with an opportunity to test the appetite for investment in Indian productions. Indeed, Barclays expressed interest in investing in Indian productions, whilst the UK Film Council highlighted its continuing efforts to get the Indo-UK treaty signed.
Some points raised by the investors included the need to incorporate some changes in order to make the investment climate more desirable. According to Sandeep Pahwa, Global Head Media, HSBC, this included more clarity in the regulation environment, and the need to improve corporate governance and leveragability.
He observed that the scale and scope of the game (of investment into Indian media) has not even begun. Challengers like WPP's Martin Sorell are already eyeing up the Indian pie. Where banks are traditionally risk averse, private equity investors are looking to jump in. Sorell wanted to try new business models, but deemed the UK too expensive; he can do that in India.
Barclays, which stopped gap-financing films some time ago is also now venturing into financing Indian films. "Gap-financing is very risky," said Adrian Young, Head of Media, Barclays, "but we are interested in refinancing to help directors produce films."
A little bit of corporatisation and some deregulation will go a long way in attracting investors into Bollywood.
The Indian Industry stands at $4.5 bn today and is expected to grow in high double digits at 18% per annum compounded annually over the next five years, to reach over $10bn by 2009. The largest contributor to this growth will be the television segment followed closely by the film segment.
The Commonwealth Business Council represents 53 Commonwealth nations, including developed economies like the UK, Singapore, Canada and developing countries like India and Malaysia. The Commonwealth is the world's second largest trading bloc after the EU, handling trade worth $ 2.8 trillion annually and with FDI outflows of over $ 160 billion. The bloc accounts for around a quarter of international trade and investment.
Genting Highlands (Malaysia), April 2. (PTI): The charm of Hollywood does not seem to attract the "Badshah of Bollywood" Shahrukh Khan as he feels there are no roles for him down there.
"If I were to do a film in Hollywood, then it has to be about a 40-year-old who is brown, short, has lots of hair and an Indian," Khan was quoted as saying in a local daily here.
The Bollywood actor said it was not up to him to decide if he wanted to work in Hollywood. "Nobody from there has ever called me. And in my age group, Hollywood already has many actors, so I don't think they need me."
The King Khan was in Malaysia to attend the 10th Zee Cine awards held here late last night.
The actor took home the Audience Award for Fun Entertainer. He enthralled the audience by performing a dance number from his movies 'Don' and 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna', both of which did well at the box office in Malaysia.
Khan is well known to most Malaysians and his film Don was shot mostly in the Southeast Asian country.
2006/12/8 6:03:09 Filmmaker Ketan Mehta does not take it lightly when you call his movies 'Bollywood' films. "The term 'Bollywood' is demeaning. It speaks of a colonial mindset, it's the last hurrah of the colonised mind. It is counter-productive and the term 'Bollywood' is a gaali," he says.
Currently in Singapore as jury member of the Asian Festival of First Films, Mehta says that Indian cinema must grow out of its tunneled vision and embrace the world.
"As a country that produces the most number of films in the world, we must not forget that we are much more than just 'Bollywood'. There are so many more films being made in Tamil and Telugu, the stars down South are being paid much more and they have a bigger audience than those 'stars' in 'Bollywood'," he adds.
Mehta, who made Mangal Pandey: The Rising recently, also questions the concept of parallel cinema. "There is nothing like that anymore. Look at Munnabhai, look at Rang De Basanti. How do we term them? Why should we term them? They are good cinema and are Indian cinema."
Mehta is in the process of making a film on the life of the Indian artist Raja Ravi Verma. "It's an Indo-French-British production and there will be no big stars." Again, when he is asked if it will be a mainstream film, he reacts, "Don't curb cinema by generalising it with terms like 'mainstream'."
Amitabh Bachchan considers Bollywood more creative than Hollywood
2007/4/12 1:07:36
Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan dismisses the notion that Indian films should aspire to win Oscars, saying that Bollywood was more creative than Hollywood.
India turns out about 1,000 films in 12 languages each year. No Indian film has ever won an Oscar, although Mother India and Lagaan have been nominated.
Bachchan, who is currently visiting Britain to receive several awards, said that he did not believe an Indian film winning an Oscar was the "ultimate recognition for any great film" and added that it was offensive to suggest that.
"I do believe that Indian film has its own exhibition," Bachchan said, referring to the International Indian Film Academy's annual awards. "Whereas we respect the Oscars and what they are, our creativity is the best," he added.
Bollywood, which makes three times as many films a year as Hollywood, has captivated cinemagoers around the world with its musical extravaganzas.
Bachchan welcomed films that married Western and Indian cinema such as 2004's Bride and Prejudice which starred his would-be daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai and which was a co-production featuring Indian and Western actors.
"Any kind of marriage is going to be good when creative interests are common," Bachchan said.
"I do believe that if the United Kingdom wants to make a film with India, there can only be benefits and vice versa."
Bachchan said that, although he had never appeared in any Hollywood film, he would certainly consider roles from the West.
The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation has decided to provide 10 per cent discount on transport cost of all package tours booked from October 20 to December 21 for the benefit of the tourists.
