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Kiwis woo Bollywood now
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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
Mumbai,
March 13: TIRED of seeing heroes and heroines cavorting in
the same, old Swiss locales of Bollywood-busters? Well, you
might just get to see Kiwi country now. New Zealand is making
a concerted bid to woo Indian film producers to use the scenic
islands as a backdrop for their films. Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, Phil Goff, along with officials of the
New Zealand High Commission, met Shakti Samanta, president
of the Film Federation of India, Tilak Raj Magan, secretary-general
and Supran Sen, secretary, and said their country had far
more picturesque locales than Switzerland. They offered their
full support to Indian producers who choose to shoot in that
country.
Samanta said many foreign countries have made a beeline for
Bollywood producers and directors. ‘‘Since India
is the largest film producing country in the world and Indian
films continue to be very popular abroad, several countries
have sought to boost their tourist trade through Indian films.
South Africa, Canada’s British Columbia and Malaysia
are some of the countries which have already approached producers
here and offered to extend all facilities. ‘‘We
explained to the New Zealand delegation that one major problem
is the distance and asked for concessions in air fare. We
also need them to give out on hire at reasonable rates equipment
like cranes, camera, lights, trolleys and other such heavy
studio stuff which cannot be taken out of the country,’’
he told Newsline.
Samanta also asked for a single-window system to obtain permission
to shoot in the country.
The minister, he says, assured the federation that the equipment
needed for shooting would be provided at reasonable rates
and a one-window system could also be arranged. The trade
commissioner said they were considering opening an office
at the consulate in Mumbai to cater to the needs of film producers
to obtain visas. He said New Zealand is planning to start
international film festivals in which there would be a separate
section for Indian films.
Supran Sen, secretary of the FFI said he had also met Elinor
Caplan, Canadian Minister for Citizenship and Immigration,
last Friday who too had invited Indian producers to shoot
in Canada as Indian films were very popular. Though several
producers had come in the past to shoot in Canada, some of
the crew members had stayed back and tried to settle there
illegally.
She wanted FFI to certify the bonafides of Indian producers
coming to Canada to shoot and give an assurance that no member
of the unit would try to stay back and seattles there illegally.
Sen told her that though FFI can issue certificates guaranteeing
the bonafides of the Indian film producers wanting to shoot
in Canada, it couldn’t guarantee that no unit members
would stay back. It is up to the Canadian government to see
that immigrants leave the country after the expiry of their
visas.
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