Israel welcomes Bollywood film producers with open arms
Israel has welcomed Indian filmmakers with open arms and hearts to shoot at various historic locales in the country.
“We welcome Bollywood producers whole-heartedly, with open arms and hearts, to shoot in Israel,” Israel’s Ambassador to India David Danieli said in an interaction with PTI journalists here.
Quite a few international films have been shot at various historic locales in Israel.
“We will show some sites where international movies were canned,” he said.
Bollywood movies have struck a chord with Israelis and leading film producers have a ready market in the Jewish state.
“Though Indian films are not screened in a big way, VCDs and DVDs of these movies sell quite well,” Danieli said.
Besides films, sport, particularly football and basketball, can be used as a tool to boost ties between the two countries.
“Football and basketball are popular games in Israel. We would like Israeli football teams to visit here, especially in states like West Bengal and Kerala” he said.
Emphasising that the people-to-people contact between the two countries had grown in the recent years, he said noted that hundreds of Israeli students were currently in India pursuing higher studies.
Dominated by diamonds and precious stones, the trade between the two countries was USD 2.7 billion till December last year.
“Indian exports to Israel amounted to USD 1.5 billion. Out of the total trade, 45 per cent is constituted by technology sector alone.
— PTI
Leave a Reply