Bollywood should do a 'Zindagi Na...' in Poland: Ambassador

Panaji, Nov 29 (IANS) Keen to promote Poland as a film and tourism destination in India, the country's top diplomat wants Bollywood to do a "Zindagi (Phir Se) Milegi Dobara" in the locales of the central European nation.

Prof Piotr Klodkowski, Poland's ambassador to India, said the splendour evoked vis-a- vis Spanish locales by Zoya Akhtar's 2011 film "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" (ZNMD) needed to be imitated with a Polish context and that a major agreement in the field of audio visuals was being worked out with the Indian government.

"We need to respond to the challenge of Spain. We need to come up with a 'Zindagi (Phir Se) Milegi Dobara'," said Klodkowski, calling for an encore of the film, only this time, set in Poland.

Klodkowski said that Bollywood cinema is increasingly occupying the mental space of Polish filmmakers and cinegoers and that Amitabh Bachchan's popularity in his home country is tremendous.

"Amitabh Bachchan was at Krakow film festival where his film 'Paa' was premiered and he later even recited his father's poem 'Madhushala' where it received warm applause. There are so many blogs in Polish language on Bollywood," Klodkowski said, adding that Big B is keen on filming in Poland.

"I understand that he (Bachchan) will send a team to Poland to search for locations (in Poland)," Klodkowski said.

The ambassador said that Poland is keen on co-productions between the two countries and that popular Indian films like Aamir Khan's "Fanaa" had already blazed a trail by shooting in Poland and hoped that others would follow suit.

"Both India and Poland share a rich film heritage and we have great technical expertise. We hope that there is more co-operation between India and Poland. A lot of agencies from Poland are engaging with India as far as encouraging film shooting in Poland is concerned," Klodkowski said.

"We will be signing an agreement on audio visual exchange soon. That will help this process.

"Bollywood's first big film which made an impact in Poland was 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'. It gained a lot of popularity in Poland for India. It is not difficult to get DVD of Bollywood movies with Polish sub-titles," he said.

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Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara