B'wood show in Beijing captivates all

India`s new way to woo Chinese to sell `Brand India` with a mix of B'wood.

Beijing: India`s new experiment to woo Chinese to sell `Brand India` with a mix of Bollywood and business appears to be making headway as over 800 audience here cheered a power packed dance performance showcasing India`s diversity.

Billed as the first serious attempt to initiate Indian films and culture to Chinese, whose love for Indian songs ends with Raj Kapoor`s `Awara`, a 46 member Indian film troop signed off its month and half long tour with a captivating show last night. The dance troop from Mumbai, sponsored by several agencies of the Indian government in association with Chinese Foreign Ministry, gave 22 performances in about 16 Chinese cities to popularise Indian culture with the show titled `Ticket to Bollywood`. The shows were being organised in connection with the 60th year of celebrations of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It appeared to be quite an effort considering that the event used 400 costumes, 1000 pieces of Indian jewellery to showcase microcosm of four decades of Bollywood compressing in a 90-minute capsule. Senior officials of Chinese Foreign Ministry took part in the show and over 300 tickets were sold for tickets varying from USD 300 to 30. On the sidelines of these shows in different cities, Indian Embassy officials organised a number of business seminars to popularise Indian business houses and their products to make inroads into Chinese markets, especially in the fields of IT, Pharmaceuticals, Engineering Services and Agro products, identified as niche items for China. The mix of culture and trade initiative was regarded important as the balance of burgeoning trade between the two countries which continue to tilt heavily in favour of China. Figures of the first of half of this year showed that the trade volumes were on course to touch the target of USD 60 billion this year. From January to June this year, the bilateral trade touched USD 30.37 billion with Indian exports standing at USD 11.9 billion against that China`s USD 18.4 billion. For its part India wants to minimise the gap as much possible by getting its best products like IT and Pharma, said S Jaishankar, Indian Ambassador to China. "While Chinese government promised to provide market access, India and its business houses also have to make an effort to get business," Jaishankar said. India would be hosting a major business conference in Shanghai on Aug 18 and 19 which be attended by Commerce Minister, Ananad Sharma along with heads of several Indian and Chinese business houses. "With all these initiatives, we hope to succeed," said K Nagraraj Naidu, First Secretary of the Economic and Commercial section of the Indian Embassy. PTI