Ireland woos Indian students with Salman Khan’s ‘Ek Tha Tiger’

London: Exploiting the new restrictions imposed by Britain on Indian and other-non-EU students, neighbouring Ireland has launched a campaign to attract Indian students using the recent blockbuster ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, which was partly shot in Dublin. Jane Ohlmeyer, vice-provost for global relations at Trinity College, Dublin, said, "We`re keen to emphasise that the British government is making it increasingly difficult for students from India to study in the UK, but the Irish government is a step ahead and making it easier."

Ohlmeyer and her team are reportedly screening the film to potential Indian students during a recruitment drive in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi, the Sunday Times reported. The Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer, produced by Yash Raj Films, was shot against the backdrop of Dublin`s most famous landmarks such as Temple Bar and the Ha`penny Bridge. The song `Banjaara` was filmed in Front Square, the main entrance to Trinity College, where many Indians in Ireland reportedly came to watch. Trinity has also conferred an honorary professorship on prominent filmmaker Yash Chopra, who is expected to teach a module on Indian cinema in Trinity`s School of Drama, Film and Music later this year. Founded in 1592 and modelled on the collegiate universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Trinity is reported to be opening an office in Delhi and a `node` of the Science Gallery in Bangalore. It has also set up 16 scholarships for Indian students. "We`re targeting top high schools across the country, and at this stage we have good relationships with about 50. These schools all send significant numbers of students abroad to study the vast majority go to America and the UK. "We`re running summer camps for 16 and 17-year-olds in the Science Gallery. If we can get the top Indian students over to Ireland at that age, when they`re making choices about where they go to university, Trinity is what they will think of," Ohlmeyer said. Ohlmeyer added that Trinity had been planning the move into India for some time and that `Ek Tha Tiger` was an ideal launch pad for a sustained campaign. PTI