TV Times

TV Times

Now its Bollywood tourism
By Chandani Kirinde
For most Sri Lankans, Bollywood is that distant place, where dreams are made. The images of Bollywood comes right into our living rooms almost everyday via television in the forms of Hindi films or songs featuring beautiful faces, places, thrilling stunts and a array of emotions.

And in the theatre, these larger than life images take us into a world, which seems so unreal. And through them we have grown to know the names, places and faces of this Indian celluloid world but seeing them for real has been a distant dream for most of us.

But how would you like to see for yourself the places where these dream movies are made, watch a movie being shot, learn all the movie tricks that make amazing stunts look like child’s play on screen and even dine with your favourite Bollywood heartthrob. Sounds too good to be true is n’t it?

Well not any more. Thanks to the innovative thinking by Prowl Asia (Pvt) Ltd who recently launched “Bollywood Tourism,” in Sri Lanka, all these dreams can come true. Through Bollywood Tourism (BT) you can enter the glittery world of Bollywood – Mumbai, the starry and glamorous dream factory of India. It opens a window on the workings of the Indian cinema industry for its fans from around the world.

Bollywood Tourism was initiated as a joint venture between Popcorn Entertainment (Pvt) Ltd, India that is run by a Bollywood super star himself Sunil Shetty and Travel Mart India (TMI).

According to the Chairman TMI Manoj Gursahani, Bollywood Tourism offers to fans something similar to what Hollywood offers in the form of visits to Universal studios.

In association with TMI, Prowl Asia offers several attractive packages ranging from one night to two days to three nights /four days in Mubmai. Prowl Asia holds the exclusive representative franchise of TMI to promote Bolloywood Tourism in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, according to its Director Arefa Tehsin. She said that on one of her first visits to Sri Lanka, she was walking around the streets of Colombo when she heard someone sing a popular Hindi song and it happened to be a beggar boy.

This she said underscored the popularity of Hindi cinema in Sri Lanka and why tours of Bollywood are bound to be a success. The basic one-day packages inclusive of lunch comprise visits to Bolllywoordrome; witness a live and actual film/teleserial shootings and visits to a postproduction studio.

The above one-day BT tour will cost US $ 100 for an adult, US $ 175 per couple, US $ 75 for a Child and for a family (2 adults and 2 children) US $ 300. As an introductory offer, for promoting this unique product, Prowl Asia has tied up with SriLankan Airlines and Air Mark Travels and Tours (Pvt) Ltd Colombo to make available a very attractive package for US $ 390 per person including return airfare to Mumbai by SriLankan Airlines and the one day Bollywood Tourism package which would normally cost US $ 450.

Hotel accommodation (3 star to 5 star) could also be arranged at an additional cost at the request of the customer. In addition to this basic package, there are some exclusive add –on modules, at an addition at cost, booked on prior intimation.

These include an exclusive group dinner with a Bollywood star, appointment with dress designers, hair stylists and make up artists who cater to the stars, appointment with a star photographer to have your portfolio shot, stargazing- a guided tour to see where the film stars reside, see a latest Hindi movie at a multiplex cinema in Mumbai, visits to “Essel World” and “Water Kingdom”, Mumbai – one of the finest amusement and water parks in Asia.

In prompting these unique packages, TMI and Prowl Asia will work with Ruhuna 2001 Multivision (PVT) Ltd, the premier cable network in Sri Lanka, where they would be conducting raffle draws for the benefit of their subscribers as well as special draws for new subscribers.

Top