Bollywood film industry leaders: We want to cooperate with Israel

A delegation of Indian Bollywood film industry leaders visiting Israel on Tuesday told Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon that they would be interested in producing films in Israel.

The Bollywood leaders met with Ayalon at the Knesset, while on a trip to Israel to attend the Jerusalem International Film Festival and tour sites around the country.

Delegates expressed a desire to forge a partnership with Israel to produce Indian films in Israel and bring Israeli films to Indian audiences. One representative pointed out that Israel and India are responsible for most of the start-ups in Silicon Valley, as well as a large part of the film industry. Cooperation between the two countries, which would combine manpower, technology and other skills, has the potential to lead to significant international achievements, the Indian representative said.

Ayalon told the group that Israel can help resolve some of the major issues Indian producers struggle with, including intemperate weather, which sometimes affects their ability to film. Israel provides a plausible solution to this issue because the weather is mostly consistent year-round. Israel also has a wide variety of scenery to match different set requirements and film narratives. Ayalon also told the group that Israel is considering a "incentives package" for Indian filmmakers to encourage them to film in the country.

Although the audience for Bollywood films in Israel is somewhat limited, the industry overall brings in about $20 million a year.

The Bollywood film "Gangor," by prominent producer Vinod Kumar, is scheduled to be screened at the Jerusalem film festival. Kumar is in Israel as part of the Indian delegation.