G-20 meet begins in Srinagar
Srinagar: As India’s G-20 Presidency marks a special focus on the cultural diplomacy through pushing soft power, i.e. films and arts, the draft ‘National Strategy on Film Tourism’ (NSFT) was launched on Monday during the G-20 3rd Tourism Working Group Meeting in Srinagar of Jammu and Kashmir.
While the government declared the Valley as the best location to shoot the world cinema, the NSFT provided a roadmap for harnessing the role of films in promoting tourist destinations. According to the draft, the vision of NSFT is to position India as a preferred country of choice for producing motion pictures which will further stimulate tourism in the country.
The draft aims to leverage the natural, heritage and cultural assets of India and the people skills across both — the Indian tourism industry and the Indian motion picture industries — to make India a vibrant global destination of film tourism for international and domestic language motion films. Meanwhile, both the experts and the government believe that holding such an important meeting in J&K will provide an opportunity to recognise the ‘crown of India’ on a global platform. Hence, G-20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant said: “PM Narendra Modi believes that tourism has the biggest multiplier effect being the biggest job creator and this G-20 meeting will lead to more job creation in J&K.” Praising Kashmir for its pristine beauty, Kant said that there is no better film destination than Kashmir which has everything to offer to the film industry.
At the same time, senior politician from this region and Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that Kashmir is the “best location” a film producer or director can find. “This is the time of revival and moment of rejuvenation. The first star of Bombay films was produced by Jammu and Kashmir — Kundan Lal Saigal. Jammu and Kashmir has hugely contributed to the film industry. In recent times, another Punjabi family came from the state — of Ramanand Sagar. Raaj Kumar also hails from Kashmir,” Singh added. He also claimed that under the leadership of PM, Kashmir is going to be most profitable, cost effective and economically viable film destination.
The G-20 meeting in Srinagar is the first major international event in Jammu and Kashmir since August 2019, Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked and when the state was divided into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh. Moreover, it is for the first time since independence that the Valley would be hosting an international event.
The draft National Strategy for Film Tourism was unveiled in presence of Jitendra Singh, Union Tourism and Culture Minister Kishan Reddy, Indian actor Ram Charan, G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, Secretary MIB, Apurva Chandra and G-20 chief coordinator, Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
Tourism minister G Kishan Reddy said: “India will be one stop for film production having beautiful locations, talented technicians, start-of-the-art post production facilities that can create amazing visuals with the world-class sound effects.” The minister also emphasised that the event is of utmost importance as it will explore the immense potential of film tourism and it’s contribution to our vibrant tourism industry.
Apart from G-20 members, the event witnessed participation of delegates from guest countries and several international organisations. India’s special invitee guest countries include Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and UAE.
On the sidelines, a panel discussion aligned with the 5th priority of Tourism Working Group, highlighted the challenges associated with country-specific enablers adopted for promoting destinations through films and also emphasised the impact of film tourism on these destinations.
