London Mayor discuses growing relations between India-London filmdom

Mumbai, Apr 5 (UNI) London Mayor Ken Livingstone has discussed with Mega Superstar Amitabh Bachchan the growing relationship between the film industries of India and Britain and highlighted that closer collaboration would form part of his programme for extending business and cultural links between the two countries this year.

He was speaking at a reception hosted by the Nehru Centre in London at the invitation of the Indian International Films Academy Awards (IIFAs) where he met Mr Bachchan.

Interest in Bollywood has grown significantly in the UK, with 2.6 million visits to Hindi films last year, making Indian films the most popular foreign language movies in the country, an IIFA release here today said.

The Mayor of London attended the reception as part of a series of initiatives designed to continue strengthening links between the two great film industries of India and the UK.

London is becoming an increasingly popular destination for the Bollywood film industry. Indian film productions are now worth 28mn US dollar annually to London. In 2005, 35 Indian productions were filmed in the Borough of Westminster alone.

In November, the Mayor will lead an official visit to India to open Mayoral offices in both Delhi and Mumbai.

This summer, the Capital will host a spectacular Bollywood showcase designed to launch the largest celebration of Indian films ever seen in London. The event will form part of ''India Now''season, a three-month celebration of Indian culture and creative industries backed by the Mayor of London, which offers Londoners and its visitors the opportunity to experience a series of festivities and exhibitions dedicated to Indian art, film, theatre, fashion and food, the release said.

The Mayor said, ''Films are an incredibly important industry to both India and the UK, especially the global film centres of London and Mumbai, and I am committed to developing cultural and economic links between London and India. The year 2007 is exciting as we look to strengthening London's relations with India, building on the significant contribution that London's Indian community already makes to the economic, cultural and social success of the capita.'' UNI LS KU SK KN2043