Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
Bollywood

WATCH: SRK Serenades Tagore's 'Bideshini' In Bengal Tourism Ad

Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 Feb, 2017 01:15 PM
    Superstar Shah Rukh Khan's inimitable style combines with Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore's timeless symphony in luring visitors from faraway lands to West Bengal in its latest tourism promotion ad, that cuts through stereotypes.
     
    The three-and-half minutes long video montage takes viewers from Bengal's chandeliered Rajbaris, ceiling-high stacks of books in College Street's alleys, immersive terracotta temples of Bankura, psychedelic masked Chhau dancers, Sundarbans mangrove's fisherfolk with backward facing masks to the rolling tea gardens of Darjeeling hills -- all through the eyes of a foreigner.
     
    The film, which has received "an overwhelming response" from viewers on social media, sees Shah Rukh, Bengal's brand ambassador, crooning to Tagore's "Ami Chini Go Chini Tomare, O Go Bideshini" ("I know you, oh lady from faraway land") while serenading the foreigner in a tram car.
     
     
    "We have received extremely positive response from the ad and it is being shared all across on social media as part of our aggressive tourism campaign," Bengal Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said.
     
    "The essence of our tagline 'Welcome to Bengal - The sweetest part of India' is the state's hospitality which caters to guests from India and abroad. We want foreigners to think of Bengal first when they see the ad and plan to visit India," he said.
     
    An Ogilvy & Mather, Kolkata, concept, the film has been directed by Prakash Varma of Nirvana films.
     
    Instead of opting for typical Bengal tourism props such as rosogollas (spongy sweetmeats) or hand-pulled rickshaws, the montage offers glimpses of relatively lesser known facets such as the state's age-old relationship with graffiti art and its love for mustard-infused bhetki paturi (fillet of bhetki in banana leaf envelopes).
     
    A touch of tradition is played out as the foreigner indulges in Sindoor Khela (women smear vermilion at each other at the conclusion of Durga puja), listens to baul music and drives through the expansive Howrah Bridge across the Hooghly river.
     
    Reflecting the continuity of cultures, one rides along with the fair lady, who comes to attend a wedding, in buses, a yellow cab, the toy train and the tram. Her journey is matched to score with a background laced in baul tunes and sounds of the Shehnai, with the lilting tunes of Tagore accentuating the ebb and flow of a sojourn.

    MORE Bollywood ARTICLES

    President Trump Will Have No Negative Effect On Indian Artistes In Hollywood: Nimrat Kaur

    Nimrat Kaur, who has worked in TV shows like "Homeland" and "Wayward Pines" in the US, says under Donald Trump's presidency, the country has big issues to worry about.

    President Trump Will Have No Negative Effect On Indian Artistes In Hollywood: Nimrat Kaur

    ‘We Are Separated, I Have A Daughter’: Bigg Boss 10 Winner Manveer Gurjar Talks On His Marriage

    Indiawala contestant of Bigg Boss 10 Manveer Gurjar is in news for the big reveal regarding his marital status.

    ‘We Are Separated, I Have A Daughter’: Bigg Boss 10 Winner Manveer Gurjar Talks On His Marriage

    Beyoncé Knowles Bares All In Pregnancy Photo Shoot

    Beyoncé Knowles Bares All In Pregnancy Photo Shoot
    Singer Beyonce Knowles has posed naked to celebrate her pregnancy, five years after the birth of her daughter Blue Ivy.

    Beyoncé Knowles Bares All In Pregnancy Photo Shoot

    See Pics: Sridevi On Daughters Jhanvi And Khushi: Nothing Is More Important Than My Children

    See Pics: Sridevi On Daughters Jhanvi And Khushi: Nothing Is More Important Than My Children
    Married to producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 and a mother of two daughters Jhanvi and Khushi, the actress said: "Nothing is more important than your children."

    See Pics: Sridevi On Daughters Jhanvi And Khushi: Nothing Is More Important Than My Children

    Did Ranbir Kapoor Skip Anurag Basu's Puja Because Of Katrina?

    Interestingly, Ranbir's ex-girlfriend Katrina Kaif was seen at the puja this year and stayed on for quite some time. Kat's presence at the function led to speculation that Ranbir had given it a miss to avoid crossing paths with his former flame. 

    Did Ranbir Kapoor Skip Anurag Basu's Puja Because Of Katrina?

    Kim Kardashian Forms Book Club

    Kim Kardashian Forms Book Club
    Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has revealed that she is forming a book club along with supermodel Chrissy Teigen and celebrity stylist Jen Atkin.

    Kim Kardashian Forms Book Club