Close X
Thursday, November 14, 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

    'I Don't Write Such Crap' Kangana Ranaut Says About Those Alleged E-Mails To Hrithik Roshan

    Kangana Ranaut on feud with Hrithik Roshan: "I was dragged to court for being who I am, felt stigmatised"

    'I Don't Write Such Crap' Kangana Ranaut Says About Those Alleged E-Mails To Hrithik Roshan

    Lucky, My Husband Pushed Me Back Into Doing Movies: Preity Zinta

    Lucky, My Husband Pushed Me Back Into Doing Movies: Preity Zinta
    Preity, who will be seen in "Bhaiyyaji Superhitt", considers herself lucky to have such a life partner.

    Lucky, My Husband Pushed Me Back Into Doing Movies: Preity Zinta

    Lots Of Diversity Internationally: Actress Priyanka Bose

      She credited Bollywood actresses Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone with paving the way

    Lots Of Diversity Internationally: Actress Priyanka Bose

    Healthy Start, Say Experts As 'Kaabil' Reopens Doors In Pakistan

     "Kaabil" has become the first big Bollywood entertainer to release in Pakistan after cinema owners gave up a months-long self-imposed ban to resume screening of Indian films.

    Healthy Start, Say Experts As 'Kaabil' Reopens Doors In Pakistan

    I Was Like Badrinath: Varun Dhawan

    I Was Like Badrinath: Varun Dhawan
    Actor Varun Dhawan says that at one point of time, he was like his character Badrinath from the forthcoming film "Badrinath Ki Dulhania".

    I Was Like Badrinath: Varun Dhawan

    Very Excited For 'Baahubali 2': Tamannaah Bhatia

    Very Excited For 'Baahubali 2': Tamannaah Bhatia
    Actress Tamannaah Bhatia is looking forward to the release of "Baahubali 2" in April.

    Very Excited For 'Baahubali 2': Tamannaah Bhatia