Bollywood is a huge draw in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankans are huge fans of the Hindi film industry, popularly known as Bollywood.

With the long-drawn battle with the separatist terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, coming to an end, people of this emerald island are now enjoying the fantasies that Hindi cinema sells and encouraging Indian film-makers to shoot in the country.

"Hindi films are very huge here," Lankan actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who featured in Hindi films Aladin and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai, told IANS. "My father actually learnt Hindi by just watching Hindi films. That's how big it is here. Most people here prefer watching a Hindi film than an English film, even though English is widely spoken here."

Indian cinema has a large following in the country with Hindi films shown in theatres throughout the year. There is at least one shown on local television almost every day.

Amanthi Gunawardena, a student, said: "Bollywood is very famous here. Many Hindi films release here in theatres and we even get them on local cable TV with Sinhalese sub-titles."

Posters of Hindi film actresses Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan adorn many shops. As far as Sri Lanka's favourite actors are concerned, locals swear by Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.

Currently Shah Rukh Khan's My Name Is Khan is running in one theatre in the capital city. "We love Shah Rukh Khan, I have seen many of his films like Kal Ho Naa Ho... He is too good. I am even fond of Amitabh Bachchan," said Asanka, a shopkeeper.

Shobna Perera, a public relations executive, said: "I know of some younger stars, but my favourite is Amitabh Bachchan. He is a great inspiration. I wish I could meet him some day."

After the end of the civil war last year, the Sri Lankan government is aggressively trying to promote the country as an ideal place to shoot Hindi films.

"Hindi films are very popular here and Sri Lanka can become a good place to shoot," said George Michael, secretary to the country's tourism minister. "More Bollywood stars should come and shoot here."

The last Hindi film to be shot in Sri Lanka was Ram Gopal Varma's Agyaat, which was filmed extensively in the Sigiriya jungles in 2008. In 2004, Deepa Mehta came here to shoot her critically acclaimed Water. She filmed the John Abraham-Lisa Ray starrer just outside of Colombo.

Right now the Sri Lankan capital is gearing up to host the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) event  on June 3-5. In a country where there are fan clubs of Bollywood, the announcement of the IIFA coming here has excited all.

"We need to develop greater association between Sri Lankan cinema and Indian cinema," IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan said here when the announcement was made at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel last week.

"We share a lot of things in common," Bachchan said. "We have a long history of togetherness and friendship, of sharing culture and beliefs, and I think that artistically, too, we need to bring this together so that we can form an absolutely strong force, which represents this part of the world in the forum of world cinema."