The Hindu : National : Chennai's films or traffic, quite an experience for Swedish delegation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 31, 2005

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National

Chennai's films or traffic, quite an experience for Swedish delegation

Vani Doraisamy

I will promote exchange programmes between movie producers, says Member of Parliament

SAVOURING CHENNAI: Gunilla Tjernberg (left), Peter Pedersen and Lars Wegendal (right), three members of the Swedish parliamentary delegation in Chennai to get a taste and feel of the city. — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI: Perhaps it is Chennai's `filmi' culture. Perhaps it is the city's perennial water scarcity. Perhaps it is the television images of the tsunami ravage. When Lars Wegendal, Swedish Member of Parliament, and his 10-member team go back to their country after a fortnight, they will take with them an experience they could have had nowhere else in the world.

The parliamentary delegation is in the city to understand Chennai, its culture, history and tradition. And understandably, it is fascinated by films but flummoxed by the traffic. The members have not been able to watch too many films or meet too many representatives of Kollywood save for a visit to AVM Studios. But what little they have seen is enough for Mr. Wegendal to make up his mind on promoting exchange programmes between Swedish and Indian producers. "Sweden produces hardly 30 to 40 films a year. We are thinking in terms of connecting up with India to have a meaningful exchange,'' he told The Hindu.

And what will Sweden offer Chennai? Why, tennis of course. "We are a great tennis country. We have been visiting the tennis academy here and hope to explore links in that area too,'' he said.

The delegation started its India tour from Chennai two days ago and is scheduled to visit New Delhi and Agra over the next two weeks. Here it went round the Fort Museum and St. Mary's Church. On Wednesday it will visit Dakshina Chitra and the tsunami-ravaged fishing village of Karikattukuppam.

"It would be a very difficult thing for us visiting the village, especially after watching all the television coverage about the tsunami. I can't imagine what you in India must be going through,'' said Gunilla Tjernberg, a delegate.

For Peter Pedersen, a Left party MP, it is the chasm between the rich and the poor that is most striking, especially when he steps out of Hotel Taj Connemara's luxury and comes face to face with Chennai's pavement dwellers.

"We are taking back so many different feelings, things that we can talk about and discuss some more,'' says Mr. Wegendal.

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