The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Rail Europe eyeing South Indian movie industry

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Rail Europe eyeing South Indian movie industry

G Anand

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The French and Swiss National Railways are wooing South Indian film makers and people working in the information technology industry to discover Europe through rail.

Rail Europe, the joint venture floated by the two railway networks for the promotion and sale of European train tickets and passes in Asia, is looking for more business from the nearly Rs.800-crore regional language movie industry in South India, said Gopi. R. Iengar, Area Manager, India and South Asia.

Nearly 300 films are shot annually in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam languages. Bangalore and Hyderabad are the hubs of the IT industry in the South.

Most of the movies have at least one dance sequence shot in the lush European countryside. Rail Europe is seeking to cash in on this trend among South Indian movie makers by offering them cost-effective railway access to scenic locations, filming and boarding facilities across Europe. The passes sold by Rail Europe provide unlimited travel for fixed periods on national railway networks and local train lines.

The Rail Europe passes also offer up to 50 per cent discounts on city tours, shopping and sporting activities such as skiing. The passes would enable movie makers to get reduced rates for shooting on cable cars, mountain trains, Parisian boat trips down the River Seine and on certain ferries operating between France and England.

In order to attract young IT professionals, Rail Europe is offering special travel passes for youth under the age of 26. The castles, chalets, lakes, pine forests, pastoral landscape and the Alps mountains that figure in the song and dance sequences of Indian movies have attracted middle class Indian tourists to the scenic Lake Geneva region shared by France and Switzerland.

"We are having an increasing number of Indian families wanting to experience snow," said Francois Michel of the Tourism Office, Lake Geneva, Region, Switzerland.

Barbara Shabhana Breheret of the Alps Incoming and Marketing Service in Chamonix, who has handled several Hindi film crew, said that South Indian movie makers could find cost-effective filming locations in the French part of the mountain range that are easily accessible through Rail Europe. Chamonix offers cable car trips to Mont Blanc, the highest point of the Alps, and opportunity for a variety of extreme sports such as snow boarding, ballooning, power gliding, rafting and canoeing. These activities are often filmed for stunt scenes or included in dance sequences in Hindi films.

Martinez Regis of Evolution-2, a company that promotes sporting activities in Chamonix, said that his group offers abacus level training in skiing and snow boarding and could also provide assistance to movie makers.

Apartment hotels

Rail Europe is also offering information on apartment hotels that have kitchen and laundry facilities and offer affordable boarding for large Indian groups, including families. Ulla Santoni of the Citadenes Apartment Hotel group said hotels such as hers are centrally located and situated near supermarkets. "We offer lesser rates for longer stay", she said.

Companies offering floating restaurant cruises on the River Seine that flows through Paris is also looking hard for business from movie makers and corporate customers in India.

Xavier Solomon of the Bateaux Mouche Company said that Diwali was celeberated on board one of the cruise boats on November 1 as part of its marketing strategy. The company offers 50 per discount for cruises for Rail Europe pass holders.

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