Taiwan’s Bollywood connection

The Taiwanese Government is screening four films at the four-day-long IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival

To bolster people-to-people contact between Taiwan and India, the Taiwanese Government is keen to screen feature films in metropolitan cities on a commercial basis.

And to test the reaction of Indian filmgoers, it is screening four films, including Nyonya’s Taste of Life by Wen Chih-Yi at the four-day-long IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival, which began in the Capital on Wednesday.

According to Taiwanese Embassy Ambassador Chung-Kwang Tien, the prospect of releasing films on a commercial basis in India is bright.

Mr. Tien said: “We will see the Indian film lover’s response to four Taiwanese films directed by women directors at the ongoing festival in Delhi. Though most of them are documentaries, we will get a general idea of what kind of films to release in India.”

Revealing that talks with Bollywood filmmakers are going on, the Ambassador said some proposals have already been sent by Indian directors and it was just a matter of time before leading names from Bollywood will be exploring the cultural heritage and uniqueness of the Asian country.

“Bollywood films are a rage in our country. I would like to mention Aamir Khan’s

3 Idiots , which generated a good response in our country. We want Bollywood filmmakers to come to our country and talk with our filmmakers. Let us see what kind of collaboration comes,” he told

The Hindu .

Comparing between Indian films and movies from his country, the Ambassador said: “India produces the maximum number of films. Indian films are generally lively films which give a feel-good-factor. There are songs and dances at picturesque places. In contrast, Taiwanese filmmakers revisit historical incidents. We make realistic films.”

Appreciating the fact that Taiwanese-born filmmaker Ang Lee’s recent film Life of Pi received an overwhelming response in Indian metropolitan cities, the Ambassador said the film was a perfect example of Taiwanese-Indian cooperation.

“With an Indian cast – Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Tabu – and Ang Lee’s creative energy, the film was a blockbuster in India. It was also a huge hit in our country. Keeping all this in mind, we are toying with the idea of bringing Mr. Lee to India to promote our films.”

Noting that both countries share common values, the Ambassador said: “India and Taiwan have a number of similarities. People in both the countries give emphasis to family-values and respect elderly folks. We have a shared cultural heritage and tradition.”