The Hindu Business Line : Queensland invites Tollywood for film shootings Down Under

Hyderabad March 23 Queensland is making a hard pitch to lure Tollywood. Representatives from the State Government in Australia have held discussions with the captains of Telugu film industry.

`Gold Coast', as a destination for film shooting, was one of the major subjects of discussion with the Telugu Film Producers Council, part of the Andhra Pradesh Film Chambers, at a joint meeting held in the City recently.

A selection of Australian films are also being featured in the week-long Hyderabad International Film Festival, which began here on Thursday. The Telugu film industry could be provided incentives to explore Australia for its shootings, said Mr Aminur Rahman, Consul General (South India) of Australia in India.

Mr Rahman, who recently took up the assignment, was in the city meeting a cross section of officials, industry and institutes. He told Business Line that in addition to the ongoing collaborations and investments, areas such as leisure/tourism and mining could be new avenues for Andhra Pradesh and Australia to explore.

The Australian Trade Commission will facilitate trade delegations from Andhra Pradesh to visit Australia in the near future. "We will discuss with the CII on the areas of interest and set the process on," he said.

Less attention

Aviation, aerospace, food and beverages, education, and infrastructure have been the focus areas for Australia so far. He agreed that Andhra Pradesh had received less attention among the Southern states, but soon it would change. The recent visit of the Australian Trade Minister and the expected visit of several trade delegations later in the year are clear indications, Mr Rahman said.

He held discussions with Andhra Pradesh One Invest, CII, Novotel etc. during the day. Australia has over $1 billion investments in India and it is expected to grow rapidly, as there is a definite realisation about India's potential Down Under, he said.

The entire South India has been identified as a major investment destination. A recent initiative in Bangalore was the launch of the National Food and Industry Strategy for two weeks. The objective was to test market a range of food items made in Australia, he added.

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