NOLLYWOOD, BOLLYWOOD COLLABORATION YIELDING FRUIT - LAI MOHAMMED

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The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the collaboration between Nigeria and India in the creative industry has begun to yield fruit, with the impending launch of the all Nigerian-Indian cast movie, entitled “Post Card from India”.

The minister made the statement through his special assistant, Segun Adeyemi in Abuja on Thursday when he received the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Shri Balasubra Maniam, on a courtesy visit.

He said the Ministry is in the forefront of bringing together Bollywood producers, actors and promoters to interact and exchange ideas with their Nigerian counterparts in Nollywood, as India and Nigeria are the two power houses in the creative industry.

“I am glad that the recent collaboration between Nigeria and India in the area of culture, industry, film and music has yielded fruits. I am glad that the recent film, ‘Post Card from India,’ which was actually shot in India, will be coming out in July this year,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the Nigerian Government has offered land to Indian investors in Abuja and Lagos to build a comprehensive film city in either of the two cities in order to further deepen the economy of the creative industry.

He also said that a team of Indian investors last August inspected the Millenium Tower Complex, which would be an iconic cultural centre in Abuja when completed.

The Minister pledged the readiness of the ministry to sign some of the outstanding Memoranda of Understanding with India to strengthen and deepen the relationship between the two countries in the creative sector.

He stressed the need for the governments of India and Nigeria to open windows of opportunities for the private sector of both countries to forge new ties beyond government-to-government bilateral relations.

“I think the success of the India-Nigeria relationship is not just government-to-government. I think government-to-business and business-to-business have been the major drivers of this relationship and I want at this point to commend the effort of Mr. Jitendra Sachdeva of the Skipper Group, who led a delegation of investors to Nigeria in August last year.

“I think that’s a model we should emulate and encourage because the business sector and business movers are even faster to open up and cut down barriers more than the government at times,” he said.

In his remarks, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Balasubra, who traced the bilateral ties between Nigeria and India back to 1958, said the new film, “Post Card from India,” with Nigerian and Indian cast, would showcase the composite cultures between the two countries.

He said the outstanding MoUs on Joint Film Production and Cultural Exchange Programme would further solidify the cultural ties between

Nigeria and India.