Philippine Film Export Services Office, which is pitching the nation as a filming destination, has invited five Indian directors

HONG KONG: Like Alexander looking for new worlds to conquer, Bollywood producers are scouting for exotic locales in which to set their plots for the amusement of moviegoers. And it now appears that in that quest, their next port of call will be the Philippines.

Five producer-directors — Aditya Raj Kapoor, Milind Soman, Yusuf Shaikh, and Vivek and Anil Bohra — are to travel to the Philippines early in December at the invitation of the Philippine Film Export Services Office (PFESO), which is pitching the island-nation as a filming destination. They will visit some of the scenic locales — jungle scenes to futuristic cityscapes — in the hope that some of them will prove viable places in which they can film their action sequences.

“They could consider shooting jungle scenes in our forests in Subic Bay or action sequences in the industrial areas there,” says PFESO chairperson Digna Santiago. “We’re also taking them to Pampanga, which could prove ideal for shooting futuristic films.”

The visiting producer-directors will also get a chance to interact with representatives of the local film industry, which is looking to Bollywood for lessons on how to rebrand itself and survive in the age of media globalisation. They will also interact with providers of film technical services, including digital labs, animation houses and post-production facilities.

The planned visit comes in response to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s invitation, during her recent visit to India, to filmmakers to consider filming in the Philippines. The visiting Bollywood big-wigs may make a courtesy call on President Arroyo.

The Philippines is only the latest country in the region to wake up to the potential of using Bollywood as a vehicle to showcase itself. Several other governments, including those in New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong, have laid out the red-carpet — and have been the settings for blockbusters. In turn, they have been rewarded by a flood of Indian tourists who are keen to visit the locales that these films were shot in.

The Singapore Tourism Board has, in fact, taken this enterprise to another level following the filming of the Hrithik Roshan starrer Krrish. It offered packaged tours tracing the movie trail, taking in the locales where the film was shot, and specifically targeted at Indian filmgoers.

The Philippine film industry is looking to Bollywood for lessons in survival and gain global brand equity. Recently, Senate president and Nacionalista Party leader Manny Villar had cited the Bollywood song-and-dance routine as worthy of emulation by the local film industry. “Why don’t we have films that feature dances and songs, just like Indian movies?” Villar wondered. After all, “Filipinos are great dancers and singers.”

A research study, titled “Can the Philippines follow Bollywood?” and conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, noted that low production costs and high revenues ensured that Indian films offered high return on investment.

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