Javier Lopez Zee Mundo
Zee Mundo and the Embassy of India in Mexico partnered to present the first edition of the India Film Festival, that will last a month and have four films in exhibition. “The content of Bollywood is still not well-known in Latin America, we are starting to promote it and what better way than having festivals for people to get to know it,” said Javier López-Casella, general manager for the US Hispanic market and Latin America at Zee Entertainment.
This is the first festival they have, and in July they will repeat it with different films. “Additionally, we are in conversations with cinema networks to do the same thing, but much more massive. At the same time, we are in conversations with open television stations to start having two films per week, The idea is for people to get to know this cinema,” said López-Casella.
The ambassador, Sr. Muktesh Pardeshi, commented that they have been planning the festival for a year and that they reached an agreement with the Book Fair in Guadalajara, where they will exhibit 10 to 12 films. “We can break barriers and bring Bollywood to this country,” he stated. In the Festival opening they presented a group of Indian dance, offered a dinner reception with typical dishes, and screened the film Dangal: Honor, one of the biggest blockbusters in India.
Additionally, they will present Journey of Love, Friday, May 17; Sea of Dreams, Friday, May 24, and English for Beginners on Thursday, May 30. This can be watched on the Zee Mundo platform, on Sky and Megacable.
Javier López-Casella stated “We are focused in Mexico because it is the greatest Spanish-speaking country, where we had immediate acceptance of the content, but we will continue with Colombia, Argentina and the rest of the continent”.
