Bollywood as Cultural Ambassador of India to Germany
Bollywood – the best contemporary guide to understanding Indian culture and traditions
August 11th, 2016
India is not just a nation. It is the seventh-largest country by area and the second-most populous country in the world (with almost 1.3 billion people). The diversity of traditions, people, religions, languages, social structures, knowledge systems and arts in India is incredible. Cultural exchange between the country and the rest of the world is a powerful tool that can be conducted through various ways. One of them is the production of movies with specific cultural background.
The “Real India” can be understood by its film industry. Bollywood is representative of the high and rich culture of India which is more than 4,500 years old. Through the rhythms of Bollywood the positive cultural diversity of the Indian people and the universal values they have can be experienced.
On 28th July 2016 the first Bollywood movie channel was launched in Germany. Its name is “Zee.One” and it can be watched without having to pay anything extra via cable and satellite. The feature of the TV channel is that it will show German viewers popular Indian TV series, films and music videos. They are specially revised for the German market. The programme covers all genres - from romance to action.
Hundreds of German premieres are being broadcast in HD quality. International megastars can be watched like Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. The main target group of the Bollywood TV channel in Germany will be women in the age bracket between 19 and 59. The movies that will be shown will be suitable also for people of all ages. “Zee.One” is the brainchild of one of India's largest TV networks, Zee TV.
The TV Channel’s aim is to bring the German audience a serious cultural experience from India. Because of the representation of India’s cultural heritage and traditions that the movies provide, Bollywood plays an essential role in establishing cultural diplomacy between India and its partners all over the world. The Bollywood films portray a large range of different perspectives of important social and political issues in the country.
The Indian community in Germany numbers around 86 000 people. Now India’s culture will become more popular and accessible to the public in Germany through India’s official movie channel showing Bollywood films. The distribution of India’s movies will play a significant role as cultural ambassador between the two countries and will give original and colourful view of the culture, traditions and life in India.
