Modi to be new face of ‘Incredible India’
Tourism ministry junks plans to rope in stars like Amitabh, Priyanka
With the Union tourism ministry deciding to do away with plans to rope in any Bollywood stars for its ‘Incredible India’ campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to be the mascot of the campaign. Tourism minister Mahesh Sharma had earlier endorsed Mr Modi’s persona for the role, saying he is the “best face” to promote the campaign. The minister asserted India has witnessed a jump in the tourist inflow from the countries the PM visited.
Earlier, the names of megastar Amitabh Bachchan and actor Priyanka Chopra were doing rounds for the campaign aimed at promoting India as a favourite tourist destination abroad, after actor Aamir Khan’s ouster as the campaign’s brand ambassador. Though it was perceived that Mr Khan was eased out of the campaign in January — after being associated with it for several years — for his remarks on perceived intolerance, the ministry had maintained the government didn’t hire him, and that the contract with the advertising agency that engaged him expired.
A senior ministry official said no Bollywood actor will be engaged for the campaign. He added the video footages of Mr Modi in the past two-and-ahalf years, in which he talked about tourism in India and abroad, will be used for the campaign.
The ministry is “working on selecting the footages”, the official said, adding that the campaign would be released in the next 40-45 days as the Indian ‘tourism season’ starts by November-end due to favourable weather, Christmas holidays and New Year celebrations.
The official said the process of selecting the agency, which will handle the campaign, is on.
“The perception about India has changed significantly with PM Modi visiting a host of countries. So, who else could be the better face for Indian tourism than our PM,” Mr Sharma said.
Supporting Mr Sharma’s remarks, a senior ministry official said tourist inflow from countries like the US, Germany, Fiji, Brazil, Australia, the UK, Canada and Myanmar, among others, has seen a significant jump after Mr Modi’s visit to these nations.