In Football-Crazy Colombia, Bollywood Scores

NEW DELHI: Colombia, a South American nation of 46 million, is known for its love of football. A lesser-known secret is its passion for Bollywood - one of India's dominant cultural forces - which has triggered a sort of cultural invasion in a country thousands of kilometres away.

With romantic and dramatic themes, foot-tapping songs and emphasis on family values, Bollywood has conquered the hearts of Colombians, who are one of the biggest fans of Indian movies in Latin America, say Bollywood enthusiasts from that country.

"Bollywood films find a suitable ground in Colombia because of the things we have in common. For instance, we, like Indians, are not an individualistic-oriented society," Roberto Restrepo, a Colombian documentary director-producer, told IANS from capital city Bogota in an e-mail interaction.

"For us, family is more important than individual interests. We share such values, and so Colombians find it appealing to see them on screen, and they are usually displayed in Indian films," said Restrepo, the director of "Jala - A Journey Through the Senses of Water," a soon-to-be-released documentary on the Ganga river.

Cristhian Salamanca, president of the Bogota-based Amigos de India (Friends of India) association, agreed. "The Indian film industry is gaining recognition in Colombia and movies from India get a lot of attention. Many people in Colombia are aware of the Bollywood style of storytelling," Salamanca told IANS.

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