Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale boosted tourism in Iceland: Ambassador Thorir Ibsen

Thorir Ibsen, Iceland Ambassador to India, says that superstar Shah Rukh Khan's Bollywood movie Dilwale boosted the tourism of his country.

Thorir Ibsen was one of the special guests at the launch of Indywood Billionaire club, which was held at the Princess Hall in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad on Friday. Addressing the event, which was a part of Indywood Film Carnival, he explained the speciality of his country and how the Indian films have boosted the tourism of the country.

"It's pride and pleasure to be back here at the Indywood Film Carnival. We all know how much wonders cinema can do in keeping people connected. Cinema opens windows to cultures. It inspires people to visit places. It creates wonderful opportunities to build relations within countries and facilitates maintain relationship between people of different cultures," said Thorir Ibsen.

Talking about the tourism, the diplomat said, "Iceland has had a fantastic experience of the influence of cinema on tourism. It is a small country with a large geographical area. ... We have seen a magnificent growth in the number of tourists from India. This year is a fantastic one as there is 50 percent in the growth of tourism."

Meanwhile, he recalled the magic created by Dilwale. He said, "It all started with the smaller production and regional films from South, but the big boom came with Dilwale. The music video of song Gerua from the movie was shot in Iceland. That was a big break," added the Iceland Ambassador."

Iceland throws open tremendous opportunity to film industry, Thorir Ibsen said. The country has fantastic natural landscapes and all the spectacular locations are in close proximity to each other. Secondly, this country offers the kind of magic that is needed for a cinematic experience, he said.  "These two elements are well caught in the music video of Gerua, which has got 200 million views on YouTube."

While concluding, Thorir Ibsen also mentioned some hit Hollywood movies. "There are a lot of Hollywood movies shot in this country and I could not resist mentioning some blockbuster movies. Ice Age, Fast 8, Game of Thrones, Batman and Thor are few of them. I welcome Indian filmmakers to explore the spectacular locations of our country."