G B Srithar noted that while Singapore had been a part of the branded content for decades, it was scouting for opportunities where the country could be placed integral to the storyline. He also credited cinema-based outreach critical to Singapore’s rise as a preferred destination for the Indian outbound. He was speaking at Cinemascapes 2017, held recently in Mumbai.
Sharing his insights on positioning Singapore through visual mediums, G B Srithar advocated for deeper stories and fresh perspectives. Explaining his assertion, he said after having positioned Singapore as a part of branded content for decades, he was looking at possibilities of working with production houses where in the country could be an integral part of the story or the content. He also suggested that production houses could explore ideas wherein Singaporeans could be intrinsic to the storyline. He made a mention of the country’s partnership approach, most recently with Dharma productions, in producing Hindi cinema ‘Badrinath ki Dulhaniya’ where a key story character was based out of Singapore, allowing them to weave in opportunities to strategically market the country.
He said that Singapore had the good fortune of being associated with some or the other Bollywood or Hollywood film associations since way back in the 1960s, and the association had grown and diversified since then, leading to many more advertisements and television serials being shot in the island nation. He commended cinema actors, cutting across various regions, for helping Singapore establish a profoundly deep connect with the Indian masses.
Crediting cinema-based connect for Singapore’s rise as a preferred destination for travel among the Indian outbound, he shared that the country had already welcomed around 9.5 lakh tourists (.95 million) from India till September this year, establishing India as the third largest source market for Singapore.
