Israel says #ShalomBollywood

On his historical visit to India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Bollywood’s top actors, filmmakers and productions house reps, and invite them to work in Israel. The event will be reportedly attended by the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Karan Johar. However, this will not be the first step towards a collaboration between Bollywood and Israel. Earlier this month, Ayan Mukerji, along with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, visited the country to do a recce for their upcoming film 'Brahmastra'. In October last year, Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez were there to shoot for 'Drive'. In December last year, a delegation from Bollywood visited

Israel

on a trip organized by the country’s Foreign Ministry and Culture Ministry.

Over the years, a number of Israeli filmmakers have visited India as well, when their films were screened at various film festivals.

Jacqueline Fernandez enjoying "the best spa in the world" at Dead Sea when she was in Israel last October to shoot for 'Drive', along with Sushant Singh Rajput

Bollywood in IsraelTour operators and foreign ambassadors have always maintained that when it comes to tourism from India, there is no bigger force than Bollywood, as Indians often choose their vacation destinations after seeing them in movies. Now, it seems Israel will soon see a rise in Indian tourists.

Ranbir Kapoor, Ayan Mukerji and Alia Bhatt in Israel earlier this month to do a recce for their upcoming film 'Brahmastra'

In the first week of January, Ayan Mukerji was in Israel with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt to do a recce for 'Brahmastra'. The film will be shot in the old city of Jaffa and Jerusalem. Before this, in October Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez shot in coastal Jaffa and Tel Aviv for a dance number for Drive. Drive is the first Bollywood film to have been shot in Israel, and according to Israeli newspapers, was partly funded by the Israel tourism ministry to boost the country's tourism.

Israel is wooing Bollywood to boost tourism and create job opportunities in the country

In December last year, a delegation from Bollywood went to Israel to explore movie locations, and an Israeli newspaper wrote that the trip was "organized by the Foreign Ministry and Culture Ministry" of the country. The official handle of the Israeli consulate in Mumbai also tweeted about the trip, "Very happy to host top #Bollywood filmmakers delegation in #Israel to explore film shooting opportunities in the Holy Land!" In 2011 also, a delegation of Indian filmmakers travelled to Israel to "scout out new ventures and film location sites."

Sushant Singh Rajput in Tel Aviv during the shoot of 'Drive' in October last year.

The film's team was welcomed by Israel's Tourism Minister

Creating jobs and driving tourism through Bollywood Stats support that every time after a Bollywood film is shot in a foreign country, the country’s tourism increases. Hoping to drive a similar "film tourism," Israel is offering investments and tax incentives to production houses. The Israeli PM will meet representatives from the film industry on January 18 at the 'Shalom Bollywood' event in Mumbai, and a co-production deal will also be signed between India and Israel for making more films. Officials from the I&B Ministry say that this could result in better filmmaking possibilities and new locations for both the countries.

Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan visited Israel in 2010 to scout locations for a film on Jesus Christ

In October last year,

Michael Oren

, Israel's Deputy Diplomacy Minister, was in Mumbai and met Bollywood filmmakers. "In Mumbai inviting Bollywood to Israel. Meeting producers from India's massive film industry. The goal: create Israeli jobs and fight BDS," he tweeted.

Speaking to an entertainment website, Oren said that "for every million dollars of a film production, we generate 180 jobs," and Indian productions are particularly alluring for Israel, not just because of the sheer size of Bollywood’s influence, but also because of the demographic makeup of its vast audience. "This is about how important it would be for Israel to have a Bollywood film shot here watched in Muslim countries," he said.

Imtiaz Ali, Tanuj Garg and Vishesh Bhatt in Israel during their visit last December

Film festivals bond is older than Bollywood exchangeEven as Israel is now tapping Bollywood for film tourism, Israeli filmmakers keep coming to India and their films have been a part of many film festivals like IFFI, Dharamshala International Film Festival and Delhi International Film Festival.

Last year, the Embassy of Israel partnered with Dharamshala International Film Festival, and Israeli director Yaniv Berman showed his first feature film Land Of The Little People at Dharamshala. The embassy also hosts film screening across Delhi. Last year, Israeli director Tomer Heymann's award-winning film Mr Gaga was screened at the India Habitat Center. In 2015, Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai was honoured with a retrospective section dedicated to him at IFFI, and ten of his films were screened.

In 2015, Israeli film directors Dan Wolman, Beni Torati and Ariel Cohen participated in the Delhi International Film Festival, where their films were screened. Talking about the screenings, Ram Kishore Parcha, DIFF organiser, says, "Israeli films are a huge hit with the Indian audience. Whenever we screen an Israeli film at the festival, it gets a good response. The audience expects Israeli films to be screened at film festivals."