'Biggest' Bollywood festival in Scandinavia attracts movie stars, musicians

The biggest Bollywood festival in Scandinavia “Bollywood Festival Norway” has commenced in the beautiful Norwegian city Lorenskog and will continue till September 14.

Famous Indian actor Gulshan Grover, director Madhur Bhandarkar, actor and Punjabi singer Jaspinder Narula, fashion photographer Amit Khanna and singer Jasbir Jassi, among others attended the glamourous event.

Chief organiser of the festival Nasrullah Qureshi was present to welcome guests at the inauguration of the festival—a colourful ceremony that included classical and modern music and dance performances.

An excited Linda Hofstad, Norway’s culture minister, said that she is very happy to be part of this colorful event. “Bollywood is much more than a film. It is about color, music, dance and presence of film stars,” she said.

Opening the festival was a unique combination of films at the cinema as well as live music and dance presented by artists from India, Norway and other parts of Europe.

Veteran Indian actor Gulshan Grover’s latest film “Badnam” also featured in the festival, with the actor saying that he learnt from Shah Rukh Khan to grab any opportunity to market one's film. Director of the film Madhur Bhandarkar said expressed excitement at attending the festival for the second time in Oslo.

The Bollywood Festival has been Norway's biggest Bollywood festival for 15 years and has brought Bollywood and its star to the Norwegian public. Since it first began in 2003, a number of famous Indian stars including Salman Khan have participated in the opening of the festival.

The chief organiser said that by bringing the best of Indian cinema to Norway, the festival presents the city and the film industry on a single platform that fosters creative and technical talent.