PM Modi says he met film fraternity despite ideological differences to harness cinema's soft power

Mumbai, May 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an exclusive interview with IANS, spoke about the meetings he had with Bollywood artistes, even though they may have had different ideological persuasions.

The Prime Minister said he wanted to capitalise on the soft power of cinema that would put India on the global map.

He told IANS: "I did many workshops, after being voted to the Prime Minister's Office, somewhere around 2015 and 2016, I did workshops with start-ups and with sportspersons. Not just this, I had meetings with people belonging to the film fraternity."

PM Modi went on to say he was aware of the ideologies of the film fraternity's members and that their thought processes were very different from his and those of the BJP, yet he collaborated with them to make the country a rising power in the world through its cinema.

He told IANS, "I know the film fraternity is very different in terms of its ideology from me and our party, but as a Prime Minister, it is my job to talk to them and understand their problems."

The Prime Minister added: "If Bollywood proves to be beneficial to us in the global market, if Tamil or Telugu films can prove to be profitable across the world, then for me as a PM, it’s important to capitalise on the power that cinema can lend to our country."