2006年VOA标准英语-Ireland Among Many Countries Wooing Bollyw

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
22 January 2006

Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, left, sounds a clapper for his upcoming Hindi movie "Gangster¹" in Bombay, Dec. 20, 2005)   
  
An Irish trade delegation² on a recent visit to India has asked the country's thriving film industry to shoot more films in Ireland. Ireland is only the latest in a long list of countries bidding for a piece of the Bollywood boom.

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Exotic locations, experienced film crews and tax breaks are among the incentives³ being offered by the Irish delegation to filmmakers in Bombay, home to the Indian film industry popularly known as Bollywood.

Bollywood producers have already used Irish locations to shoot song and dance sequences for about a dozen films. But that is only a fraction of the number of Indian films being shot abroad every year, in countries ranging from Switzerland to New Zealand.

Bollywood is the world's second largest film industry after America's, producing about 800 movies a year. In recent years, dozens of countries have begun courting Indian film producers by offering cheap locations and production facilities.

Hosting Bollywood productions offers a double advantage to foreign countries. Not only do filmmakers bring in money by hiring local crews, they also boost tourism by triggering interest about the country among Indian movie audiences.

New Zealand's trade development manager in New Delhi, Neera Arora, says tourist traffic from India has jumped many times since several popular Hindi blockbusters featured that country.

"We started with 2,500 people in 1998 to New Zealand as tourists. Now we have more than 18,000 people traveling to New Zealand. The type of awareness⁴ and exposure it got after the films were shot in New Zealand, I guess that had a huge impact," said Arora.

Industry watchers say Switzerland was one of the first countries to experience a surge in Indian tourist traffic after receiving wide exposure in Hindi movies. Bollywood producers chose the Swiss Alps as one of their earliest foreign locations.

Now others want to emulate⁵ Switzerland's experience, and countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Dubai, Austria, South Africa and Canada are devising new ways to lure⁶ Bollywood.

Singapore's Tourism Board has decided⁷ to invest $10 million in Bollywood productions over the next three years. The money will be used to subsidize some of the expenses incurred⁸ by Indian film and television producers shooting in Singapore locations.

The board's head in Western India, Rebecca Lim, says they see Bollywood as the best way to "showcase Singapore to Indians."

"The two passions for Indians are cinema and cricket. I feel that having Singapore portrayed⁹ in a film such as a Bollywood show very much reaches out to them and connects to them, and adds very much to the overall marketing¹⁰ mix," noted¹¹ Lim.

The Irish delegation has expressed hope that Ireland will get a bigger share of Bollywood's overseas work, and the increased exposure will help to put the country on the Indian tourism map.

For Indian producers, shooting films overseas offers several advantages. They get the undivided time of their stars, and fans do not disturb shoots. Foreign locations not only boost the popularity of a film at home, they also give it an international flavor that appeals to the growing Indian audience living overseas. Some of the most popular blockbusters of recent times have been shot abroad.

1 gangster   

n.匪徒，歹徒，暴徒

参考例句：

• The gangster's friends bought off the police witness.那匪徒的朋友买通了警察方面的证人。
• He is obviously a gangster,but he pretends to be a saint.分明是强盗，却要装圣贤。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

6 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

9 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。