‘India is a destination for our industry’

Dieter Kosslick is in Mumbai for the first time but the director of the Berlin film festival says that it seems to him that he has “known this country for years”.

“We have been watching so many Bollywood movies that Mumbai seems to be the city I have seen over and over again,” says Kosslick, adding, “I have had a meeting with Aamir Khan here. I am in talks with him. Two years back, we had Shah Rukh Khan travelling to Berlin for the film festival. It would be great if we have can have Aamir there. I also proposed that to him when we met for the birthday celebrations of Audrey Hepburn in Berlin sometime back. We are working on it,” says Kosslick.

We ask him if he is going to see some typical Bollywood movies for the three-four days that he is in Mumbai, and he shoots back, “Of course! I am going to see a movie today but don’t ask me what. As a festival director, I can’t endorse a movie directly.”

He adds, “Of course I have come here with a definite plan. We would like more Indo-German collaborations when regarding films. We want a Bollywood crew to come and shoot in Germany. We want our crew to come and shoot in India. India is a destination for our industry now and we will soon have a ministerial delegation coming to India from Berlin to emphasise this point with the Indian government.”

Is he also looking at a joint production between India and Germany? “Of course we are looking for it but the story has to be right. From what I have seen of your films, you guys are a lot more emotional in your films which I think we lack. I think we can do with a little more emotions in our films.

This is one thing that we can learn from your films — how to portray intense emotions,” Kosslick remarks.