West Bengal tourism TVC featuring Shah Rukh Khan rekindles DDLJ on a Kolkara tram

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying hard to re-brand the state as an investors’ paradise. In the past decades, Mamata’s way of doing politics has earned her a bad repute among investors. During her regimes, she has tried to wipe away the ill-repute. The ongoing Lead Bengal Summit, a Vibrant Gujarat inspired conference to invite investors for the state has earned investment promise worth Rs 2.35 lakh crore despite demonetization.

At such a juncture, the tourism department of the state has released a video to promote the travel and hospitality industry of Bengal.
The creative done by ad agency Ogilvy & Mather has Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in it. Rebranding the state as ‘The Sweetest part of India’, the ad showcases the heritage of Kolkata and Bishnupur, major tourist attractions like the hills of Darjeeling, islands of Sundarbans, tea gardens and forests of Dooars, tribal and natural beauty of the Junglemahal area and cruising in the river Ganges, according to A R Bardhan, principal secretary, West Bengal tourism department.

“The idea is to project Bengal as the sweetest part of India. Whether it is in the culture, food, nature of people, language, music or in gestures, everything is very sweet. This is what makes it unique,” Sumanto Chattopadhyay, the adman who is shooting the promotional, told the press.

“We want tourists from India and the rest of the world. Our unique selling point is that you get the Sundarban low-lying forests and the Himalayas in Darjeeling in one state,” a tourism department official told the agencies.

According to the Union Ministry of Tourism data, West Bengal stood at the sixth position, a rank above Kerala, in getting the most foreign tourists during 2014.

However for a state that is ambitious enough to grow in tourism, experts believe, would need to pen better reforms. With internal political issues, lack of good roads and a tech awareness, West Bengal government needs to look deep inside.

Watch the full video here: