Say it the magic of Shahrukh Khan or Javed Akhtar ji or Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, but it was a proud moment for Bollywood when they choose ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ song to pay homage to the Indian film by reenacting one of its most famous music videos – thus connecting people across borders.
Both German Ambassador to India, Michael Steiner, and former Foreign Minister of India, Salman Khurshid, were great enough to decide without taking themselves too seriously, and plunged into uncharted waters. There are just great in the video together with Eliese Steiner and under the direction of Sumit Osmand Shaw.
The video is title says “LEBE JETZT” because, in German, it means exactly what the wonderful song “KAL HO NAA HO” asks us to do: Live right now to the fullest! Rights of use of song Kal Ho Naa Ho granted to German Embassy New Delhi by copyright holder Sony Music India.
This remake has been shot in India. It is an Indo-German tribute to Bollywood movies, which have a huge fan base not only in India, but also in Germany. The original video from 2003 – featuring Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and the “King of Bollywood” Shah Rukh Khan – was filmed in the USA.
Traditional diplomacy was about government-to-government relations. Modern diplomacy is more about people-to-people relations. And culture is central here.
