It’s not just Bollywood that has turned to South Africa to shoot at its mesmerising locales, people in this rainbow nation too have embraced the Hindi thrillers and musicals with equal vigour.
With actors like Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty and Katrina Kaif adding the glamour quotient to the ongoing IPL tournament by representing their respective teams either as owners or brand ambassadors, their ardent fans here are keeping their fingers crossed to have a glimpse of the Bollywood hotties in person.
Natasha Marrian, whose forefathers came from southern India to work as indentured labourers in South Africa, confesses her undying love for Hindi films.
“Shahrukh, Amir (Khan) and John (Abraham) are my favourite actors while I like Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan) and Priyanka (Chopra) the most among the girls,” says Natasha, a journalist working with the South African Press Association (SAPA).
The Rosebank cinema hall in the nearby city of Johannesburg caters to the requirement of the Hindi movie buffs by releasing the latest Bollywood flicks, adds Natasha.
The last Hindi film she saw was ‘Ghajini’ and was all praise for the lead actor Amir Khan, who she says has done a “wonderful job” in the action movie.