Bollywood meets ‘Baliwood’

If you happened to tune in to Indonesian TV last week, you probably saw some hunky macho Indian actors being received with fanfare by Indonesian audiences. 

The stars of the Indian hit drama series ‘Mahabharat’ were greeted in Bali by hysterical fans last week when they touched down in Denpasar. Fans were scrambling for their cell phone cameras and allegedly shouting marriage proposals to the actors during the sold out live shows the actors put on last Friday.

Seven of the Mahabharat cast members made good on a previous promise to visit their fans in Bali as they paraded around the island, hitting up the important “must see” spots in Bali: the Westin in Nusa Dua, the Consulate General of India, Kohinoor Gold Shop and yes of course, Cellular World, according to Berita Bali. 

Mahabharat is a Hindi-language television series that was broadcasted in 2013, based on the Sanskrit epic Mahabharat. Check out what any shopkeeper has playing on the TV in Bali and you will likely see a Hindu soap opera playing, most of which are dubbed in Bahasa Indonesia. It’s fair to say that Bali’s Hindu identity definitely makes for a strong connection with Bollywood.

Bali’s governor, Made Mangku Pastika was among the welcome wagon for the Mahabharat stars. Pastika holds high hopes that the Indian stars’ visit can help boost tourism in Bali and also encourage the spirit of Hindu religiosity on the island. 

Pastika also hopes the actors could someday make a movie in Bali. “If India has Bollywood, Bali could also have Baliwood,” joked Pastika, as quoted by Berita Bali.