The government is actively considering appointing Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra as the brand ambassadors of “Incredible India” campaign to attract tourists to the country.
The impressive campaign does not have a brand ambassador for almost a month after the government did not renew its contract with a creative agency for the campaign featuring Aamir Khan. Many interpreted this as the government’s reluctance to continue with Aamir who had waded into the “intolerance” debate.
A senior government official Amitabh Kant also criticised Aamir for “damaging” brand India while being the ambassador of the ‘Incredible India’ campaign. Kant is the Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
Officials said Bachchan and Priyanka are the front-runners for the campaign, which is based on the concept of Atithi Devo Bhava, a Sanskrit verse that means the guest is equivalent to god. Bachchan had been promoting Gujarat Tourism for past the few years.
Asked about the appointment of Bachchan and Priyanka for the role, Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma only said the Ministry has “not issued any notification” in this regard. The Tourism Ministry is also planning to directly select brand ambassadors instead of the present practice of hiring them through a private agency. “We are thinking why not we directly approach a celebrity? Why should we approach an agency? A final decision will be taken soon,” a senior official said.
The Ministry is planning to enter into a three-year contract with the celebrities. During this period, the celebrities will have to act for couple of campaigns. The Ministry expects that the celebrities would do the work free of cost as it was done earlier.
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