By Hindustan Times
Two years ago, Amitabh Bachchan donned a fully new avatar as Gujarat’s first-ever brand ambassador. A COUPLE OF weeks ago, West Bengal, in a bid to offer state’s image some zing, roped in Shah Rukh Khan as its face. And now the Maharashtra government has apparently approached Hrithik Roshan to assist sell the state’s sights and sounds to tourists.
“An agency hired by the federal government approached Hrithik a couple of days ago to become the state’s brand ambassador. They'd sent a mail to Hrithik’s team. It was immediately forwarded to him. But he hasn’t been capable of take the general call considering his super busy schedule of Krrish 3,” says a member of Hrithik’s entourage.
Apparently the federal government agency wants Hrithik to take a couple of days off from his schedule to work on an intensive campaign for the state. “They have plans to shoot a docu-film with him in places equivalent to Kolhapur, Mahabaleshwar, Raigad and Mumbai. Even a photograph shoot have been planned,” says the insider, adding that Hrithik is busy with Krrish 3 till October.
It’s believed that Hrithik too is eager on understanding his schedule to slot in the campaign since he thinks this can be a ‘great honour.’ “But everything will depend on the schedule. It is still seen how they figure out the dates considering Hrithik might be busy for an additional four-five months. So the massive question is: will the agency wait till then?” adds the insider.
Despite repeated attempts, Hrithik remained unavailable for a comment. But Jagdish Mali of Jagdish Mali Productions, the agency approached by MTDC for the campaign, confirms, “Yes, MTDC has contacted me for the campaign. They feel Maharashtra’s tourism must be promoted. I'VE approached Hrithik, but there’s no confirmation or denial from him yet. They (MTDC) wish to announce it on May 1, so we can see how things work out,” says.
However, Dr Jagdish Patil, managing director of MTDC, stated: “At the corporation level, I'M REALLY NOT acutely aware of one of these move (that is, approaching Hrithik) since I'M travelling right now.”
‘State of Affairs’
A collection of celebrities promote various Indian states:
Amitabh Bachchan: Gujarat
Shah Rukh Khan: West Bengal
Aamir Khan: Incredible India
Preity Zinta: Himachal Pradesh
Prachi Desai: Goa
Saina Nehwal: Andhra Pradesh
