From the snow-clad mountains of Switzerland and the golden beaches of Mauritius, Bollywood’s made its way to the tropical Brazil. After ‘Dhoom 2’, the first-ever Indian movie to be shot in Brazil, the country now gets its very first ever ‘Bollywood and Indian Film Festival’.

Many of India’s biggest Bollywood movies like ‘Dhoom 2’, ‘DDLJ’ and ‘The Terrorist’ will be screened in São Paulo during the film festival to be held from March 6 to 11.

“Most Brazilians know very little about Bollywood or India. This is partially due to the fact that there are very few Indians in Brazil or anywhere else in Latin America,” says Ram Prasad Devineni, the co-organiser of the festival and also the founder of the first independent film school in Brazil.

“Also, its only in the last few years that Indians have been exposed to Brazil with movies like ‘City of God’, ‘Central Station’ and of course, ‘Dhoom 2’,” he adds. A mutual tie-up with Yashraj films has felicitated the showcasing of these movies.

“Brazilians know that Bollywood is a big influence on the Indian masses. We can really know each other through films,” adds in Roberto Paranhos do Rio Branco, President of the Indo-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.