Thaindian News

New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) Just pick up your video camera and shoot a three-minute film if you think you can capture the essence of India, wherever you are. You could win loads of prizes!

In a pioneering initiative to promote India’s soft power, the Public Diplomacy Division of the external affairs ministry has launched a global video contest entitled “India Is” that is open to anyone in the country and around the world.

You need not be a professional filmmaker. The only eligibility criterion is a decent camera and the passion to tell an eye-grabbing story.

All you have to do is to shoot a three-minute film of riveting visuals, bringing out the soul and essence of this multifarious country that never ceases to amaze, blending timeless traditions and cutting-edge modernity.

Entries can be in any language provided they are sub-titled in English.

The contest kicked off Oct 1 and will be open till Dec 31.

The ministry has managed to rope in Shashi Tharoor, author, former UN diplomat and an ex-minister, and Shekhar Kapoor, eminent filmmaker, as brand ambassadors for the contest to amplify the larger message.

The entries will be uploaded on the website www.indiais.org and will be judged by an eminent six-member jury. The winners can win a two-way ticket to India, courtesy the Incredible India campaign of the tourism ministry, and a slew of attractive prizes worth $7,500. The winners will be recognized at a gala event in March next year.

The contest has already generated a wave of enthusiasm, with over 30 entries posted on the theme website.

The ministry is using a host of social media to popularise the contest, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. An attractive Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/RealIndiaIs) has already logged 8,400 friends.

Always on the lookout for innovative ways to advertise the initiative, the ministry has also sent bookmarks about the contest to its missions around the world so that they can be placed in passports of visa applicants.