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More Bollywood pledged in Fiji poll campaign

Shailendra Singh in Suva

Guess what poll promises are being offered in the Fiji elections next week? Not just free groceries and hot dogs, but Bollywood stars and shoots!

New Labour Unity Party leader Tupeni Baba has upped the ante by announcing that his party would get Bollywood stars to perform in Fiji.

Baba, deposed prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry's deputy in the People's Coalition government, said he would campaign for Indian films to be shot in the country and offer concessions to entice them, particularly to the proposed film city in Yaqara, in western Fiji.

This is the first time any candidate has made Bollywood stars an election issue. The popularity of Hindi movies among Indo-Fijians, who comprise 44 per cent of Fiji's 800,000 population, has not been missed by Baba and his campaigners.

Bollywood stars often tour Fiji. The late playback singer Kishore Kumar and many top actors of their time have performed here. A troupe led by Shah Rukh Khan was the last Indian film industry show to visit the island.

Baba's group has brought in American-style campaigning for the week-long elections starting Saturday, hiring some leading local singers for stage shows and dishing out free hot dogs.

Baba, who split from Chaudhry to form his own party, had been doing well, but his chances of making it to the prime ministership were dealt a blow after it was revealed that his party had received $250,000 from international fraud Peter Forster.

Indo-Asian News Service

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