German Embassy in India has shown that traditional diplomacy was about government-to-government relations. Modern diplomacy is more about people-to-people relations. And culture is central here.
This is why Michael Steiner, German Ambassador to India, and Salman Khurshid, former Foreign Minister of India, without taking themselves too seriously, plunged into uncharted waters. Together with Eliese Steiner and under the direction of Sumit Osmand Shaw, they pay homage to the Indian film by re-enacting one of its most famous music videos – thus connecting people across borders.
The original video from 2003 – featuring Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and the “King of Bollywood” Shah Rukh Khan – was filmed in the USA. This remake, instead, has been shot in India. It is an Indo-German tribute to Bollywood movies, which have a huge fan base not only in India, but also in Germany.
The title says “LEBE JETZT” because, in German, it means exactly what the wonderful song “KAL HO NAA HO” asks us to do: Live right now to the fullest! Rights of use of song Kal Ho Naa Ho were granted to German Embassy in New Delhi by copyright holder Sony Music India.
