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Bollywood festival dogged by controversy

The western Sydney suburb of Parramatta is bracing for the arrival of a Bollywood superstar and one of the biggest shows ever to come out of India.

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Indian Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. (AAP)

The western Sydney suburb of Parramatta is  bracing for the arrival of a Bollywood superstar and one of the biggest shows ever to come out of India.

It's all for next month's celebration of Indian culture, Parramasala.

But eyebrows have been raised at how much the New South Wales taxpayer is pouring into the venture.

And the show's links to an entrepreneur caught up in one of India's biggest corruption scandals.

Sydney has never seen anything like it - a Bollywood spectacular called Temptation Reloaded.

It stars Indian movie star Shah Rukh Khan and has toured the world to sellout audiences.

The show was developed by leading Bollywood entertainment company, Cineyug.

Two years ago, Cineyug founder Karim Morani was arrested and charged in connection with the 2G Scam, a financial corruption scandal that cost the Indian government billions of dollars.

It involved politicians and government officials undercharging phone companies for frequency allocation licences.

Mr Morani's trial has yet to be completed.

The state body for tourism events has defended its support for the show.

In a statement to SBS, Destinations NSW chief executive Sandra Chipchase says Karim Morani is no longer a director of the company and it is a coup to have one of the most famous Bollywood actors performing.

Destination NSW won't reveal how much taxpayers are paying to lure the superstar and the show for commercial reasons.

But some members of the Indian community say the money could be better spent on supporting community events.

Last month, the Indian community sought state government funding to help stage another festival in Paramatta.

It attracted 13,000 people, including campaigning federal politicians, but no taxpayer support.

"Community organisations struggle to find money for local events and support the community in a different manner," Amaerinder Bajwa says.

Destinations NSW says having Bollywood's biggest star here will reap more rewards in tourism benefits.

The Paramsala festival is held over Labour Day weekend next month.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: SBS


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