Samba time: A Brazilian at a carnival in Rio de Janeiro. (Reuters file picture)

Brazil is famous for its beaches and long-legged sunbathing beauties. And the samba.

Now the sand-surf-and-soccer country is trying to entice Bollywood filmmakers to sample its fare.

The first attempt to suss out a film business-cum-tourism opportunity is likely to be made later this week when Brazilian officials on President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s entourage — he is the chief guest for the Republic Day parade — hobnob with their Indian counterparts.

The Brazilian film industry wants the Indian government to help kickstart joint film ventures. The interaction will be between Indian officials from the ministries of culture and information and broadcasting and representatives of the Brazilian film industry.

“Our intention is to promote, market, distribute and exhibit the strengths of both India and Brazil in the film industry. It will prove to be advantageous to both sides from the economic and cultural points of view. In addition, it will give us the opportunity to learn how to manage this big yet self-sufficient industry just the way Indians do,” Jom Tob Azulay, director of a Brazilian film agency, told The Telegraph.

Brazil joins a long list of countries like Switzerland, Austria, France, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand that are rolling out the red carpets for India’s celluloid czars — a source of big business opportunity for their vibrant tourism-related industries.

Saying tourism could be a by-product of film business, Azulay said: “The film industry can never be separated from the cultural dimension of a country. Else, it will be an activity without social substance.”

“Brazil has scenic beauty that can be as awesome as Switzerland,” said Azulay who wants to try and persuade Indian filmmakers to check out the hotspots in Brazil. Next week, officials from Brazil hope to put forward the same proposal at an interactive meeting of the Indo-Brazil Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Mumbai.

One of the showpiece events in Brazil — with a lot of colour and verve — is its annual carnival in February with five days of dazzling parades of samba dancers and all-night revelry which could serve as an ideal backdrop for a possible Bollywood movie.

A couple of Hollywood movies have been made in Brazil — with the best known being the comedy Blame it on Rio (1984), starring Michael Caine, Demi Moore and Michelle Johnson.

Films have had a powerful impact on tourism — the best known is what Hrithik Roshan’s Kaho Naa ...Pyaar Hai did for New Zealand. More than 600 million people saw one of the biggest blockbusters in Bollywood, sparking a jump in Indian tourists to New Zealand.

Visitor arrivals from India to New Zealand were up 25.7 per cent in 2001. How much of this can be attributed directly to the spate of Bollywood movies made in New Zealand is unknown, but the lure is appealing.

Brazil, which is hoping that a Bollywood movie will do the same for it, is also trying to make the country attractive to Indian tourists.

Pedro Wendler, an international relations officer in Brazil’s ministry of tourism, suggested that both governments start by providing special price packages to their tour operators. “The airlines of the two countries do not have a code-sharing arrangement (under which seats on each other’s airlines are reserved for their respective tourists). We should work on it,” he said.

Brazil and India had established close ties ahead of the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation at Cancun, where they were instrumental in cobbling a coalition of developing countries to stop rich nations from calling the shots in world trade negotiations. Now, they are looking to build closer business ties.

Balbir Mayal, the president of the Travel Agents Association of India, said: “Joint packages will prompt Indian leisure travellers to visit Brazil and neighbouring places. Such packages not only prove to be cost-effective but also call for proper time utilisation.”

Subhash Goyal, the president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, said: “The Indian government should not at least stop tourists who already have American and European visas. They pose little threat to our nation.”