Bollywood star Anupam Kher (C) joins the 2nd Namaste Vietnam Festival in 2023
The fourth edition of the Namaste Vietnam Festival is set to take place in northern Ninh Binh Province from November 17 to 20, and is expected to feature Bollywood actresses Riya Sen, Divya Agarwal, Donal Bisht, and Niharica Raizada, as well as filmmakers Rahat Shah Kazmi and Chandrakant Singh.
Those in attendance are Dhruv Sinha and Aashish Singh, representing two of India’s leading film production houses, Reliance Entertainment and Red Chillies Entertainment (owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan).
Namaste Vietnam is an annual cultural initiative supported by the Embassy of India in Vietnam, with the backing of Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the National Authority of Tourism, and the Ninh Binh provincial People’s Committee.
The festival celebrates Vietnam-India friendship and promotes Indian cinema, culture, tourism, and cuisine, while strengthening people-to-people ties and cooperation in cultural and creative industries.
This year’s program is expected to deepen cooperation in film and tourism between the two countries. A delegation of Indian travel agencies and wedding planners will also explore local destinations to promote Vietnam as a preferred location for leisure travel and destination weddings for Indian visitors.
According to Rahul Bali, Director of Innovations India-the festival organizer-films and cultural festivals have become a strategic catalyst for tourism, shaping perceptions of destinations and converting them into real travel demand.
The opening ceremony will be held at the Tam Chuc International Convention Centre in the Tam Chuc scenic complex, Ninh Binh. The festival will feature film and tourism cooperation seminars and cultural exchange activities.
Vietnam Airlines continues as the festival’s official airline partner. Since 2023, Vietnam Airlines and Innovations India have jointly developed cultural exchange programs, including the co-production of Tinh yeu Vietnam (Love Vietnam), marking a new step in cinema and cultural cooperation between the two nations.
