Julia Roberts to be international face of Indian tourism

India’s Tourism Ministry is eyeing Julia Roberts, the internationally-acclaimed star of Erin Brockovich, Notting Hill and Pretty Woman, to promote the country globally and pull in visitors through yoga.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government seems to want to cash in on the Hollywood actress’ love for the practice and for Hinduism to boost tourist inflow, which has ebbed lately. In the film Eat, Pray and Love, Roberts plays a woman experimenting with Hindu spirituality while travelling in India after a distressing divorce.

The Telegraph on Wednesday quoted a senior tourism ministry official saying: “The plan has to be approved by Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma and the Prime Minister’s Office before we approach the actress, but having an international face recognised for practicing yoga is crucial for the success of the campaign.”

Roberts will be the face of a media blitz to woo foreigners to India — the land of yoga. Roberts’ association with yoga is well known as she has publicly admitted how it helped her overcome stress and come to terms with herself.

“The actress’ endorsement has helped promote yoga in the West. The actress is also an Indophile and keeps coming to the country incognito”, an official told the daily.

Roberts has been photographed wearing the Indian bindi on her forehead during a visit to the Taj Mahal — a historic monument in the city of Agra that is a magnet for visitors, especially on moonlit nights.

The 48-year-old Oscar-winning actress is a natural fit for the campaign. There are reports that in real life, Roberts has mastered Pratyahara — one of the eight pillars of yoga — which is handy for suppressing the five senses to cope with distractions.

A government source said that “the campaign — to be called ‘India, land of Yoga’ — will play on India’s soft power to enhance its brand value and to get foreigners to visit the country and stay for extended periods to learn yoga. The plan was to roll out the campaign in June, but conceded the deadline is likely to be missed”.

The daily revealed that June is significant because on June 21 last year, Modi led Indians — and participants from more than 80 countries — in a mass yoga demonstration in Rajpath. Among those present was Ramdev, the yoga teacher, and a host of yoga instructors, ministers, party workers, soldiers, bureaucrats and diplomats. So much so that June 21 is now celebrated as International Yoga Day, recognised by the United Nations.

Subhash Goyal, of the Indian Tour Operators Association, said that the plan “is good but the government should realise that wellness tourism would pick up only if the standards of services were world-class and affordable”.

Roberts might also be a favourite of current right-wing, pro-Hindu groups in India, which are often at odds with the secular nature of Indian policy laid down by the Constitution. A few years ago, the actress talked to Elle magazine about her conversion to Hinduism and revealed that she worshipped regularly at a temple with her husband and three children.

Disclosing her conversion in 2008 during the shooting of Eat, Pray and Love in India, she expressed hopes to be reincarnated as “something quiet” after the stresses of celebrity.

In 2012, Roberts — who has been billed as one of the West’s most Hindu-friendly celebrities — announced that she would love to live near Haridwar or Varanasi, “since they are such holy spots for Hinduism, although I’ve heard land prices are astronomical there.”

Yet another reason for Roberts’ popularity in India’s Modi-led establishment is that she has named her film company ‘Red Om’ in honour of the Hindu word for God and the Universe.