After Gujarat, Israeli PM to pay tribute to 26/11 victims, meet top CEOs, Bollywood stars in Mumbai

Mumbai: Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to interact with the Indian CEOs and business tycoons at a power breakfast session followed by a business seminar in Mumbai.

According to reports, Netanyahu, along with his wife Sara, is slated to lay a wreath at Taj Hotel and pay a visit to Nariman House - Chabad Centre.

The Israeli leader is also due to meet Moshe Holtzberg, the boy who lost his parents in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, during his visit to the Chabad Centre.

Moshe had visited the Nariman House on Tuesday.  

Netanyahu will also reach out to Bollywood personalities through an exclusive 'Shalom Bollywood' event that aims at exploring business opportunities for Indian filmmakers in Israel.

The much-anticipated event is expected to attract a galaxy of leading actors, directors and producers including Amitabh Bachchan who will interact with the Netanyahu couple and later join a gala dinner in a south Mumbai five-star hotel.

An invitation to Bollywood by Israeli Ambassador in India Daniel Carmon says that Israel honours Bollywood's starring role in contemporary Indian culture and offers Bollywood many opportunities with its rich history, culture, diversity and breathtaking landscape.

Last week, representatives of the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai met Big B at his Juhu bungalow to invite him for the event and left, highly impressed by the superstar.

"Thank You, SrBachchan for opening your house & your heart for the staff of the Consulate of Israel in Mumbai. We are humbled by the honour and the kind words you bestowed on Israel. Appreciate your active role in the cooperation between Bollywood and Israel," Israel Consul-General in Mumbai Yaakov Finkelstein tweeted.

At Thursday's event, the visiting PM will take the opportunity to showcase Israel as a shooting hotspot for Bollywood, which is constantly on the prowl globally for exotic foreign locales for what is the world's largest film industry.

In fact, at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's banquet in honour of Netanyahu, his wife Sara and the Israeli delegation in New Delhi, the surprising background tune played was from the 1942 Raj Kapoor-Nargis film "Shree 420" - ‘Ichak Dana, Bichak Dana, Dane Upar Dana', perhaps setting the tone for ‘Shalom Bollywood'.

Netanyahu and his wife arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday evening to a grand welcome. They were received by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other top state government officials.

They were later taken to the Taj Hotel.

In lieu of the high-profile visit, security has been beefed up in and around the hotel, with additional deployment of security personnel in the vicinity.

Many diversions have been created in the area, and all vehicles passing by are being thoroughly checked by security personnel to ensure the safety of the couple.