Speaking at the promotional event preceding the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards function to be held between June 3 and 5 in Colombo, Bachchan said that Sri Lanka’s beauty and the endearing smile of its people, had not been discovered by the Indian film industry even as it had gone across the globe looking for exotic locations.

He noted that in Sri Lanka even bureaucrats would smile, indicating a friendly administration.

The veteran Indian actor who is adored in Sri Lanka said that cinema was an integrator and it was time that the Indian film industry worked with the film industry in Sri Lanka and other countries of the subcontinent.

“Together, we can become a powerful force in world cinema,” he said.

Very few Indian films are shot in Sri Lanka. Bachchan himself had worked in only one film which was shot in the island nation — Suryawamsam — a Telugu film. But that was years ago.