For reasons best known to the Germans and in the spirit that diplomacy must be liberated from its stodgy ways and new experiments with form are long overdue, the German ambassador in India, his wife and Salman Khurshid, the Oxford-educated former external affairs minister, have starred in a remake of Kal Ho Naa Ho, the title track from the eponymous Shahrukh Khan film.
We recommend it highly, but please be cautioned that you won't be able to unsee it. And the scenes of Khurshid wooing Eliese Steiner are destined to achieve an enviable level of greatness in the pantheon of internet memes.
Full marks for bravery and being sports, to Eliese and Ambassador Steiner. Lebe jetzt indeed.
Here is the official reason why the German diplomat embarked on this brave mission:
Traditional diplomacy was about government-to-government relations. Modern diplomacy is more about people-to-people relations. And culture is central here.
This is why Michael Steiner, German Ambassador to India, and Salman Khurshid, former Foreign Minister of India, without taking themselves too seriously, plunged into uncharted waters. Together with Eliese Steiner and under the direction of Sumit Osmand Shaw, they pay homage to the Indian film by reenacting one of its most famous music videos - thus connecting people across borders.
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