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| Bollywood star Anil Kapoor and Hollywood actor Tom Cruise pose for photographs at the Taj Mahal in Agra yesterday |
Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise arrived in India yesterday to promote the fourth instalment of his blockbuster Mission: Impossible series.
Sporting a big grin and sunglasses, the actor who is on a worldwide promotional tour for the movie, told reporters in the Indian capital he was “very excited to be here” as cameramen jostled to film him.
Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, Cruise’s co-star in the upcoming Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, accompanied him to the northern city of Agra where the pair visited the Taj Mahal, India’s most famous monument to love.
People who were already inside the Taj forgot about the monument and started trailing the stars and the cameramen.
After the visit, Cruise said: “Stunning. I love being here and I always wanted to see the Taj.”
Kapoor added: “Bahut achcha (very good).”
The Archaeological Survey of India had made special arrangements for the visit.
Taj caretaker Munnazar Ali said: “We took the necessary precautions and provided whatever facilities were required. Tom spent about an hour and showed a keen interest in the mausoleum, spending several minutes admiring the main structure from the marble platform.”
Cruise, 49, later headed to Bollywood capital Mumbai where he would mingle with the who’s who of the city’s film and financial communities at a glitzy bash to be held today, reports said.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow night,” he told reporters.
The guestlist for today’s party includes India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani as well as Bollywood’s leading stars such as Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif, according to the Times of India.
“In Mumbai, Kapoor is expected to whisk Tom for a brief visit to see his home and meet his family - again Tom’s wish. Then, Tom checks into his hotel, prepares for the party which is expected to last for no more than two hours. He says he wants to be fresh for the fan interaction,” a source said.
Cruise, who plays intelligence agent Ethan Hunt in the stunt-packed movie, will also host a fan screening in Mumbai, nearly two weeks before the film is officially released in India.
The media blitzkrieg to promote the thrill-laden film has already seen Cruise zip through Japan and Dubai.
The Mission: Impossible film series has so far grossed $2bn worldwide.
The three earlier instalments, released in 1996, 2000 and 2006, were inspired by the Mission: Impossible TV series which aired in the mid-1960s.