Actor Shantanu Maheshwari’s recent visit to Seoul turned out to be far more than just a work trip. The actor travelled to South Korea for the screening of his Indo-Vietnamese film Love in Vietnam, and returned with a deep appreciation for Korean culture and its connection with India.

“I felt very welcomed. People in Seoul truly touched my soul,” says Shantanu, adding that he was pleasantly surprised by their interest in Indian cinema: “They have a different level of fascination with Indian films, which I was unaware of. They also love Indian music. I met many influencers there, and the music they were listening to was actually remixes of Indian songs.”

The actor also found Korea’s influencer ecosystem particularly impressive. “They have a very organized influencer culture and even a dedicated association for it. There’s a lot of warmth within the community,” he shares. One of his most memorable interactions was with the K-pop girl group X:IN, which includes India’s first K-pop artiste, Aria.

Recalling his meeting with her, the 34-year-old says, “When Aria got selected, I wanted to reach out to congratulate her, since it’s a big deal to make it in a foreign land. I finally got to meet her in Korea and told her how proud I was of her achievement. She in turn told me that she’s seen me in Dil Dosti Dance.”

Talking about cultural differences between Korea and India, Shantanu says, “Korean people are more shy. Their fashion sense is also quite monochrome, whereas in India, we have a lot of vibrancy when it comes to colours.”

Although Love in Vietnam received recognition in Korea, it failed to make an impact in India. Addressing this, Shantanu says, “Of course, it hurts when a film doesn’t work in your own country while being appreciated internationally, but every film has its own destiny. It’s not something in my hands. If we don’t get screens, I can’t do anything about it. I know my choices aren’t wrong, and nobody criticized my work in the film, so I focus on that.”

Having worked on an Indo-Vietnamese project, is a Korean collaboration next? “Many local directors who came to see our film approached me and said that if they ever need an Indian character, they would call me. Language will be a barrier, but I would still want to explore because I love working with different cultures. I’d love to explore not just Korea, but other film industries as well,” he says.