Telugu movie to be filmed in Dubai

Director Suneel Kumar Reddy's Gulf - The Movie is set in the city

Apart from being one of the most talked about Telugu film makers of our time, P. Suneel Kumar Reddy dons multiple hats. 
He is an engineering graduate who has also worked as an editor but it was in the world of movies that he found his real calling. Starting his career with a powerful film Silence Please, a love story between deaf and mute lovers, Reddy went on to win several national and international awards for his soulful movies.
"In the last 15 years, I have helmed 15 films. The current one Gulf - The movie is my 15th directorial venture. I approach cinema as a journalistic tool. Through films one can educate and entertain masses far better because you can add more fiction and emotion. Cinema is very effective in telling serious issues in a compelling way," Suneel Kumar Reddy told City Times. 
Since the success rate of cinema worldwide is low, Reddy notes that filmmakers have to keep going forward in order to find success. 
Professing Bollywood, the face of Indian cinema is inspired by South Indian cinema. Reddy adds that a lot of Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and other language films are being remade. "You can always find real emotions in regional cinema," the filmmaker explained. 
Commenting upon the link between art and commercial success, Reddy says, "There is nothing like pure art. Cinema is applied art. As a director it is your responsibility to engage the masses with the medium that you use. If you do not understand what I say, it is not only your mistake; it is my mistake too. Art has to be creative and easy enough for an average person to grasp."
Research forms a key component of Reddy's films. "For the current film, Gulf - The movie, I am doing my research in Dubai. Shooting begins in May. I will explore the unexplored aspects of Dubai. This film promises to be a mixed bag and offer a feel of the country's Arab side, besides highlighting its cultural richness. I believe cinema has to reflect society in all its shades," the ace director explained. 
"For a lot of people in India, Dubai is synonymous with the Gulf. It is a symbolic expression of luxury that represents the cosmetic height of beauty. I felt the need to document the aspiration that the emirate has created in the mind of a regular person. Also for the large Indian Diaspora here, cinema is a peek into their own culture."
sadiq@khaleejtimes.com