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Deepika and Imran come to town with Break ke Baad

DUBAI — How exactly did the city turn into a hotspot for Bollywood’s star-studded premieres? The initial trend, as explained by Reliance BIG Pictures’ chief operation officer Mahesh Ramanathan, was to host exclusive international screenings of Hindi films in the UK and, perhaps, North America.

“This is the first time we’re doing a premiere in Dubai. The pecking order used to be North America, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and then the Middle East. But now, most films gross higher totals in the UAE than the UK and the importance of this market is not lost on us.”

Ramanathan also reveals that several of Reliance’s major releases for the next year will most probably be premiered right here in Dubai, including the sequel to Farhan Akhtar’s thriller Don and Salman Khan’s forthcoming feature Bodyguard.

Meanwhile, promoting the production company’s latest release — Danish Aslam and Kunal Kohli helmed romantic comedy Break ke Baad — were Indian actors Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone, who jetted into town to attend last night’s premiere screening of the film in Grand Cineplex and an after party at Ramee Royal Hotel’s It’s Mirchi.

“It’s definitely a young film. It focuses on how this generation finds it difficult to choose between ambition and love. Promoting a movie in various places helps create awareness about the film and that’s why we’re here. There are so many more mediums and channels to talk about your film through. But it can be very tiring,” noted Padukone.

Khan chimes in, saying, “It definitely takes a toll on eating and sleeping. But we want as many people as possible to go watch the film, because it’s a good one. I feel very emotionally attached to Break ke Baad and really hope it does well. I can’t even concentrate on my wedding plans right now.”

davina@khaleejtimes.com

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