Dubai ideal destination for Indian movies, says director

Dubai has been a hub for many Hollywood and Bollywood movies and now, post pandemic, many Indian directors are eying it as the ideal movie location. Director Harry Fernandes believes the city is the perfect destination for local Indian movies from Tulu and Konkani cinema in the South to Bhojpuri and Bengali cinema in the North.

The director along with the cast and crew of his Marathi directorial debut Veda held the ‘muhurat’ for their film in quite a unique fashion. The crew sailed across the North of Dubai and performed the ritual on a yacht beside the iconic Atlantis hotel on the mega Palm Island.

Fernandes said: “Once the star casting is finalized the shooting will commence in various countries, with a major portion to be shot in Dubai,”

“As a director I have been associated with cinema from almost every Indian language. Indian producers and directors are keen on shooting their films here, mainly due to easy availability of everything, dominant Indian community residing here and the mere 3-4 hour flight travel,” added Fernandes.

The filmmaker who started his career assisting Lawrence D’Souza of Saajan fame went on to give back-to-back Bhojpuri hits and has worked in Marathi and other cinema.

The Dubai muhurat of the movie was conducted by Production Manager Shodhan Prasad of Sandhya Creations in the presence of actress/producer Hemangini Kaj of JK Enum Nanbanin Vaazhkai, The Lady Dabang fame and others.

ayaz@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE