The National has the first photo of Bang Bang filming in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The cast and crew were at Hyatt Capital Gate Hotel, which was transformed into the MI6 headquarters for the shooting of the movie Bang Bang, predicted to be the hottest Bollywood movie of 2014. It stars Katrina Kaif and Hrithik Roshan in the lead roles, and though they were not present at the shoot, the actor Jimmy Shergill was, looking particularly suave in military gear and sunglasses.
Other actors playing “military interrogators” alongside Shergill were overheard to be “waving their pistols around” in between takes, so let’s hope the guests staying at the hotel realised they were fakes! Kaif joined her co-stars at hotel for a scene later in the afternoon.
The Capital Gate is the perfect locaton for a spy-action movie, with its high sloping sides creating the perfect setting for nail-biting stunt scenes. Signs reading “Military Intelligence, Her Majesty’s Secret Service” were placed by the lifts, a large MI6 sticker adorned the floor of reception, and rooms were turned into “interrogation areas” for some of the scenes.
Abseiling stuntsmen dangled perilously from the sides of the iconic hotel – and one scene involving the outdoor swimming pool would appear to involve one of them getting rather wet. (Which, given the hot weather, they might be grateful for!)
Kaif and Roshan are reportedly staying at Emirates Palace. The hotel is becoming a popular spot for A-list film stars shooting in the capital, after the cast of Fast & Furious 7 stayed there last month.
Produced by India's Fox Star Studios, with twofour54 acting as the UAE production arm, Bang Bang is being filmed in Abu Dhabi on May 2 for a three-week schedule. Bang Bang is a remake of the Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz action drama Knight and Day, so it's no surprise that one of the film's South African extras, Brian, refers to his co star Hrithik as "India's Tom Cruise".
A source working for Fox Star Studios said that Roshan “is playing an elusive character, and we don’t find out whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy until the very end”. His love interest, played by the British Indian actress Katrina Kaif, bumps into him in a series of coincidences.
Earlier this week, a source in the film's production unit told The National that the film would include scenes featuring some of Abu Dhabi's best-known landmarks, including Capital Gate. They also filmed at the 'bridge to nowhere', and planned to shoot around Sheikh Zayed Mosque, too.
There’s plenty more to look forward to: filming will reportedly take place on the Corniche this weekend – for the second time after last week, when a part of Corniche Road was closed off to film a high-speed chase. A resident of Baynounah Towers on the Corniche, who watched from her apartment as a sports car wove in and out of traffic, said: “It was quite amusing to watch. The sports car was going at about 80kph and the other cars were doing about 30kph; then when they’d shot the scene, they’d have to all reverse back at the same time for the next take.”
Directed by Siddharth Anand, Bang Bang also features Danny Denzongpa, Jaaved Jaffrey and Pavan Malhotra. It is due out on October 2 in the UAE.
artslife@thenational.ae