Want to make the most of your day at the new Bollywood Parks Dubai but not sure how? The new park, which is off Sheikh Zayed Road near Legoland Dubai has five zones packed with attractions – Bollywood Boulevard, Rustic Ravine, Royal Plaza, Mumbai Chowk and Bollywood Film Studios – plus restaurants and food carts. The choice can appear overwhelming. We have a handy guide to help you get maximum enjoyment out of your day, Bolly-style.
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1 Shoot ’n’ smile
Start with an attraction based on the biggest film in Indian cinema – Sholay. The 1975 "western" starred Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra as escaped convicts Jai and Veeru, who agree to help a former policeman, Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar), deal with deadly bandits led by the cunning Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). The high-energy 3-D escapade inspired by the film is located in Rustic Ravine and involves firing a laser gun at the baddies to score points. However, animated sequences featuring Thakur-Gabbar memes might have you doubled over in laughter, making any shooting impossible.
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2 Thirst quencher
Slake your thirst with a glass of fresh ganna (sugar cane) juice from one of the carts in Rustic Ravine. The stalls are piled high with sugar cane, and the staff, clad in jewel-toned kurtas, feed each stick through a noisy, grinding press to slowly fill up each cup. The drink is usually made with ginger and lemon in India, but the straight-up version is equally refreshing. A cup costs Dh10.
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3 High fliers
Hrithik Roshan is the heartthrob star of the Krrish ride, which is based on his superhero drama of the same name. The exhilarating 3-D extravaganza, in Bollywood Boulevard, features the title character helping you to dodge explosions and villains as he guides you to safety. Tip: pick a seat in the row farthest from the screen if you really want to “fly high”. Next door is Ra.One, a 4-D extravaganza inspired by the Shah Rukh Khan film with which it shares a name, but it pales in comparison to Krrish.
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4 Meet the ‘stars’
Get up close and personal with Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan – well, their lookalikes at least, who headline regular dance routines staged throughout the day at various locations. The three doppelgangers, who have the actors’ mannerisms and signature moves down pat, find themselves mobbed by excited fans wanting selfies after each performance.
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5 Dance until you drop
Sign up for Show Me Your Jalwa, a workshop led by trained artists who will teach you how to dance, Bollywood-style, to a medley of recent chart-toppers. It is an outrageous half-hour of crazy moves that will probably have you out of breath within minutes – but it’s a lot of fun, especially if you have friends with whom to laugh as you try to match the steps. Classes are held every 90 minutes or so and are free (check programme for timings).
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6 All aboard to refuel
Tuck into Mumbai-style street food at this quaint railway-themed restaurant. You order at the station and then eat inside a “train” – a series of realistic-looking carriages fitted with booths. The overhead racks are piled high with all manner of luggage and tiered lunchboxes. Here is our pick of three delectable dishes to try: pav bhaji (Dh19), chole bhature (Dh20) and samosa chaat (Dh18). The roof of the station doubles as a stage.
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7 Roller-coaster ride
Head back to Rustic Ravine for Lagaan, a thrilling 4-D jaunt inspired by the film of the same name, which starred Aamir Khan in the lead role. The introduction is rather long, but the heart-stopping virtual “roller-coaster” ride more than makes up for it. Your 3-D glasses will get splashed with rain, and cool winds will whip the hair around your face as you scream your way up and down high cliffs and round loop-the-loops.
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8 Become a Bollywood star
Based on the road-trip drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (You Only Live Once), which was filmed mostly in Spain, this attraction draws some of the biggest crowds, perhaps because some lucky members of the audience are picked to star in sequences shot against green screens. It is especially fun to watch the recreation of a couple of iconic scenes from ZNMD: skydiving in Seville and running with the bulls in Pamplona.
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9 Last stop
End your night at the Rock On!! nightclub, a watering hole conveniently located near the exit. Themed around the musical blockbuster starring Farhan Akhtar, the club features a live band called Magik, named after the group in the movie, and memorabilia from the film also lines the walls.
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10 On the way out
Souvenir shops at theme parks are usually full of overpriced merchandise, but this mug featuring a serious-looking Chulbul Pandey, the over-the-top character played by Salman Khan in his action superhit Dabangg, is hard to resist. The best part? The gun-shaped handle. It costs Dh69.
Park life
Bollywood Parks is open from 2pm until midnight on Thursday and Friday and 2pm to 10pm Saturday to Wednesday. A one-day ticket costs Dh285 for adults (ages 12 and over) and Dh245 for children ages 3 to 12. Parking costs Dh50 and visitors get bus transfers to the park. Email amazingservice@bollywoodparksdubai.com, call 04 820 000 or visit www.bollywoodparksdubai.com
* Christine Iyer
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19
July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US
Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5