Bollywood took its turn on the red carpet at the Dubai International Film Festival on Thursday night, with the world premiere of Aditya Chopra's Befikre.
Stars Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kappor were both in attendance on the red carpet, and it was perhaps Kapoor who gave us the greatest insight into why the film should premiere in the UAE:
“It’s international. There are all people from all walks of life watching the film,” said the relative newcomer to Indian cinema. “When it comes to cinema they all have different approaches and different opinions when it comes to cinema in terms of creativity or how movies are presented, so I think their take is really important for us to know in terms of what the audience really thinks and wants, so, yeah, we try and keep it to that.”
The film has been credited in some quarters with rewriting the rules of Bollywood romance movies, though Kapoor’s co-star Singh was sticking very much to the traditional lines of celebrity enquiry: “It’s a smashing electric bluesuit that I’m wearing,” he admitted, without being asked about his suit. “And these are my lucky shades. I went to a martial arts tournament and there was all sorts of pandemonium over there, as you can imagine. I lost my favourite pair of sunglasses, they’re impossible to get.”
Luckily, it all worked out fine for Singh: “I had searched for weeks and weeks, and I was heartbroken. I researched for weeks and they were impossible to get. But right before I left for Dubai my producer rang me, and said ‘I’ve got you your sunglasses.’ And that’s why he’s the most amazing guy. That’s why he’s the producer.”
cnewbould@thenational.ae
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Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Jigra
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
On Women's Day
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Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder / 3.0L, turbocharged V6
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● Company: Bidzi
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● Industry: M&A
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● No of employees: Nine
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
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