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