SRK movie shoot fetches USD 5m for UAE: report

October 7, 2013

SRK_movieDubai, Oct 7: The shooting of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Happy New Year" has brought an estimated USD 5 million to the UAE.

The film commission said that its USD 5 million estimate for "Happy New Year" will be followed by a more precise figure this month or next.

According to a report in The National, benefits to the Emirate's economy would have included spending on hotel rooms, flights and equipment and space rentals.

"Happy New Year" took three weeks to shoot and is the first full-length feature film to be shot almost entirely in the Emirates. The film is to be released next year.

The film commission expects more interest from Bollywood now with two more films already confirmed. The commission did not provide details of the additional films.

The commission worked with Shah Rukh's production company, Red Chillies Entertainment for about a year to organize the shoot.

Bollywood films earlier used to choose Dubai as a location only for one or two scenes.

"This is not just a dance scene, but about 80-90 per cent of the whole film that was shot in Dubai. We had to learn the logistics. Normally we've only dealt with a maximum of 40 people who come to do a dance scene in two to five days," chairman of the film commission, Jamal Al Sharif, said.

The Red Chillies team was given many incentives from Dubai International Airport, Emirates Airline and immigration authorities. The entire movie crew booked 180 rooms at the Atlantis hotel on the Palm for 25 days.

"This will impact culturally on what they're doing. They're creating jobs and we're hoping that further Bollywood films will support (our) GDP. We are expecting the next door to open for Bollywood to be in Dubai and the Middle East," Al Sharif said.

Rebates and incentives are one of the key areas of focus for the film commission as it works to attract productions to the Emirate, not just from Bollywood, but from all over the world."We are putting together plans for the years to come to provide soft and hard incentives and rebates. Dubai is a tax-free destination and we have to take advantage of that.

"We're looking to improve many things. We have a project in Studio City which is part of a

Tecom investment to build a 50,000 square foot site with a water tank. These will benefit the filmmakers," Al Sharif was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

"Dubai needs to let the world know it has the infrastructure. It is comparable to any place in the world. It is high time a lot of Indian films, not just Bollywood, should be encouraged to come here and this will be a stepping stone to showcase the beauty of Dubai and how wonderful and easy it is to shoot (here)," Shah Rukh said in Dubai last month.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Feb 2: After creating a buzz with her recent low-key marriage, actor and model Pamela Anderson recently broke off her marriage with famous movie mogul Jon Peters, after just 12 days the wedding, reported Fox News.

The couple got married on January 20 in Malibu, California in a private marriage ceremony.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the couple's split on Saturday stating that the pair has decided to "uncouple."

"I have been moved by the warm reception to Jon and my union. We would be very grateful for your support as we take some time apart to reevaluate what we want from life and from one another," Fox News quoted Anderson saying.

"Life is a journey and love is a process. With that universal truth in mind, we have mutually decided to put off the formalization of our marriage certificate and put our faith in the process, "she added.

Fox News further quoted a source close to Anderson as saying, "She's known Jon forever, but she never lived with him, contrary to some reports. And until you live with someone... Well, let's just say Pamela asked for a break. She is heading back to her compound in Ladysmith, Canada, to be with her family."

According to Fox News, the couple did not have any official marriage license.

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News Network
January 9,2020

New Delhi, Jan 9: A Delhi court Thursday directed the makers of the Deepika Padukone starer feature film 'Chhapaak' to give credit to acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal’s lawyer in the movie.

Additional Civil Judge Pankaj Sharma said it was necessary that advocate Aparna Bhat's contribution is acknowledged.

"This Court is of the considered view that facts are indicative that the plea of the plaintiff for interim injunction is well-founded and it is necessary that her contribution be acknowledged by providing on the slide on the actual footage and the images, the line 'Aparna Bhat continues to fight the cases of sexual and physical violence against women' during the screening of the film.

"The said line on screen maybe with a rider that the same is with the court order," the judge said.

Advocate Bhat filed the application saying that despite representing Agarwal in courts for several years and helping in the movie-making, she was not given credit in the movie.

She said the filmmakers took her help in the entire process of writing and shooting the movie, but did not give the credit.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Mumbai, Jan 30: A day after a woman filed a complaint against Ganesh Acharya alleging that he had forced her to watch pornography, actor Tanushree Dutta said Bollywood should boycott the choreographer.

A 33-year-old woman, an assistant choreographer, has written to the National Commission for Women (NCW) alleging that Acharya used to make her watch porn videos whenever she visited his office in suburban Andheri.

She also alleged that Acharya and two women assaulted her during a function of the Indian Film and Television Choreographers Association (IFTCA) held in suburban Andheri on Sunday. A complaint has been filed in this regard with Amboli police.

"It's time Bollywood and the other Indian film industries boycott choreographer Ganesh Acharya completely. Hiding behind the male superstars who work with this despicable man, he has been abusing his power and position to harass, bully and take advantage of vulnerable young newcomers to the industry," Dutta said in a statement here.

Dutta had alleged that her co-star Nana Patekar harassed and misbehaved with her while shooting for a song for their 2008 film "Horn Ok Pleasss", and Acharya, who was the choreographer, introduced new steps which were "intimate".

Recalling the trauma she faced, Tanushree said even though Acharya was party to all the harassment she faced on the 'Horn ok Pleasss" set, he went on to spoil her name and reputation.

"Nobody had any regard for me and how much I had suffered psychologically and financially because of the turmoil I went though due to these people. I left the industry because I was so scared and hurt over the atrocious treatment meted out to me on 'Horn ok Pleasss' set.

"I had worked very sincerely to get to where I got in life and so went in shock for many years, over the whole episode on that set almost 12 years ago, that led to an attack on my car. They didn't just break my car, they broke my spirit that day," Dutta said, in reference to the attack on her car in 2008.

She expressed her displeasure over how "leading men" and "heroes" of Bollywood continued working with Acharya, whose most recent work includes "Simmba", "Zero", "Sanju" among others.

"Even after all the information of fraud, non payment of dues, sexual harassment of dancers, bullying and intimidation and even physical abuse of dancers is coming out about Ganesh Acharya in the media, if the actors, directors and producers still work with him, it would mean that they themselves are engaging in such acts also.

"It's a warning to the film industry to stay the hell away from Ganesh Acharya otherwise your own reputation will be joined to his character. I'm sure many more girls and boys will come out about his misbehaviour and shady business, opening floodgates in the future," she added.

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