SRK says it is very easy to shoot in Dubai
Dubai:
The shooting of Happy New Year, starring Shah Rukh Khan, has brought an estimated USD 5 million to theUAE.
The film commission said that its USD 5 million estimatefor Happy New Year will be followed by a more precise figurethis month or next.
According to a report in The National, benefits to theEmirate'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 thefirst full-length feature film to be shot almost entirely inthe Emirates. The film is to be released next year.The film commission expects more interest from Bollywoodnow with two more films already confirmed. The commission didnot provide details of the additional films.
The commission worked with Shah Rukh's production company,Red Chillies Entertainment for about a year to organize theshoot.
Bollywood films earlier used to choose Dubai as a locationonly for one or two scenes.
"This is not just a dance scene, but about 80-90 per centof the whole film that was shot in Dubai. We had to learn thelogistics. Normally we've only dealt with a maximum of 40people 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 DubaiInternational Airport, Emirates Airline and immigrationauthorities. The entire movie crew booked 180 rooms at theAtlantis 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 Bollywoodfilms will support (our) GDP. We are expecting the next doorto open for Bollywood to be in Dubai and the Middle East," AlSharif said.
Rebates and incentives are one of the key areas of focusfor the film commission as it works to attract productions tothe Emirate, not just from Bollywood, but from all over theworld.
"We are putting together plans for the years to come toprovide soft and hard incentives and rebates. Dubai is atax-free destination and we have to take advantage of that."We're looking to improve many things. We have a projectin Studio City which is part of a Tecom investment to build a50,000 square foot site with a water tank. These will benefitthe filmmakers," Al Sharif was quoted by the newspaper assaying.
"Dubai needs to let the world know it has theinfrastructure. It is comparable to any place in the world. Itis high time a lot of Indian films, not just Bollywood, shouldbe encouraged to come here and this will be a stepping stoneto showcase the beauty of Dubai and how wonderful and easy itis to shoot (here)," Shah Rukh said in Dubai last month.
The film commission said that its USD 5 million estimatefor Happy New Year will be followed by a more precise figurethis month or next.
According to a report in The National, benefits to theEmirate'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 thefirst full-length feature film to be shot almost entirely inthe Emirates. The film is to be released next year.The film commission expects more interest from Bollywoodnow with two more films already confirmed. The commission didnot provide details of the additional films.
The commission worked with Shah Rukh's production company,Red Chillies Entertainment for about a year to organize theshoot.
Bollywood films earlier used to choose Dubai as a locationonly for one or two scenes.
"This is not just a dance scene, but about 80-90 per centof the whole film that was shot in Dubai. We had to learn thelogistics. Normally we've only dealt with a maximum of 40people 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 DubaiInternational Airport, Emirates Airline and immigrationauthorities. The entire movie crew booked 180 rooms at theAtlantis 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 Bollywoodfilms will support (our) GDP. We are expecting the next doorto open for Bollywood to be in Dubai and the Middle East," AlSharif said.
Rebates and incentives are one of the key areas of focusfor the film commission as it works to attract productions tothe Emirate, not just from Bollywood, but from all over theworld.
"We are putting together plans for the years to come toprovide soft and hard incentives and rebates. Dubai is atax-free destination and we have to take advantage of that."We're looking to improve many things. We have a projectin Studio City which is part of a Tecom investment to build a50,000 square foot site with a water tank. These will benefitthe filmmakers," Al Sharif was quoted by the newspaper assaying.
"Dubai needs to let the world know it has theinfrastructure. It is comparable to any place in the world. Itis high time a lot of Indian films, not just Bollywood, shouldbe encouraged to come here and this will be a stepping stoneto showcase the beauty of Dubai and how wonderful and easy itis to shoot (here)," Shah Rukh said in Dubai last month.