1. CityTimesMonday, deceMber 24, 2012
4
DaviD Light
david@khaleejtimes.com
A
RRIVING IN
DUBAI almost
two decades
ago, the city’s
media scene
was certainly in its infancy
when Arshad Yusuf Pathan
disembarked his plane
carrying a fresh motion
picture direction degree
from Columbia University
Hollywood under his arm.
But where many would see
a dearth of facilities, the
Indian-born filmmaker
sensed opportunity.
Obviously a leap straight
into the movie industry
was out of the question,
yet getting in on the
emerging information and
entertainment business was
perfectly viable.
Over the past 20 years
Arshad has helped launch
two television channels,
been involved with
establishing the Dubai
International Film Festival,
set up the first production
company in Media City and
has dabbled in print media
and advertising.
He comes to us now as
director, writer and producer
of a new Hindi feature,
Unforgettable completely put
together in the Emirates.
Here Arshad explains it all.
What can you tell us
about Unforgettable?
It’s a Bollywood centric
film, for Bollywood
audiences. It is about 75 per
cent in Hindi and the rest
is English. Being set in the
region, though, it has an
international cast. There
are two female leads and
one is British, although
she plays a half Indian-half
Irish character. I have the
Irish cricket captain and
one of the stars of the team,
plus Arabic characters. You
need a multicultural film as
this is such a multicultural
place.
UAE resident and Hindi movie director Arshad Pathan tells us
about his debut movie Unforgettable
Dubai’s ownCITY
C
Arshad Yusuf Pathan
So, despite being
ostensibly an Indian film,
no parts are set in India?
There are a few sequences
that are made up to be in
India, but even they were
shot here. This is a real
Dubai venture.
What does the story
entail?
It’s a love story. It’s based on
a true story that happened
to people close to me. There
is a pattern to every movie
of this type. My film fits
that, but I wanted to break
certain myths about love.
Unforgettable focuses on the
competition between ‘first
love’ and the notion of soul
mates.
It’s written like a thriller.
I didn’t want it to be
predictable from the very
beginning. You’ll be in your
seat until the very end.
Wouldn’t it have been
easier to shoot in India
and recreate Dubai in a
studio?
No, Dubai’s film industry is
up and running. Absolutely
everything you need to create
a picture is here. The only
thing I went back to India
for was the Dolby 5.1 sound
mixing because there is no
certified studio yet, but that
is minor and it will arrive.
Everything else from pre to
post production was made
in the various media houses
here. I believe in this region.
We didn’t have the biggest
budget, but the USP of this
film is my knowledge of the
region and the UAE.
How does that experience
translate onto the screen?
People from abroad come
to this region, shoot and go
without giving it a second
thought. Bollywood movies
set here are normally very
stereotypical. They’ll have
dune rides and lots of
clichés. I don’t want to show
that. I want to show the
aspects, which the everyday
residents can identify with.
I want to show Dubai as a
romantic destination.
So you’d like to be the
Yash Chopra of Dubai,
romanticising the area as
he did with Switzerland?
I have always been
enamoured by Yash
Chopra’s take on shooting
films and, I’m incredibly
embarrassed to say so and
don’t think I am worthy,
but some have seen his
influence in my movie.
My main talent is an eye for
locations. The budget and scale
are not huge, but the aesthetics
are very good and that sets the
mood for a love story.
Do you think an entirely
Dubai-based film will
appeal to a wide audience
in India?
What do the people paying
300 rupees in a cinema
in Mumbai expect? The
emotions are very Asian, it’s
for that type of audience.
But what you get with
Unforgettable is world-class
execution of the filmmaking
art. Cinemagoers expect
Hollywood production quality
and writing these days.
My work would be worth
nothing if it weren’t for the
quality of my team. The
director is in charge of the
ship and if any aspect of the
film is poor then I would
have failed. However, I
believe this movie will create
a lot of stars.
When is it set to open?
We are looking at a March,
2013 general release, but this
is before the distributors
have had their say.
Will all your directorial
endeavours be based in
the UAE?
Yes, I’ll always be filming out
of here. There was no doubt
in my mind when I came to
this country in the ’90s that
it could be a perfect hub for a
film industry. It’s the centre
of the world!