Bollywood film Vikram Vedha is out in cinemas across the UAE, and while its stars are getting rave reviews, many fans may not know Abu Dhabi also plays a starring role in the film.
Scroll through the gallery above for stills from 'Vikram Vedha'
The UAE capital subbed in for the historical city of Lucknow, where most of the action of the film is set. Vivek Agrawal, a producer at Reliance Entertainment Studios, explained how the film was originally meant to start shooting in April or May last year, before the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hit India, making it impossible to shoot in the country.
After looking at several options across the world, including Sri Lanka, Serbia and Georgia, the makers settled on shooting the film in the UAE, recreating the city of Lucknow in the twofour54 backlot in Kizad, Abu Dhabi.
With its low infection rate and support from twofour54 and Abu Dhabi Film Commission, Agrawal said that the task of shooting the film — from procuring the 2,500 extras from within the local Indian population, as well as sourcing the props to recreate a marketplace — was made simple in Abu Dhabi.
“Between Abu Dhabi Film Commission and twofour54, they have a wonderful set-up in terms of the process to make filming convenient. It’s extremely easy to understand, it’s very clearly laid out on their website, as well as the people who are there to handle various aspects — be it locations, be it crew, the equipment, it’s fairly straightforward,” Agrawal said.
“This experience has opened my eyes to an extension of India."
Hans Fraikin, of Abu Dhabi Film Commission, also revealed about an hour of the film’s running time is shot in the UAE capital — including some of the most important scenes, which feature Al Wathba Water Reserve.
Of all the Bollywood features filmed in the UAE, Fraikan said, Vikram Vedha features the largest chunk shot in Abu Dhabi.
Vikram Vedha stars Saif Ali Khan as police officer Vikram and Hrithik Roshan as the antagonist Vedha. It is a Bollywood remake of a 2017 Tamil film of the same name, based on the Indian legend of Vikram and Betaal.
The specs
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Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
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The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 366Nm
Price: Dh200,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20profile
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