It might still be a while before we can expect new blockbusters to hit the big screen, but Dubai's Roxy Cinemas City Walk is hosting a Bollywood film festival this week.
As part of the two-day Roxy Cinemas Bollywood Film Festival, which starts on Wednesday, a number of recent films will be screened, including Good Newwz, Dream Girl, Baaghi 3 and Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, and a menu of Indian snacks will be on offer.
The cinema chain's City Walk branch will be given a Bollywood makeover, and a red carpet will be rolled out.
Tickets cost Dh65 in advance or Dh75 on the day for the Gold Screen and Dh140 in advance or Dh150 on the day for the Platinum Screen. Included in the latter price is a menu of Indian snacks, including spicy popcorn, mini chicken tikka samosas with mint chutney and Bombay vada pav with spicy and sweet chutney.
There will also be a roving magician to entertain the audience before the films begin.
Elsewhere in Dubai, Cinema Akil is partnering with Institut Francais to screen four French films as part of its summer series this August.
The Traveller series began on June 26 with four classic Italian films, starting with Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. The last of the Italian films, Gabriele Salvatores's anti-war film Mediterraneo, will be screened until Thursday.
The cinema's series of French films will start with François Truffaut's award-winning 1959 classic The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups), followed by The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), The Beaches of Agnes (2008) and L'Atalante (1933).
Roxy Cinemas Bollywood Film Festival, Roxy Cinemas City Walk, Dubai; from 6.30pm, Wednesday and Thursday, August 5 and 6; tickets from Dh65; www.theroxycinemas.com
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Ginger, citrus and orange blossom iced tea
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The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
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Rating: 4/5
