1. Mithila Palkar and Dulquer Salmaan had not heard of each other at the time of casting. "I looked him up and realised he was a big deal," she admits. "I am embarrassed to confess I had not watched any of his work before I met him, but I realised the magnitude of it when we went to shoot down south. During the schedule, I did watch his films Ustad Hotel, Bangalore Days, OK Kanmani and Charlie. I am a legit fan now." Salmaan looked her up and watched a few episodes of her web series Little Things and her TED talk.
2. Salmaan is no stranger to road trips. He went on plenty with his famous dad Mammootty as a young boy. "We would usually travel from Chennai to Kochi. We'd have a home-cooked breakfast, lunch somewhere on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, which was usually biryani, great roadside tea and ridiculously old music would be playing in the car," he says. As a petrolhead, he reveals that his dream vehicle to take on a road trip would be a Volkswagen Bus.
3. Getting the geography right was very important for director Akarsh Khurana. "One thing that annoys me when I watch a film is when people lie about geography – that takes away from the film," he explains. "And with Dulquer on the film, we knew his fans will be watching, and we didn't want to cheat them. So yes, we did do that drive and stopped all along the route to shoot. In fact, since the trailer has come out, people have tagged us saying they have spotted their villages and road signs they are familiar with and said they are correct and the pay off of that is a lot more."
4. Irrfan Khan fell in love with Kerala – especially its food. "When we reached Kerala, we missed [annual Hindu festival] Onam by a day, so we didn't get sadya [a traditional spread featuring a variety of vegetarian dishes eaten on special occasions and festivals], but our hotel in Kumarakom offered to make it for us, and I made everyone sit down for it and eat it by hand," Salmaan says. Khan loved the spread so much, he decided to detox and become vegetarian for the rest of the trip. "He said if the vegetarian tastes so good, I don't want the meat," Salmaan reveals.
5. Karwaan is Salmaan's first Bollywood film. "The biggest difference for me was that they have this great studio culture, where a lot of systems are in place, which have come in from Hollywood," he says. "Down south in the smaller regional industries, we have systems that we have built with experience over the years. Here, most members of the crew are given a copy of the script or scene for that day, and everyone is aware of what you are shooting. But in Malayalam films, for example, the light boys on set might not even know what we are making. They do the job, and when I meet them on another film, they are amazed and didn't know that is what they were shooting."
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Read more:
‘Irrfan loved Kerala’ says Karwaan director Akarsh Khurana
Irrfan Khan reveals battle with tumour
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Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
if you go
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
The specs: 2018 Jaguar F-Type Convertible
Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 295hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
