Ever since director Sanjay Gupta confirmed last year that his new film Jazbaa would star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, fans and critics have been on the edges of their seats. After months of teasers, trailers, promos and posters for the film, the long wait is finally over.
Starring 41-year-old ex-Miss World and crossover Indian actor Irrfan Khan, the crime thriller releases in cinemas on Thursday, October 8, while the Arabic-dubbed version will be released on October 15.
In the film, a remake of the 2007 South Korean drama Seven Days, Aishwarya portrays a prominent lawyer, Anuradha Verma, while Khan is a police inspector, Yohan.
During a video conference call from Mumbai, the first question thrown at the actress inevitably was about her “comeback” – Jazbaa is her first film in five years.
But it’s a word that the actress has often said she dislikes.
"I don't think I had gone anywhere," she says. "I have been in the public eye. If not through films, then through public appearances and brand endorsements. I have been going to studios, interacting with directors, and working with technicians. I don't feel I ever went anywhere. When a film was ready to take off, Jazbaa was it. Yes, it was my first one after a break, but it was not planned to be that way. It just turned out to be. Actors – and all other artists, for that matter – should be allowed the liberty to work at their own pace. Be it five shifts a day, or one film in two years. No one should be questioned about comebacks and going away. Having said that, I do know and accept that Jazbaa will always be identified as my comeback film."
In the film, she plays a mother who faces a moral and professional dilemma after her daughter is abducted.
“When Sanjay first narrated the story to me, it struck me as something I would have loved to have done even five years ago,” she says. “Had I [been given the chance to play] Anuradha Verma back then, I would have interpreted the character based on the narration of my director. Having done it, I realised that I could bring a lot of honesty to the character, because now I know about a being a mother. I definitely did have a personal advantage because as an actor I am now equipped to know what a mother – and a working mother, more so – in this situation would feel like. Having said that, I would not wish this situation on anyone.”
The actress also spoke about the first time the script was read to her, and said she immediately pictured Irrfan Khan and Shabana Azmi, her co-stars in two of the parts.
“It was the most wonderful feeling when he said that they have already been signed up to play those parts – that’s when I really felt at home with the project,” she said.
“It’s the kind of cinema we ourselves would love to view. It’s a thriller based on a strong subject, and made in good taste. It has given us the opportunity to enjoy performing our parts. We have yet to see the final product ourselves, but we believe it is a must-watch.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
