As the shooting of Dishoom gets under way in Abu Dhabi, one of the Bollywood action-drama's stars, Varun Dhawan, has been putting his vocal skills to the test in an unexpected fashion – he has been learning Arabic.
Dhawan, who is thought to have already arrived in the capital, has been brushing up on his language skills, as well as shaping up in the gym and a Pilates studio, according to a story in The Times of India.
“The actor has been religiously dedicating time to learning the language and his producer, Sajid Nadiadwala, has been lending complete support for the same,” the report said. “Nadiadwala has appointed an Arabic diction coach, who is present on the sets to help the actor refine the nuances of the language.”
The film’s cast, which also including A-listers John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez, and crew will be in town for the next month and a half.
Dhawan had previously told The National that filming was scheduled to start on January 15, but executive producer Manoj Mittra – who also worked on Desi Boyz (2011) and D-Day (2013) – has revealed that the crew were still busy ironing out last minute details before filming can begin. On January 15, he posted on Twitter: "In Abu Dhabi for two months…shoot is about to begin of #Dishoom…busy preparing…#letsDishoom."
Dhawan teams up with Abraham to play buddy cops Kabir and Junaid in the film.
Directed by Dhawan’s brother, Rohit Dhawan, the project appears to have a distinctively Arabian theme. As well as shooting in Abu Dhabi, parts of the film were shot last summer in Morocco, including a thrilling chase scene featuring motorbikes and camels.
We already revealed that scenes will be shot at Yas Viceroy Hotel, and we suspect that the Dishoom crew will film fast-paced chase scenes at the UAE's F1 track beside the hotel on Yas Island.
A spokesperson for Yas Marina Circuit did not deny this, and referred us to Abu Dhabi’s media organisation, twofour54, who were keeping tight-lipped on any details of the filming schedule.
Meanwhile, actor Saqib Saleem announced on January 18 that he was on his way to Abu Dhabi. He posted a photo on Instagram of himself, apparently on a plane, with the caption: “It’s dishoom dishoom time!! See u soon Mumbai!! Abu Dhabi here I come.”
Saleem, who describes himself as a "full-time cricket lover" in his Twitter profile, is set to shoot some scenes with the UAE's cricket team at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Khalifa City A. His Dishoom character is said to have been modelled on a particular Indian cricketer – we think it's stylish batsman Virat Kohli.
Saleem has been spending a lot of time with his sister, Huma Qureshi, filming a Hindi remake of the Hollywood film Oculus, in which they play a brother and sister battling paranormal activity.
Following Saleem’s departure for the UAE, Qureshi tweeted on January 18: “Shall miss my cartoon @Saqibsaleem…who is gone to do #Dishoom #Dishoom.”, adding: “How to entertain oneself now”.
It is thought that Abraham will join the rest of the Dishoom team soon, after fulfilling a long-time annual commitment to the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. On January 17, he flagged off the runners alongside 104-year-old British-Sikh runner Fauja Singh. Abraham appears to have stolen the limelight from Singh and the 40,000 runners at the event. One marathon observer tweeted: "Spectators at the finish line of the #SCMM are busy taking photos of John Abraham instead of clapping & cheering the finishers."
The actor is scheduled to shoot action scenes in Abu Dhabi this week alongside Dhawan and Fernandez. But when our source contacted him on January 19, he said that he was still in Mumbai.
Fernandez was also in Mumbai this week, to accept an honorary degree from the University of Mumbai. She posted on Instagram on January 18: “This was a first for me!! Being felicitated by the#universityofmumbai thank you so much for having me among your#masterdegreegraduates #honoured.”
Dishoom will only release in the UAE in July, but Dhawan has been hinting to fans that a trailer will be unveiled soon. He recently tweeted: "We are around seven months away people and lots of the movie is left to shoot, but we will have something for you soon maybe?".
artslife@thenational.ae
