Dubai film festival attracts global attention

Dubai, Dec 9 (UNI) Renowned actor Nasiruddin Shah, director Adoor Gopalakrishnan and other Bollywood stars will rub shoulders with celebrities from Hollywood and the Arab film world as the Dubai International Film Festival 2007 opens here today.

''Shoot at Sight'', a film in which Shah is cast as a Scotland Yard detective, would have a world premiere at the festival with costar Laila Rouass appearing by his side to promote the film.

Director Gopalkrishnan and his leading actress Padma Priya would be present for the screening of his movie ''Four Women'' which has won rave reviews in India. The movie is about the married life of four women from different social strata.

Powerhouse director Mira Nair's ensemble film ''Aids Jaago'' is also being screened at the festival which is expected to be attended by Bollywood actors Shiney Ahuja, Raima Sen, Sameera Reddy and Irfan Khan. Shabana Azmi, Ayesha Dharkar, Rahul Bose are also likely to be at the festival.

Kabir Bedi and Pooja Batra would attend the screening of the ''Taj Mahal'' but Mithun Chakraborty will not be able to attend the screening of ''Story of the Red Hills'', according to organisers.

The festival is likely to be a moneyspinner for Dubai which is emerging as a major shooting location with many big studios setting up offices in the UAE. The estimated revenue, anticipated through tourism alone, during the DIFF this year is 132 million Dirham.

In 2006, 4000 rooms and 600 international flights were booked for the festival.

Film investment in the UAE looks set to cross the two billion Dirham mark over the next year, as local and international production houses continue to pump money into the country's economy.

UNI