Bollywood film 'Desh Drohi' faces Rs 1 million fine in Dubai

Dubai, Nov 1 (UNI) The producers of the Bollywood film Desh Drohi may face a fine of Rs one million for shooting in Dubai without permission.

The Dubai Studio City (DSC), however, denied that it had not imposed any fine on PJ Productions, which had shot a song sequence and a few scenes in Dubai as they did not have the power to do so.

But an official from Roads Transport Authority (RTA) said the case was under study. ''May be, we will fine them if they have done anything wrong affecting the rights of road users,'' the official added.

''We don't have the power to impose any fines. What we do, however, is to refer the company or the party, which has breached the law to the authorities concerned for necessary action,'' DSC chief Jamal Al Sherif said commenting on reports that a fine of Rs one million has been slapped on the producers.

The crew had shot scenes of the movie in front of Crowne Plaza Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road on Saturday without acquiring proper permit.

He told the Khaleej Times that the company had not sought permission from DSC to shoot on the arterial Shaikh Zayed Road.

''Any production company that wants to carry out filming project in Dubai must first acquire a permit from DSC before proceeding with any shooting,'' Mr Al Sherif said.

The DSC received many complaints about the shooting of film scenes on Shaikh Zayed Road, which caused a huge traffic snarl between between 0630 and 0730 hrs on Saturday.

''This particular company has been based in Dubai for several years now, so I assume they have ignored to comply with the existing regulations and rules,'' said Mr Al Sherif.

From March, the Dubai Executive Council has stated, the DSC is the exclusive authority to issue filming permits for any art production company in Dubai. To acquire a permit, the company should pay a 5,000 dillars deposit with DSC along with Dh500 as fee. Kamal Rashid Khan, who is acting in the film claimed that PJ Production, cannot be fined as they are India-based and it was a local company, which made all arrangements.

UNI