'Vikram' to be projected on Burj Khalifa as Kamal Haasan visits Dubai to promote film

Veteran Indian actor Kamal Haasan, who is currently in Dubai to promote his highly anticipated film Vikram, will attend a special preview of the action thriller, which will be beamed on to the facade of Burj Khalifa on Wednesday.

The actor will watch the projection from the balcony of the Address Downtown, and interact with fans gathered around the Dubai Fountain. The preview, held in partnership with Reel Cinemas, is scheduled to start at 8.10pm.

Haasan, 67, who began his career as a child actor in Tamil films in the 1960s, is beloved all over India, having made successful inroads into many industries, including Bollywood.

Vikram, a Tamil-language film, has been eagerly awaited, owing to its star-studded cast. Besides Haasan, the film stars two South Indian superstars — Vijay Sethupathi, known predominantly for his work in Tamil films, and Fahadh Faasil, the acclaimed actor known mostly for his Malayalam films. Tamil superstar Suriya is also set to star in a cameo.

Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Vikram tells the story of a retired police officer who's called back into action after two brothers, a gangster and a politician, capture a high-ranking official.

Haasan plays the protagonist Arun Kumar Vikram, who goes up against Sethupathi's and Faasil's characters in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that soon blurs the lines between who's right and who's wrong.

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First announced in 2020, production for the big-budget film has been delayed several times owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Haasan tested positive for Covid-19 in November, further delaying the shoot.

In the past few weeks, the actor, who's also a producer for the film, has been on a promotional tour, and was also at the Cannes Film Festival this month.

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He told Indian news agency PTI he was confident of the film's appeal across India and beyond. Vikram has been dubbed in several Indian languages.

"Our country is unique. Unlike America, we speak different languages but we are united. That’s the beauty of this country," he said. "It [Vikram] is a pan-India film for me.

Working with Faasil and Sethupathi was like "a good meal best shared", he said.

"My guru Mr K Balachander taught me how to enjoy sharing the screen space and not to steal the show. Both the actors were admirers of mine, so it felt like a felicitation."

Vikram is in UAE cinemas from Friday.

Click through the gallery below to see Burj Khalifa over the years.