This was supposed to be a year of resurgence for Bollywood, one of the world’s biggest film industries, which was devastated by coronavirus-imposed lockdowns last year.
As restrictions eased at the end of 2020, and cinemas opened cautiously, production houses began announcing a number of big-budget releases for 2021, many of them holdovers from the previous year.
Films released earlier this year, including Roohi and Mumbai Saga, have done decent business, even with limited seating capacities in cinemas, and were seen as an encouraging sign for an industry desperate to get back to business.
By March, however, as Covid-19 cases sharply rose in India and restrictions returned, distributors were once again forced to delay major releases.
Long-awaited films set for April, including Amitabh Bachchan's Chehre, Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan's Bunty Aur Babli 2, and Kangana Ranaut's biopic Thalaivi were pulled.
On Tuesday, the film industry received more devastating news: the state of Maharashtra – home to India's financial capital Mumbai, where Bollywood is based – announced a halt on a spate of commercial activities, including film and TV shoots for the next 15 days. Cinemas will also be shut down for the duration, jeopardising all the releases planned for the coming weeks.
Maharashtra has been the country's worst hit state due to the coronavirus, accounting for about a quarter of India's 13.5 million cases. On Tuesday, the state reported 60,212 new Covid-19 infections.
The new rules directly affect big-budget films that have been shooting under tight regulations, including superstar Shah Rukh Khan's Pathan that was partly shot in Dubai.
Earlier this month, actor Akshay Kumar announced he had tested positive for Covid-19. The announcement was followed by news that more than 40 crew members working on Kumar's upcoming film Ram Setu had caught the virus, effectively putting production on halt. The release of Kumar's other film, Sooryavanshi, scheduled for an April 30 release, has also been postponed.
Other films that will now face inevitable delays include actor Ranveer Singh's film Cirkus with director Rohit Shetty, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 starring Kartik Aaryan – who also tested positive for Covid-19 – Salman Khan's Tiger 3 and Adipursh, starring South Indian superstar Prabhas and Bollywood's Saif Ali Khan.
BN Tiwari, the president of trade union Federation of Western India Cine Employees, said the latest restrictions will affect daily wage workers the most.
"It is unfortunate that no shootings will be allowed from April 14. About 100 shootings including films and TV projects are currently going on in Maharashtra. Big shootings were on hold but TV and small units were shooting. With this sudden lockdown, if the shootings are stopped, the industry is bound to lose crores of rupees," he told Times of India.
He said he was going to plead with Maharashtra’s chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to make some exceptions.
“We are going to write to the [the chief minister] to allow shootings of TV serials and we promise to shoot with the same guidelines that were announced by the government last year. The unit members will work in a bio bubble kind of environment to avoid infections," he said.
About half a million workers, including actors, directors and producers, are registered with the FWICE. Of these, about 250,000 are junior make-up artists, set designers, carpenters and background dancers, Tiwari said.
More than 200 Hindi films are made in a year in Bollywood, with an estimated revenue of Rs3,000 crore or Rs30 billion. Trade analyst Himesh Mankad says the industry’s losses last year could easily amount to around Rs20 billion, according to news agency PTI.
In his televised speech on Tuesday night, Maharashtra chief minister Thackeray acknowledge the toll that tighter restrictions could take on the economy.
"Livelihoods are important, but life is more important. We need to increase existing restrictions,” he said.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
SPAIN SQUAD
Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)
Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Madjani Stakes Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,900m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,400m
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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.”
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
