Kareena Kapoor says she'd rather talk about her films than her wedding plans.
Kareena Kapoor says she'd rather talk about her films than her wedding plans.
Kareena Kapoor says she'd rather talk about her films than her wedding plans.
Kareena Kapoor says she'd rather talk about her films than her wedding plans.

Music

Kareena Kapoor is mum about her wedding

Plus: Varma lauds Manisha Koirala in new film; finally, a lead role for Tusshar Kapoor in a crime thriller; Priyanka Chopra films her music video in LA, desi-style.

The National staff

September 24, 2012

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Kareena Kapoor mum about wedding with Khan

Kareena Kapoor, who is rumoured to be marrying the actor Saif Ali Khan next month, is keeping mum about their wedding plans. "I've been hearing all kinds of news and everyone is asking questions, but Saif and I aren't ready to talk about it yet," Kapoor said at the Mumbai premiere of her new film, Heroine, on Friday, which also happened to be her 31st birthday. "This is not the right time to discuss it – I want people to talk about my films." Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, Heroine is now showing in UAE cinemas. * IANS

Varma lauds Manisha Koirala in new film

Ram Gopal Varma is all praise for the actress Manisha Koirala, the star of his latest horror thriller, Bhoot Returns. "I worked with Manisha in 2002 for my movie, Company, and was very impressed. When I finished the script of Bhoot Returns, I realised that only Manisha would be perfect for the role. She is one of the finest actresses in India," Varma says of the 42-year-old star. The film, which also stars JC Chakravarthy and Alayana Sharma, will be released in Indian cinemas on October 12. * IANS

Tusshar Kapoor stars in Gupta's crime thriller

The actor Tusshar Kapoor says he is confident his forthcoming film, Shootout at Wadala, will be a hit, thanks to Sanjay Gupta's expert direction. "I am not at all nervous because the script is good and Sanjay is a very experienced director. His hold on the medium is very strong," says Kapoor. "I even grew a beard for my role, which I hope the audience will appreciate." The movie, which is about a criminal gang in 1970s Mumbai, also stars John Abraham, Sonu Sood and Anil Kapoor. The film will be released in India in May. * IANS

Priyanka Chopra films music video, desi style

The actress Priyanka Chopra is in Los Angeles to shoot the music video of her debut track, In My City, which features the American music star will.i.am. "Off to rehearsal! Let's show the world what Bollywood is made of! Let's do this desi-style," tweeted Chopra, who's riding high on the positive response to the track in India as well as the success of her latest film, Barfi!, directed by Anurag Basu. Her entire music album will be released in November. * IANS

Neil Nitin Mukesh is recording music, too

Another Bollywood actor venturing into the music industry is Neil Nitin Mukesh. The 30-year-old star, who comes from a family of singers, says he is currently busy recording a potential album. "I'm back on my keyboard. Music is special to me; creating it is another type of magic altogether," says Mukesh. "It's the most relaxing thing." On the acting front, Mukesh recently finished shooting Bejoy Nambiar's David and is gearing up for the October release of Shortcut Romeo, a thriller by Susi Ganeshan. * IANS

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.”

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