Dishoom packs up in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi - It's a wrap for John Abraham and Varun Dhawan after a six-week shoot in the UAE

DISHOOM, HAS WRAPPED up in Abu Dhabi after six weeks of filming facilitated by twofour54. With a final count of 38 filming days, Dishoom is Abu Dhabi's longest feature filming project to date and is due for release in July this year. The cast and crew arrived in Abu Dhabi in January to begin a non-stop schedule of filming at 30 different locations including Ferrari World, Nurai Island, Emirates Palace, Yas Waterworld, Sheikh Zayed Stadium and Liwa desert, with the final scenes shot on Tuesday on Reem Island. The majority of all filming for Dishoom took place in Abu Dhabi with more than 90 cast and crew involved in the production during its time in the Emirate. In partnership with twofour54, the Dishoom team gave four young aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to intern on the production, helping to upskill Abu Dhabi's growing media production talent pool.
Maryam Al Mheiri, Chief Operating Officer, of twofour54, said: "Abu Dhabi has built a comprehensive package to attract film producers, with our combination of diverse locations, world class production services and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission's 30 per cent rebate scheme. Facilitating six weeks of filming for Dishoom, our longest filming project to date, has proved twofour54's ability to successfully service productions of this scale.
"From the time Dishoom was making plans to film in Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi government entities were completely behind us to ensure that Dishoom enjoyed a world class experience here in the Capital and we are grateful for their support," she added.
Director of the film, Rohit Dhawan, spoke highly of the experience in Abu Dhabi: "It has been a memorable time filming in Abu Dhabi. Working with twofour54 in Abu Dhabi has been very streamlined, they delivered what they promised. On top of that, Abu Dhabi has fantastic locations that have given us beautiful scenes that I am excited for the audience to see once the film is out."
One of the stars of the action adventure film, John Abraham, said, "Abu Dhabi is a wonderful place, and a very film-friendly city. With the marina, desert and city architecture, it really does have everything you look for in a filming location. twofour54 has done a fantastic job on facilitating the film."
When City Times met John Abraham at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi recently, he told us, "I had a fantastic time at Yas Marina Circuit. In fact, there was a scene that we shot in Yas Marina Circuit but, unfortunately, that didn't involve me. So I took time off and came here on my own. They (the cast of Dishoom) drove other cars but I wanted to drive the GT-R, which is why I am here. The experience has been fantastic, even with Dishoom." He also exclusively told City Times that he is planning to come back to Abu Dhabi to shoot another film. "I am doing a film on cars and I spoke to the Abu Dhabi Film Commission about it. They have been very cooperative. We want to come back to Abu Dhabi to shoot that film. I love the UAE because it is very film friendly. People are lovely and very welcoming. The weather is great right now. We have come here at the perfect time. And I am enjoying every moment of my time in the UAE. It feels fantastic right now."
Other films shot in Abu Dhabi
. Bang Bang!
. Baby
. Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Fast & Furious 7
. TV show The Bold and the Beautiful
. BBC's Top Gear

• Abu Dhabi