• Home
• /
• In The City
• /
• Entertainment

Suniel Shetty plans next film in Abu Dhabi

BOLLYWOOD STAR SUNIEL SHETTY is planning to shoot his next production Doghouse in Abu Dhabi. Shetty revealed this while talking to City Times during an acting workshop in the capital on Monday.
Twofour54 and Suniel's firm FTC Talent Media & Entertainment have joined forces to nurture young talent within Abu Dhabi's growing film industry. More than 51 aspiring performers attended the workshop to understand the demands of the auditioning process yesterday.
The Hera Pheri star almost turned life coach to many of the aspiring actors who came from different walks of life. He sounded confident saying lines like 'Never Say Never,' 'Shed your inhibitions,' 'Don't give up' and more. He also opened up about his failures and shortcomings.
While talking about the workshop, the actor said: "A lot of talents here feel that Bollywood is a distant dream. We are trying to bridge that gap with twofour54 and FTC by attempting not only to give them opportunities but also to connect them to the Bollywood industry when they are looking for talent in this region. It is expensive from the commerce perspective to bring talent from India."
He also sounded excited about the possibility of shooting his next film in the UAE. He plans to begin filming in Abu Dhabi later this year along with Sanjay Dutt, Paresh Rawal, Madhavan, and other actors. "I am happy that this collaboration is happening. We are in works for our next film and if that film happens then more than 300-400 talents will get an opportunity to work with us. We want to give a break to talents from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and other parts of the Middle East. The principal cast will come from Mumbai, and other castings will be hired from here after workshops, auditions and proper training. The idea of FTC is to connect the world, and we believe that talent could be from anywhere. Why should we not hire an art director from here? They know the culture, architecture, design of the city more than a Mumbai based designer. Hence we want to focus on the backhand talent as well."
Suniel who has acted in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films so far is excited about coming back to Bollywood with his production Doghouse. "It is a fun family film, and we are want to shoot the movie here, not just for the locations but also because Abu Dhabi is a character in the movie. This film is about the culture of Abu Dhabi. We will be shooting for around 65 days. We plan to shoot in December - January. The main cast includes me, Sanjay Dutt, Madhavan, Paresh Rawal, one more principal male actor, and a few leading heroines as well. So apart from the primary cast, we plan to hire actors from here. Even from the workshop today, some of them were very confident actors."
Maryam Eid AlMheiri, CEO of Media Zone Authority - Abu Dhabi and twofour54, said, "At twofour54, we believe in the power of partnerships to enable content creators to innovate, collaborate and create. As such, our agreement with FTC will help develop training opportunities for twofour54's creative ecosystem and will equip local talent with the skills to ensure they remain at the forefront of the ever-changing media and entertainment industry."
How Suniel keeps fit
Suniel Shetty who is known as one of the fittest actors in the industry said that being a happy family man is one of the essential factors for being so healthy. The 57-year-old actor said, "I am very conscious about what I eat. I know that I will indulge a lot in Arabic food while I am here, so I controlled my diet before I came here. I do yoga for an hour every morning and 4-5 days of weight training every evening."
arti@khaleejtimes.com