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Talents in Dubai

It is with great pleasure I read two stories today in City Times today, both relating to talents from Dubai making it big in the Indian film industry.

I congratulate Japinder Kaur, a former student of Indian High School, for emerging as one of the few Bollywood female film directors. I cringe at using the word ‘female’ but the truth is that Bollywood continues to be a male bastion and getting a foothold into the door would take tremendous grit and determination.

Japinder Kaur’s success is an inspiration for several youngsters in Dubai who dream of fame and success in film and music. At local talent festivals, we see such an abundance of talent but most of them simply leave their creative skills by the side and get on with the mundane realities of life.

It is in the same vein that I read the story on a Malayalam film, Kalyanism, that was shot with a cast and crew from the UAE. It is surprising that while expatriates in Dubai extend great support to the Indian economy, particularly so in Kerala, when it comes to recognising talent here, India seems to have some aversion for the NRIs.

I hope that people such as Japinder Kaur and the team at Kalyanism will be able to bring a positive change to that.