DUBAI // From steel trader to the silver screen: it sounds like the storyline of a Bollywood drama, but it is a dream come true for Taaha Shah, an Abu Dhabi-born Indian expatriate.
It all began when a family steel-trading firm he began with his father in Dubai floundered and he enrolled in an acting course at Abu Dhabi's New York Film Academy.
"When the financial crisis hit in 2008 I was depressed at the losses I had made," said Shah, 23, without elaborating on the amount. "But I thought, 'I don't care about a Plan B anymore. I'll just go for Plan A and dedicate my life to what I love - the movies'."
He headed to Bollywood's capital, Mumbai, in 2009 and e-mailed his portfolio to hundreds of agents and producers.
"I didn't know anyone in Mumbai; I didn't have a single friend," said Shah, who studied at Sharjah's School of Choueifat and completed Grade 12 at Sharjah American International School. "I'd never acted before, but I knew I'd love being on screen."
For more than a year, dozens of auditions a day yielded little. But, after a rigorous schedule of screen tests last year, the Indian movie house Yash Raj Films signed him to a three-film contract.
His first movie, Luv Ka The End (The End of Luv), comes out next month. He plays Luv Nanda, a college student who avidly plays the field until a heartbroken ex-girlfriend gets her revenge.
Unlike most Bollywood newcomers, who make their big-screen debuts in syrupy romantic roles, Shah plays an egomaniac who in one scene is drugged, tricked into dressing in drag and gyrates to a Hindi-language song.
"It was a great opportunity to do a grey role in my first film and not a sweet romcom," Shah said about Luv's character. "I like doing negative roles. So it was a dream to play a guy who everyone thinks is lovable and cute, but turns into the devil when you mess with him."
Shah's focused preparation for the part - he enrolled in a slew of acting, dancing and martial arts classes - impressed the film's crew.
"He was disciplined and organised, scarily so sometimes," said Vivek Bhushan, the film's director, who is known as "Bumpy". "It's as if he was thinking, 'I've flown here from Dubai and I've just got to get it right.' His role has so many shades and he got it down pat."
The female lead, Shraddha Kapoor, was among those Shah peppered with questions about everything from make-up to lighting angles.
"I felt I made a mistake telling him not to feel shy and ask me anything," laughed Kapoor, the daughter of the veteran Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor. Shraddha made her film debut last year in Teen Patti alongside the acting legends Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley.
"Taaha would BBM me or call me for the smallest things," she said. "But he did help me, too: he helped me memorise the lines and get comfortable with my first on-screen monologue."
One of the studio's goals is to infuse a fresh approach into filmmaking, so the cast and crew of Luv Ka The End included about 20 people - including Shah - who are new to the industry.
The movie is important to Yash Raj Films, because it is the first of three titles it plans to release this year targeted at young adults under the umbrella of Y-Films, its dedicated youth studio.
The company believes India is a crucial market for films that appeal to a younger demographic; after all, 55 per cent of the country's billion-plus population is under the age of 25.
"It is too large and influential a demographic to ignore," said Ashish Patil, the head of Y-Films.
"We have a hungry audience and we need people whose freshness will reflect on the screen."
Luv Ka The End hits the big screen on May 5.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
Company%20profile
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
RECORD%20BREAKER
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Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Ferrari
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The specs: 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 60kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed Electronic Precision Shift
Power: 204hp
Torque: 360Nm
Range: 520km (claimed)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
