The director Mani Shankar, who has scaled the heights of the Indian film and commercial industries, believes the sky is the limit.
In Dubai this week to shoot a commercial on adventure tourism for the Dubai-based Country Club India, Shankar, along with the chairman of the Country Club India, Rajeev Reddy, jumped out of a plane at 13,500 feet for a spot of skydiving.
Shankar says the commercial portrays the UAE in a new light, away from its usual shopping and desert attractions. "The aim is to show the country as an adventure tourism destination for Indians," he says. "There are many great facilities here, in terms of sports and recreation, that would cost much more in India. There is a lot you can do here."
Over the past three decades, Shankar has shot more than 1,500 commercials, including successful campaigns for the likes of Coca-Cola. He says reaching such heights for a television commercial has become an industry norm.
Shankar believes that commercials in India have come a long way from being a mere visual medium.
"This is the age of YouTube, and we seem to have lost our reading habit. A commercial is all about holding the attention of the viewer, and the only way to do that is to make it appealing. It is important to pack as much as you can into those 30 seconds."
Shankar's visual flair can be seen in his growing number of Bollywood films, which include the 2001 award-winning 16 December and his 2010 thriller Knock Out, starring Sanjay Dutt.
But he says that the jump from commercials to feature films presents its own set of challenges. "With film, you focus more on the story," he says. "You also have a whole year to work on it, while with a commercial you get a month. Sometimes, spending a lot of time on one project can make you quite impatient."
sasaeed@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
The Laughing Apple
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
(Verve Decca Crossover)
