Uma Thurman laughs at a press briefing on the final day of the Abu Dhabi International Film Festival yesterday.
Uma Thurman laughs at a press briefing on the final day of the Abu Dhabi International Film Festival yesterday.

Uma Thurman ‘would love to make a Bollywood film’



ABU DHABI // From a kung fu-kicking assassin in Kill Bill to an 18th-century young beauty in Dangerous Liaisons, Uma Thurman's career has spanned a huge spectrum of roles but one genre eludes her.

At the Abu Dhabi Film Festival yesterday the Hollywood actress said: "I would love to do a Bollywood movie."

Thurman, 40, whose credits also include Pulp Fiction and Gattaca, walked the red carpet at the event's gala closing ceremony last night after taking questions from the public at the Abu Dhabi Theatre on the Breakwater.

Her father was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk, she spent some of her childhood in India and is on the lookout for a project that will allow her a chance to break into Bollywood.

She said yesterday: "When I see a script of one that makes sense for me to be in, it would be a thrill. When I go to India … it feels like a home to me. Those were formative years in my life and I feel very blessed."

Thurman said she had met the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader, "many times" and called him "the most beautiful man I've ever met - very peaceful and very loving".

"When I've seen him lately he seems to be more sad with the unrest and the failure to find a peaceful negotiation with China [over Tibet]. There's been so much hope … that there should be a solution in which China could allow some dignity to the Tibetan people."

Thurman, who was in the UAE for the first time, also spoke of the growing importance of cross-cultural understanding in today's world, which she said was helped by events such as the Abu Dhabi festival.

"We get a cultural exchange through festivals, which are great for independent cinema and international cinema," she said. "From the Middle East we haven't had a strong influx of film exchange yet, but I think it's important so I wanted to come. [The Abu Dhabi festival] seems to be growing in importance as a film festival in the region."

Thurman, the star of more than 40 films, has worked with many big-name directors, including Terry Gilliam, Stephen Frears, John Boorman and Woody Allen.

However, she is best known for her collaborations with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill series, with a third volume of the latter scheduled for release in 2014.

When asked which director knows her best, she replied: "Probably Quentin, because we have spent hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours together. We argue a lot. Every director is different. Quentin loves to talk and he gets excited and he changes his mind, whereas Woody Allen makes his mind up and just shoots. They are all unique."

Thurman's recent film work includes Ceremony, a low-budget comedy that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last month and Bel Ami, in which she features as the older wife of a character played by the Twilight star Robert Pattinson.

The actress, who is just under six feet tall and suffers from dyslexia, said her career in films has helped to build her self-confidence.

"I was a tall gangly girl who took some acting lessons and did some modelling aged 16 years old – I wanted to be like Meryl Streep."

Thurman, who has two children, said she would not wish for her 12-year-old daughter, whom she had with her former husband Ethan Hawke, to follow in her footsteps.

"I hope she doesn't. It's a difficult life. But she's an incredibly artistic and talented girl, who wants to be a writer. She's far too bright to waste her life in cinema and to waste her life in modelling," she joked.

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5
Brief scores:

Toss: India, opted to field

Australia 158-4 (17 ov)

Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24

India 169-7 (17 ov)

Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22

Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method

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What is an ETF?

An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.

There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.

The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash. 

The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
Business Insights
  • As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses. 
  • SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income. 
  • Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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
Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 

Pupils in Abu Dhabi are learning the importance of being active, eating well and leading a healthy lifestyle now and throughout adulthood, thanks to a newly launched programme 'Healthy Lifestyle'.

As part of the Healthy Lifestyle programme, specially trained coaches from City Football Schools, along with Healthpoint physicians have visited schools throughout Abu Dhabi to give fun and interactive lessons on working out regularly, making the right food choices, getting enough sleep and staying hydrated, just like their favourite footballers.

Organised by Manchester City FC and Healthpoint, Manchester City FC’s regional healthcare partner and part of Mubadala’s healthcare network, the ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ programme will visit 15 schools, meeting around 1,000 youngsters over the next five months.

Designed to give pupils all the information they need to improve their diet and fitness habits at home, at school and as they grow up, coaches from City Football Schools will work alongside teachers to lead the youngsters through a series of fun, creative and educational classes as well as activities, including playing football and other games.

Dr Mai Ahmed Al Jaber, head of public health at Healthpoint, said: “The programme has different aspects - diet, exercise, sleep and mental well-being. By having a focus on each of those and delivering information in a way that children can absorb easily it can help to address childhood obesity."

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Profile of Hala Insurance

Date Started: September 2018

Founders: Walid and Karim Dib

Based: Abu Dhabi

Employees: Nine

Amount raised: $1.2 million

Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers

 

UAE-based players

Goodlands Riders: Jamshaid Butt, Ali Abid, JD Mahesh, Vibhor Shahi, Faizan Asif, Nadeem Rahim

Rose Hill Warriors: Faraz Sheikh, Ashok Kumar, Thabreez Ali, Janaka Chathuranga, Muzammil Afridi, Ameer Hamza

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

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UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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