Dubai-based producer Arun Rangachari is Cannes-bound

At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the spotlight will inevitably be on Bollywood stars Vidya Balan, the Bachchans and the festival’s guest country, India, which is celebrating the centenery of its film industry.

But there’s a Dubai connection, too: Out of the four Indian films being showcased during the festival, three of them are co-produced by Dubai-based entrepreneur Arun Rangachari.

“It’s a proud moment for all of us. We expected our two films Dabba (Lunchbox) and Ugly to be at Cannes. But the third one, Monsoon Shootout, was a bonus and a wonderful surprise. India has come such a long way,” said Rangachari, of DAR Motion Pictures, in an interview with tabloid!.

Director Amit Kumar’s debut feature Monsoon Shootout, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Tannistha Chatterjee, is jointly produced by Dhar and Sikhya Films, and will have a midnight screening at the festival.

Kidnap drama Ugly, jointly produced by DAR Motion Pictures and Phantom Films, will be showcased on the sidelines of the main festival at Director’s Fortnight segment. And Rangachari’s third production, Ritesh Batra’s Dabba (Lunch Box), starring Irrfan Khan and Siddiqui, has been selected for the Cannes Critics Week, which will run alongside the main festival.

“We backed these projects because their concepts interested us. For instance, Ugly is a dark psychological thriller and none of the actors knew how the story would pan out. They had no bound script, they came on to the sets without knowing what they are going to do for the day. It was an experiment and it worked out beautifully,” said Rangachari.

But not all his experiments were fruitful. He burnt his fingers when he backed the box-office debacle, Karishma Kapoor’s comeback reincarnation drama Dangerous Ishq.

“Dangerous Ishq taught us what not to do in 3D. Remember, we made Haunted which was the largest-grossing horror film in India. But Dangerous Ishq was a bit of a turkey. It taught us that people don’t want to see a love story in 3D,” said Rangachari. But it’s all in the past. Rangachari says that it’s a wonderful time to be in the Indian film industry.

“I remember sitting through a screening of Gangs Of Wasseypur at Cannes last year. It was such a riveting experience because everybody around me loved it. They said it was India’s answer to Pulp Fiction. There has been this quantum leap in Indian cinema. We want all our films to have a theatrical release and we are working towards that,” said Rangachari. He will travelling to Cannes with a 24-strong Indian contingent.

“There’s going to be Irrfan [Khan, starring in Dabba], Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and many more. [There are] exciting times ahead.”