A son who put his father’s legacy on film

Dubai: Dr Mustafa Saasa marked the 25th death anniversary of his father, Taher Saasa, with the premiere of a short documentary called Saasa, the Life of the Legend. Renowned  Indian businessman Taher Saasa died in December 2001.

The event was attended by UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri along with special guest Dr. E. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, the Consul General of India in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Many prominent Indian businessmen along with members of the Dawoodi Bohra community were in attendance.

Mustafa opened with the family’s humble beginnings. He spoke of how his father reached the UAE back in1958, when there was no water supply, no electricity, no roads and no cars. But Dubai’s leadership of the time granted his father Taher a rare privilege. He could start a business without a local sponsor.

The legacy lives on

And now history has repeated itself 68 years later, Mustafa said. With the ministers persuasion, the family company registered with the Ministry of Economy as a family business. It is among the first Indian family businesses to do so. He recalled how his father’s first principle was to stay faithful to the place where you live.

Speaking at the occasion Al Marri said his department prefers persuasion to compulsion. He recognized Taher Saasa’s contributions saying he understood trade and diplomacy even before Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) existed. “Dubai’s economy rests on trust, not only agreements.” He urged newcomers to watch the film before starting a business in the emirates.

What really stood out for Reddy was a lesson Saasa took from his late mother. “Never forget anyone who has given you even a glass of water,” he said. He called it a line about gratitude and humility, values Indian families carried across the seas. India and the UAE share one of India’s strongest partnerships worldwide, he said and people remain the core, from traders and workers to doctors and teachers. The Indian community, he added, is the UAE’s most trusted and respected. 

The film shows what happens “when a welcoming nation meets an enterprising people,” Reddy said. Success, he argued, should be measured “in relationships, in integrity, and in service to the society,” not in revenue.