Life isn't always easy. For many expat workers in Dubai life is anything but a bed of roses. Rehguzar, a Bollywood movie shot in Dubai, aims to bring to light the problems faced by expat labourers.
Dubai being the land of plenty has an abundance of everything. People from all over the world come here to live out their dreams.
However, not all dreams are fulfilled and it isn't everyone who lives in a villa in Jumeirah.
For thousands of expat workers in Dubai, life is hard. Very hard.
It is for them and for those of us who take the good life for granted that the film Rehguzar: The Road To Destiny is made.
Producer Kesar Kothari, who has been living in the Gulf for the last 25 years says, "I have met workers from different parts of the world. There are expatriates from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. People come here with dreams in their eyes and do not realise that life is not a bed of roses. There are hardships that follow. I want to give a message to my audience through my film. Follow the hardships judiciously and face them for a better tomorrow."
Being that it's a movie about the expat workers in Dubai, it was only natural to shoot from start to finish in the emirate. In a marathon schedule that lasted 60 days from start to finish director Faruq Masudi found various locations to shoot his film in, after having got all the necessary permissions.
"The labour camp scenes were shot in Al Qouz Industrial Area and some of them required up to six takes as the real-life labourers participating in some of the scenes found it difficult to contain their excitement," says Kothari.
It also goes without saying that the movie features a lot of cast and crew from Dubai. Most notable among the Dubai cast is UAE national Mohammed Al Amri, who plays a very crucial role in the film.
Rehguzar isn't the first movie to be shot in Dubai, featuring the hardships of expats. Last year's Tagalog release, Dubai, also told a similar tale of how hard the going gets here in the city of dreams.
Coming to our screens next year will be another Bollywood venture, scheduled to be shot entirely in Dubai and starring Dubai boy Aziz, about a dance troupe that comes to the city to partake in a major contest.
To even out the balance of movies about Dubai, this film will show the high life: the attractive nightclubs, scenic locales, exquisite restaurants and impressive hotels.
If more filmmakers think along these lines, Dubai may soon become the most sought-after place in the East to shoot in.
