Dubai: It isn’t as big as the Hollywood hit franchise The Fast & The Furious that’s being filmed in Abu Dhabi right now, but there’s a Bollywood crew in Dubai who’s working on an action thriller filled with car chases.
Switchh, which will be shot in Dubai over 45 days, stars local actor Naren Kumar and revolves around three robbers who indulge in illegal car racing.
“We are not competing with Hollywood here. But we are trying to experiment with some never-seen-before action. Switchh is high on style, speed and adrenaline,” said director Mustafa Raj. At the time of our interview this week, Raj was in the midst of filming a crucial scene at Executive Towers in Business Bay. The scene to be filmed was a confrontation scene between the Dubai-based protagonist, Kumar, and the anti-hero, Vikrant Massey. The thrilling car chase sequences is slated to be filmed at the end of April and the first week of May in the Margam desert.
“Dubai offers a lot of potential for a film like this. Dubai is famous for two things: fast cars and infrastructure. Plus, it’s a shooting-friendly place,” said Raj. Produced by Dubai-based company Nine Hopes Production, owned by local businessmen Vinod Adnani and Jiten Varia, Switchh’s budget clocks at Dh5-7 million.
“We love the script and we want this movie to have some thrilling action sequences,” said Varia.
Dubai-based actor Naren Kumar, an alumnus of Our Own English school, calls Switchh a “dream break”.
“This film has an international look and isn’t a typical Indian film. It’s modern and urbane,” said Kumar. TV actor Massey is enjoying playing Sam, a racer who doesn’t accept defeat easily.
“My role has shades of grey in them and I love that about my role,” said Massey who gave up TV serials such as Dharam Veer and Balika Vadhu, finding them monotonous.
Music composers Bappi Lahiri and Amaal Malik, who composed two songs for Jai Jo, are a part of the project.
