Abu Dhabi’s twofour54 have released new behind-the-scenes footage from Abu Dhabi from the set of the action epic ‘Saaho’ starring South Indian superstar Prabhas and Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor.
The action thriller, which released last week to record numbers globally, was shot over 40 days at various locations in the UAE capital, and was supported by a large crew of 450 media professionals drawn from Hollywood, Bollywood and the South Indian film industry. The film was produced by UV Creations and T-Series and twofour54 provided a full range of production services such as location assistance, permits and equipment as well as catering, accommodation and transportation. Two interns also worked on the project as part of twofour54’s aim to ensure that attracting productions to Abu Dhabi helps to develop the Emirate’s media professionals to create a sustainable media industry.
Despite receiving a trashing from critics, ‘Saaho’ made a record debut in India and the UAE, grossing more than Rs1.04 billion in India with a first day nett collections of Rs680 million, according to India Today. That’s more than the current record holder, Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’, which opened with Rs530 million.
In the UAE, the film saw almost 100,000 admissions on the first day on Friday, according to distributors, despite films traditionally releasing on Thursday. That number eclipses the current box office No 1, ‘Angel Has Fallen’, which saw 31,000 admissions over the first weekend (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) last week. The Friday admission number is a record in the UAE, one distributor told Gulf News tabloid!, besting the record held by ‘Avengers: Endgame’, which saw 92,000 admissions on its first day.
Both UV Creations and T-Series benefited from Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s 30 per cent rebate on production spend in Abu Dhabi. ‘Saaho’ joins many other Indian films including the Salman Khan-starrer ‘Bharat’ and ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ which has chosen the UAE capital as the location for principal photography.
