Dubai: A manager has claimed that he was training on performing a female role in a Bollywood film when he was caught cross-dressing and using mascara at the Mall of the Emirates.

Records said the 45-year-old Indian man, a property developer's administration manager, was caught wearing a tight female outfit, bra and full make-up in the shopping mall.

The suspect, P.K., denied the charge of cross-dressing in public when he appeared before the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours yesterday.

A defence witness told the court that P.K., who also works in the movie industry, was training for a small role which required him to wear a woman's outfit and appear in an upcoming film in India.

Mascara

Records said undercover police spotted the defendant walking suspiciously and he was cross-dressed at the Mall of the Emirates. Policemen who stopped him claimed that his outfit was glittering (like women's stylish clothes), and he wore a bra, mascara, female perfume and a wig.

"I'm not guilty... I was cross-dressed because I was training to perform a woman's role in Indian cinema.

"I didn't intend to go to the mall but I went there as soon as I received an urgent phone call," P.K. told the public prosecutor who questioned him.

Moreover, police records claimed that he attempted to bribe the police in order not to take him to court.

"I didn't bribe anyone... they misunderstood me because I said I was willing to pay a fine if that would have been my punishment," the suspect said in his statement to the Public Prosecution.