TV actors Iqbal Khan, Alka Verma in the lead.
By Tathagata Mitra
BANGALORE: While Hrithik Roshan is breaking records with his car chase sequence shot for upcoming film Bang Bang in Abu Dhabi, another film, Unforgettable, has become the first ever Hindi film to be shot entirely in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and released in India.
The romantic action film stars TV actors Iqbal Khan and Alka Verma in lead roles, who are well known faces to the small screen audience.
Unforgettable was shot on location over a 49-day schedule, more than one and a half years ago. The filming had completed in late 2012, and the post-production took place in Dubai’s Mile Studios. But it took a long time for the film to hit the screens, given the unknown star cast.
One of the film’s producers, Zarah Shah, told The National, “All of the cast and crew involved in this flick are virtually unknown in the Bollywood industry and this fact makes our film a huge risk to anyone wanting to distribute the film there. We don’t have any well-known stars in the leading roles, nor are the producers or director established there at all. So it has taken us a very long time to find distributors. The fact that we are based in Dubai hasn’t helped issues either. But we are all ecstatic to finally be getting our production into the cinemas. It’s been a long and hopefully fruitful journey.”
Iqbal, most popular for his roles in TV shows like Chhoona Hai Aasmaan and Yahan Mein Ghar Ghar Kheli, will be playing the role of a F1 driver who loses his eye sight.
The film’s lead heroine, Alka, is a well-known face to the viewers of the thriller series CID. The film also stars Kiran Kumar, Shahbaz Khan and British actress Hazel Crowney.
Produced by Grand Media Corporations’ Arshad Shah and Zarah Shah and the director Arshad himself, Unforgettable released in theaters on June 13.