Entertainment
Meet the Dubai actor who Naseeruddin Shah wants to work with
Lekha Menon
If there is one word that describes Tahaa Shah best, it is tenacity. Having observed the Sharjah-born actor for over a decade now, his determination and focus has been commendable, as well as his ability to adapt and reinvent. His journey in the glamour industry has not been an easy one by any means and like any other “outsider”, he has seen his share of successes, failures, triumphs and heartbreaks.
Over the years, he has been seen in films like Luv Ka The End (a YRF production), Baar Baar Dekho (a Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar produced venture), Gippy (Dharma) among many others. They yielded mixed results but his love for cinema, dedication to his craft and never-say-die attitude keeps him going in Mumbai.
However, it would seem that the talented youth, now a Dubai resident, is finally getting his due. Tahaa’s portrayal as Murad, one of Akbar’s sons in the ZEE5 show Taj: Divided by Blood is being appreciated by one and all. The plot, detailing the palace intrigues and struggle for power in Akbar’s court, is fascinating, but the actors lined up for this make it more fascinating.
With veteran Naseeruddin Shah and Dharamendra leading the cast, and Aditi Rao Hydari, Sandhya Mridul, Ashim Gulati and Zarina Wahab among others headlining it, Taaha is in great company. We met during his stopover in Dubai and chatted about life, the show and the art of being tenacious!
‘Taj: Divided by Blood’ has put you in the spotlight once again. What else are you busy with these days?
Aside from promoting Taj, I am working on a few projects. An interesting one is for Amazon, a comedy show. It has a sitcom, Friends-like feel that is quite enjoyable. I am really looking forward to its release. Then I am also working on a huge production, unfortunately I can’t reveal details of it just yet. But I promise, it will be huge! Finally, I am also doing a film, Ikroop, that will be released on Sony Liv or Hotstar or maybe even the big screen. Besides, I have started developing projects of my own as well, have started writing and looking at production details for them.
Writer Lekha Menon interviews Tahaa Shah Badussha at the India Club in Dubai. Courtesy Box Office Events
With so many shows and movies being produced for OTT, has the increased number of platforms resulted in greater opportunities for actors like you?
Yes and No. Sure, there are a lot of projects happening but you want to be part of ventures that take off and would be considered good and credible. Otherwise, it’s like doing any other run-of-the-mill TV show which won’t help you in any way. Hence, having patience and keeping the faith is important. I have said no to so many projects because I didn’t want to do ordinary stuff.
How difficult is it to say no to work?
It is a risk to wait for the right one but at the end of the day you need to know where you see yourself and work accordingly. If you don’t, nothing will fall into place. You should have that belief. I try and keep working to make myself better and better each day, for then when the opportunity strikes, it strikes hard. As they say, opportunity meets preparation = success. The same thing happened with Taj and my other current projects. The opportunity came and I was prepared for it.
In the last 14 years of my life, the one conclusion I have come to is that when you want something really hard, most of the time it won’t come to you. But you can’t allow that to get you down, you need to get up, pick the pieces and move on. You need to constantly upskill, learn what you need to and keep moving.
What’s the best compliment you have got recently?
Naseeruddin Shah said something incredible. At a screening event of a few episodes, he came up to me and said, “Son, I am so proud of you, I didn’t expect this from you.” He gave me a kiss and added, “You and me… we have to do a movie now.” That is my biggest reward – him coming up to me and saying he wants to work with me and not the other way round! It was unbelievable! I made him say it on camera for it was so unbelievable!
Of course, I have got a great response for my character, Murad. A lot of people send me messages about my performance which were great but the compliment from Naseeruddin Shah was something else altogether.
UAE weekly draw Mahzooz celebrated its first Emirati female millionaire Sahar, as she took home the guaranteed raffle prize of Dh 1 million on Saturday as the 45th millionaire to do so.
The UAE’s favourite weekly draw with the biggest and most frequent payout, has given away more
than AED 415,000,000 in prize money to over 242,000 winners in a span of two years.
Sahar is the third Emirati millionaire through Mahzooz, with a total of Dh7.5 million in prize money given away to more than 8,000 Emirati winners.
Since being introduced to Mahzooz two years ago, Sahar has participated in the weekly draw almost
every weekend. She remembers the moment she found out that she had won with fondness. On
Saturday evening, Sahar received multiple calls from her friends to congratulatee her on the bonanza.
She initially thought it was an orchestrated joke and didn’t give the happy messages much thought.
She decided to check her Mahzooz account the next morning and before even finding out she
received a call from Mahzooz announcing the good news to her. Her brother was the first person she
told about her victory because he was the one who introduced her to Mahzooz.
Sahar has, in fact, got twice lucky with Mahzooz this year, having won the third prize in January. Supplied photo
“While money does not buy happiness, I believe it can bring comfort and security to the life of a
person. This is what the prize is going to do for my family,” an elated Sahar said.
“This is not the first time I have won with Mahzooz. In fact, the year started off on a good note for
me, as I have won the third prize in January, having scored three out of 5 numbers. But this time, the
prize is incomparable, and I will use good judgement to decide how to invest this money” Sahar
continued.
The same draw also saw 888 participants take home Dh 1,417,000 in prize money split between the
second and third prizes of the grand draw and the guaranteed raffle prize.
For only AED 35, participants can purchase a bottle of Mahzooz water, and enter the weekly draw
every Saturday consisting of the grand draw, for a chance to win the new top prize of Dh20 million and the new weekly raffle draw for one guaranteed winner irrespective of the numbers matching.
A new and upcoming group of theatre enthusiasts is keeping the arts and culture scene of Dubai alive and kicking by bringing their fifth production. Musical Theatre Dubai (MTDXB) will stage The Addams Family musical in the first weekend of June at the Sunmarke School in Jumeirah Village Triangle.
The show brings forth the familiar family-friendly musical comedy that tells the tale of Wednesday Addams, a young lady who has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet young man from a respectable family. She brings her new friend and his family home for dinner and to meet her ‘not-so-regular’ parents, Gomez and Morticia, her brother Pugsley, and their extended family of Uncle Fester, Grandma Addams and their loyal butler, Lurch. The comical feast embraces the wackiness in every family with a celebration of the weird, the funny and the macabre.
MTDXB was formed after the pandemic, thanks to the efforts of James and Behtanie Mitchinson, and Sarah Jordan, British expats who realised that the city’s cultural landscape lacked musical theatres. They set about forming a group of like-minded individuals whose objective was to give talented performers a stage to showcase their art. It started with a post on Facebook that attracted a lot of attention and soon it became an actual community.
The eclectic group, comprising professionals in various fields, met, discussed on how to take their passions forward and it wasn’t long before they were ready with their first production. The group has thus far put up four shows – A Night at the Musical, Everybody’s Talking about MTDXB, Return to the Musicals with MTDXB and A Christmas Concert.
The Addams Family musical is their largest and most ambitious one bringing together a huge cast of 50, a live 12 piece band and a stunning set, put up at the Shyam Mankani auditorium hall of Sunmarke, one of the leading British Curriculum schools in Dubai.
The MTDXB show sticks to the spirit of the story and will feature a number of showstopper songs, and elaborate dance routines. The group hopes to work on more shows and create a space for creative individuals in the city to come together and boost the musical theatre space.
Showtimes:
• Thursday 1 June at 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm)
• Friday 2 June at 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm)
• Saturday 3 June at 2:30pm (doors open at 2pm)
• Saturday 3 June at 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm)
Venue: Sunmarke School, Jumeirah Village Triangle
Prices: AED 150 for a single ticket, or AED 550 for 4 tickets (saving AED 50) with groups of 10 tickets at AED 1,350 (saving AED 150) and only from ticketslover.ae
Entertainment
Abu Dhabi does star turn again with IIFA 2023
Another sizzling weekend at Yas Island cements city’s reputation as amazing hosts
Abu Dhabi cemented its reputation as great hosts as the 23rd IIFA) Awards came to an end at the Etihad Arena, where the event was held for a second successive time after drawing praise from the creme de la creme of Bollywood.
The International Indian Film Academy Awards is a celebration of the key achievements from the tinsel town in the year gone by, but attempts are made to take the event to different corners of the world even though the popular industry does not have to. IIFA 2022 was a runaway success because of the excellent hosting arrangements by the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi and the reputation was enhanced over the weekend.
Sara Ali Khan looked ravishing in red. Mohammed Asif
The Sobha Realty and NEXA-sponsored IIFA saw star performances, a rain of celebrity glitterati, some veteran names honoured and achievements recognised over two nights of fun and glamour. Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences, joined in as the other key, local collaborator.
The first evening focuses on music and fashion traditionally under the banner of IIFA Rocks. Cue exciting performances by Amit Trivedi, Badshah, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sukhbir Singh, Palak Muchhal & Iulia Vantur, the touted girlfriend of Salman Khan, the show’s superstar representative icon for Bollywood. The evening programme was presented by Farah Khan and Rajkummar Rao.
The musical spectacular began with a dance performance by Palak Muchhal, who was followed by Farah Khan, who also danced her way on to the stage. Rao entered while playing the song Main Hoon Na, and the two recreated a scene from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, in which they both greeted the crowd and engaged in witty conversation about friendship.
Chauhan, Badshah, Jacqueline Fernandez, Rakul Preet Singh and Nora Fatehi gave enthralling performances later in the evening.
Awards were given out through the glitzy IIFA statuette across various categories, including in the technical aspects. One of the key highlights of IIFA Rocks was a special collection showcased by Bollywood’s favourite designer Manish Malhotra. The collection reflected ‘old world charm meets the new world’ that was breakthrough and imaginative and had Salman Khan and Nora Fatehi as the showstoppers for the evening.
And the award goes to:
- Best Picture Category | Drishyam 2
- Best Direction Category| R Madhavan for Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
- Best Actor In A Leading Role (Female) | Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi
- Best Actor In A Leading Role (Male) | Hrithik Roshan for Vikram Vedha
- Performance In A Supporting Role (Female) | Mouni Roy for Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva
- Performance In A Supporting Role (Male) | Anil Kapoor for Jug Jugg Jeeyo
- Music Direction | Pritam for Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva
- Playback Singer (Female) | Shreya Ghoshal for the song Rasiya from Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva
- Playback Singer (Male) | Arijit Singh for the song Kesariya from Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
- Best Story (Original) | Parveez Sheikh and Jasmeet Reen for the film Darlings
- Best Story (Adapted) | Aamil Keeyan Khan and Abhishek Pathak for Drishyam 2
- Lyrics | Amitabh Bhattacharya for the song Kesariya from Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva
- Best Debut – Female, Khushali Kumar for Dhoka Around the Corner
- Best Debut – Male, Shantanu Maheshwari for Gangubai Kathiawadi and Babil Khan for Qala
Rybakina pulls out of French Open due to illness – ARN News Centre
Russian company expanding taxi business in Dubai
