Kareena Kapoor’s ‘Heroine’ trailer angers UAE's Indian expats

While Kareena Kapoor fans are rejoicing as the diva prepares to jet into Dubai in September to promote her magnum opus, ‘Heroine’, there are those who are furious with its makers and the actress herself for badmouthing the emirate in the film’s trailer released earlier this month.

In a surprise twist, Dubai found itself in the spotlight in the 3.11 minute ‘Heroine’ trailer, when Kapoor’s character has an outburst at a press conference, lambasting journalists that they should be penning film scripts.

The scene unfolds to say: “If an actress buys a new car, it signifies a rich businessman has purchased it for her; if she buys a diamond, it means she’s engaged.

“If it’s a hospital visit, then it has to be an abortion; if it’s a trip to Los Angeles, then it’s plastic surgery.

“And God forbid if she goes to Dubai, then it simply means she sports a rate card.”

Several residents here are outraged by the significance of such a statement, with Kruti Narayan, a 15-year resident of Dubai stating: “It is downright disgusting for an actress of such repute to lend her presence to such a misconstrued statement.

“What are the filmmakers trying to imply, that women who live here sell themselves to the highest bidders?”

Narayan’s frustration is echoed by Divya Kishore, a personal assistant from Dubai, who says: “I understand filmmakers take liberty with their characters and scripts, but it’s irritating to constantly see the city we live in become the butt of every joke in Bollywood.

“The director should have thought better, as had Kareena herself. And one has to wonder if she is actually implicating herself considering she zips over every chance she gets to promote her films.”

“Maybe that’s what the press should ask her when she comes down here in September.”

‘Heroine’ has been directed by the award-winning director, Madhur Bhandarkar, known in the Bollywood film circles for churning out real-life inspired, gritty and hard hitting scripts, which have included ‘Fashion’ and ‘Page 3’ in the past.

And while several are disappointed in Bhandarkar’s choice of cheap thrills, there are others who don’t really care about the film or the turn of events.

“It’s a movie at the end of the day guys; it’s hardly a BBC documentary that is exposing some seedy underbelly of Dubai,” said Rakesh Katuri, a 10-year resident of the emirate.

“Sometimes we take such films too seriously. The filmmakers wanted their five minutes of notoriety by including such a dialogue in the movie and they are milking it for all it’s worth.”

Sharjah resident Linda Pereira agreed, saying: “This is hardly the first time a Bollywood film has made such a defamatory statement and it is hardly going to stop filmmakers singling out a single city or country.

Bollywood and Dubai have shared quite a love-hate relationship in cinematic reels, which Pereira puts down to the geographical proximity and the large Indian diaspora that resides here.

Several Bollywood films are shot here on a regular basis.

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