Shooting films in Dubai get tougher

Mumbai, Nov 1 (IANS) Shooting slick action films and sex comedies in Dubai will no longer be easy, thanks to new rules. Director David Dhawan's 'Do Knot Disturb' was the first casualty of the new rule.

'It was a setback, yes. We were stopped. But with reason. I don't disagree with the new rules because Dubai is being constantly misused by Bollywood filmmakers. They keep coming down here in Dubai to make sexy films or cheap stunt films. These were bringing a bad name to Dubai globally as a city of crime and quick pleasure,' Vashu Bhagnani, the producer of the film, told IANS.

According to new rules, Bollywood producers will now have to submit their scripts for consideration before they are allowed to shoot.

Bhagnani proceeded with David Dhawan and his cast -- Govinda, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, Sohail Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Ranvir Shorey -- to Dubai after a luxuriant shooting schedule in Abu Dhabi. But he was told to halt by Mediacity in Dubai, which monitors all cultural activities.

'Mediacity now expects us to submit our script in advance. I wasn't aware of this rule. So after we left Abu Dhabi and reached Dubai we had to wait until I could give them a copy of the script,' Bhagnani said.

'The authorities were very nice to us. They even offered to let us shoot before the papers were formally cleared. But I decided we needed to go by the rules to set an example for Bollywood teams that come to shoot after us.'