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Movies a passion for Emirati filmmaker Majid Abdulrazak
Movies a passion for Emirati filmmaker Majid Abdulrazak Dhanusha Gokulan / 17 October 2013 Majid Abdulrazak has written, directed, acted in and produced three movies since his first film, Eqaab Bitten by the movie bug For Emirati filmmaker Majid Abdulrazak, the turning point in his life was when he read The Count of Monte Cristo, the 1844 novel by French novelist Alexandre Dumas. “Everyone has a turning point in their life, mine was when I finished The Count of Monte Cristo. I read the comic version for the first time when I was 13 and since then, I have always kept a copy of it near me. Even now I have about 15 copies at home,” said Majid. Another turning point in Majid’s life was when he met British author Wilfred Thesiger, popularly known as Mubarak bin London among bedouins. Majid’s wife brought Thesiger to their house when he was visiting the country. “It was in the 80s. I was sleeping at home and he walked into our house. I felt I was dreaming and it took me a while to understand that he was really there. Back then, I did not even dream that I would be making a movie based on his travels,” said Majid. He got candid with Khaleej Times about his passion for cinema, his early inspirations, his chance meeting with Thesiger, the challenges he has had to face as a filmmaker, and his latest movie Bani Adam. He is the first Emirati to have made two full-length feature films, spending millions of dirhams on his movies. “I used to run a successful business making furniture in the 80s. But I was not happy doing that. I understood that my true calling was being a filmmaker,” said Majid. A self-professed loner and traveller, Majid takes time off and travels for over a month while conceptualising a movie. “Pre-production and post-production can be done at leisure, but shooting is when your time is most precious,” he said. The Emirati filmmaker has written, directed, acted in and produced three movies since his first film Eqaab, based on The Count of Monte Cristo, which released in 2006. The bug for a career in the film industry bit him at a very young age. However he forayed into the industry only recently. “Cinema is still young here. I come from a very orthodox family and I still face severe criticism from my family for being a filmmaker. In their eyes, being in this industry equals being an entertainer. My family does watch my movies, but they do not discuss or talk about it, and it is considered a taboo subject,” said Majid. However, he continued to pursue his dreams and went on to fulfill his biggest dream of being a moviemaker. A love triangle Bani Adam will be released in cinemas in the GCC on November 7. The film depicts the realities of life in the Gulf and portrays a dramatic love triangle. Sultan, a rich man, suffers from childhood guilt; Salem is from a low-income family; and Khalil, Sultan’s treasurer, ishes for his daughter Maitha to marry Sultan, who’s in love with Maha. To further complicate matters, Maha and Maitha are both in love with Salem. An interesting plot, Bani Adam promises to be a good watch, according to Majid. “The film has commercial elements and is also an intelligent movie. My only request to local people is that they take time and watch the movie. Only if there is support from the local public will movie makers like me be able to make more movies,” said Majid. Since Eqaab, he has made two other movies — The Arabian Sands, based on Thesiger’s travels across the Empty Quarter; and Bani Adams, which is a tragic love story. Eqaab, according to the director, was an ambitious project. Shot simultaneously in three different languages, it was to have been released in Urdu, Arabic, and Persian. “Finally we released the movie in Arabic and Urdu. I think it was due to lack of good publicity, that the movie did not do well,” he said. Majid believes that there is no dearth of talent in the country; however, there is a shortage of interest amongst local people. “People here still prefer watching Hollywood or Bollywood movies,” he said. “Bollywood movies today are not like how they used to be. I happened to see the new Hindi release Besharam, and I walked out of the theatre after 10 minutes. I grew up watching Hindi movies made in the 40s and 50s. I am still a very big fan of veteran actor Dilip Kumar. At that time, those were the only movies we had access to.” The uniqueness in Majid’s approach to filmmaking is that he understands the artistic value and hard work behind making good cinema. However, he said that pleasing the local audiences remains the biggest challenge for filmmakers because people prefer commercial cinema from Bollywood and Hollywood to cinema by local filmmakers. — dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
On Eid, Muslims urged to unite and end bloodshed
On Eid, Muslims urged to unite and end bloodshed (AFP) / 15 October 2013 Top Saudi cleric urges Muslims to avoid divisions, chaos and sectarianism. Around two million Muslim pilgrims thronged Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Monday for the high point of the Haj, praying for an end to disputes and bloodshed. Helicopters hovered overhead and thousands of troops stood guard to organise roads flooded with men, women and children. Chanting Labaik Allahum Labaik (I am responding to your call, God), many of them camped in colourful tents and took shelter under trees to escape temperatures of around 40º Celsius. Special sprinklers were set up to help cool the pilgrims. In his annual sermon, top Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh urged Muslims to avoid divisions, chaos and sectarianism. “Your nation is a trust with you. You must safeguard its security, stability and resources,” said the cleric, who heads Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, in an address to the Muslim world. “You should know that you are targeted by your enemy… who wants to spread chaos among you … It’s time to confront this.” The cleric recalled the Islamic prohibition of killing and aggression, while insisting there is “no salvation or happiness for the Muslim nation without adhering to the teachings of the religion”. “I will pray the whole day to God to improve the situation for Muslims worldwide and an end to disputes and bloodshed in Arab countries,” 61-year-old Algerian pensioner Saeed Dherari said. “I hope that God will grace all Muslims with security and stability,” said 75-year-old Ahmad Khader, who hails from the Syrian province of Daraa. “The regime is tyrannical and I pray to God to help the oppressed people,” he said, referring to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s embattled government. Egyptian Ahmad Ali, who is performing Haj for the first time, prayed for peace after hundreds were killed in recent months in fighting between security forces and Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohammed Mursi. “I pray for Egypt to enjoy security and stability and for the people to reach understanding and reconciliation,” Ali said. Continue reading
Emiratis to manage public school canteens in Dubai
Emiratis to manage public school canteens in Dubai Olivia Olarte-Ulherr / 15 October 2013 Under Khalifa Foundation initiative, 80 Emirati families will manage canteens in 40 schools in Dubai and Northern Emirates All school canteens across the country may soon be managed by UAE nationals following an initiative that aims not only to provide healthy and affordable meals but also to create jobs and provide sustainable income for needy Emiratis. The plan is to make healthy and quality meals available at school canteens in the price range of Dh3 to Dh7. — KT file photo used for illustrative purpose The initiative, launched by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation (KBZF) this academic year, has tasked 80 Emirati families to manage 40 public school canteens in Dubai and the Northern Emirates in the first phase. “As part of our annual assessment of the aid we provide students, we realised that the pocket money we give them is not enough to buy food at school canteens. So we thought it best that instead of money, we provide them healthy meals that are affordable while supporting our citizens with limited income through the management of the school canteens,” KBZF director-general Mohamed Hajji Al Khoori told Khaleej Times. The plan is for the meals to be sold at prices of Dh3, Dh5 and Dh7, containing healthy ingredients and of a different variety every day. The foundation has partnered with the Ministry of Education to identify the schools. These include five schools each in Dubai, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah and 20 in Fujairah. “In the first phase, we will implement the project in select public schools. The plan is to include all public schools across the UAE and extend this to private schools at a later stage,” said Al Khoori. Three schools in Abu Dhabi have already expressed an interest in joining the programme, according to Al Khoori, who said the foundation was currently in talks with the Abu Dhabi Education Council. Several food companies are also supporting the initiative, providing sandwiches, juices and fresh milk for the school canteens. The Emirates Co-operative Society, which provides the sandwiches, is at the same time carrying out training for the families in catering processes, service and canteen management. While learning the trade, families are given a monthly allowance by the foundation. “At the start, the local families don’t need a capital as much as they need support from all quarters, to train them till they are ready,” Al Khoori said. For the pilot, two families were tasked to manage each school canteen. But for the long term, the plan is to either increase or decrease this depending on the number of students in each school. The number of families employed will also increase in the future as more schools join the initiative. “The Khalifa Foundation initiative of supporting these families goes hand in hand with the strategy of the UAE to privatise the education sector and create business opportunities for UAE nationals,” Al Khoori said. He added the families were selected from those who had worked with the foundation’s Iftar meals project in the past three years, who have enough experience in providing quality foods, underwent food hygiene and safety training, and who received an eligibility certificate from the Civil Defence. The Iftar meals initiative during Ramadan, which started in 2010, provides food for millions of fasting Muslims throughout the holy month while creating jobs for low-income Emiratis. Established in 2007, the foundation provides aid and assistance to people — both locally and internationally — regardless of race, sex or religion. The foundation is looking for ways to help low-income families by sourcing creative and sustainable projects that would provide them long-term financial support. – olivia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
