Urmila to flaunt Manish Malhotra designs in Dubai

Mumbai, Dec 12 (IANS) Actress Urmila Matondkar and Jahnu Barua, director of "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara", have flown to Dubai to attend the screening of the film there Tuesday.

She is going to flaunt her favourite designer Manish Malhotra's creation at the Dubai Film Festival.

"Forget the international labels, it is always Manish for me," Urmila told IANS before leaving for the festival. "I'm sure he'll make me look good when I walk the red carpet at the Dubai Film Festival."

"I keep missing out on these international festivals. I was invited to be on the jury for the Singapore Film Festival in the last week of November. But my dates clashed with Harry Baweja's film. Since I had combination dates with Aftab Shivdasani, Zayed Khan and Sanjay Suri, I couldn't fly off for even a day...

"Then, earlier this month I missed taking 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara' to the film festival in Pakistan. This time I wasn't going to miss Dubai for the world."

The actress is on the verge of signing two new films with director Onirban and Anurag Basu.

"Though I've in principle said yes to both, it's a little premature to announce them as yet. Anurag Basu and his writer Sanjeev Dutta are both very sweet and will be good to work with.

"But I need to resolve a couple of issues before I say a final yes...In the meanwhile, Dubai here I come."

Director Barua seems content with the inroads his first Hindi film "Maine..." has made.

"Actually I never expected a Gandhian film to go so far. It has been screened in Pakistan and now Dubai. In fact, I think it made far more money than I expected it to."

Now Barua is ready with his second Hindi film "The Butterfly Chase" for a company called 7even Entertainment.

"I'm glad I'm no longer known as a regional filmmaker," he says.

Adds Urmila, "Jahnu Bhai is much too self-effacing. On his set a guest had to look three times to know that the man sitting quietly in the corner was the director. Filmmakers from non-Hindi areas need to be far more assertive of their talents."

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Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara