REVOLUTIONS ARE OFTEN bloody. But sometimes reel can be more powerful than real. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is betting on just that to push Saudi Arabia into deep dark rooms to dream big. And, India, home to the biggest movie industry, is poised to project these dreams.
In April, Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan flew to Mumbai to get Bollywood on board. The Saudis want Indian actors to be Arabian knights in what is an Arab cinema spring. Badr, 37, has been handpicked by Salman to lead his ministry of culture. (He made headlines when it was revealed that he was the mysterious buyer of the Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, a portrait of Jesus, sold at $450 million.)
Badr met Shah Rukh Khan—the actor flew in from the Pathaan set in Spain just for the meeting—Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. He also met directors Kabir Khan, Raju Hirani and Ashutosh Gowarikar.
This story is from the December 25, 2022 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the December 25, 2022 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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