A new year heralds a sense of renewal! It’s a time to reset your sights on the future, chase even bigger dreams, redefine your goals and embrace the changes it brings with a renewed sense of purpose. As we step into 2025, it ushers in the promise of new tidings, fresh starts, a new you and a new us as we at Filmfare Middle East amp up further to bring you stories that inspire, narratives of trailblazers, content that celebrates both the extraordinary and the everyday, deliver insightful features, exclusive interviews, and captivating visuals that resonate with your aspirations. So, here’s to new beginnings and the endless possibilities 2025 promises to bring!
We’re thrilled to kick off 2025 by announcing that nominations are now open for the much-anticipated 4th edition of Filmfare Middle East Most Influential Women 2025. A prestigious event that celebrates the achievements of extraordinary women who have made significant contributions across various fields and honours the power, the passion, the talent of women who are shaping the future and believe in not just breaking the glass ceiling but shattering it with their courage and resilience. The stage is set for another remarkable event and we invite all you women achievers to step into the spotlight. So, if you are someone who is all of the above or know a woman who is one, log onto our website and nominate today!
Talking about spotlight, all eyes are on our January Cover Star Varun Dhawan! The dynamic all-rounder entertainer has been ruling the screens and hearts with equal ease. Having proven his acting chops as well as showcased his natural flair for all things entertainment, the actor continues to raise the bar at the Box Office with each outing. Making an impactful web-debut in Citadel: Honey Bunny and then stunning audiences with his power-packed performance in Atlee’s mass entertainer Baby John, on the personal front too he added another beautiful chapter to his life as he embraced fatherhood welcoming his adorable daughter Lara with wife Natasha Dalal. And now kicking off 2025 with a bang, the actor takes center stage as we dive into his transformation from a versatile hero to a full-fledged action star. I met Varun in Dubai and in our candid tete-a-tete, he shared his excitement about balancing work and fatherhood and opened up on his determination to pushing boundaries and raising the stakes at the box office. Flip on the pages to read our exclusive Cover Story with this charismatic star.
Varun, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kriti Sanon, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Ananya Panday… OTT has increasingly been luring some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry with its impactful content and fearless storytelling. And celebrating the best of the best on the digital platforms was the Danube Properties Filmfare OTT Awards 2024 that honoured artistic and technical excellence across 49 categories. Congratulations and kudos to Rohit Gopakumar, the brilliant wordsmith Jitesh Pillaai and Team Filmfare for pulling off yet another super-successful awards event. As expected, the 5th edition was packed with glamour and talent as the most prolific names on the OTT graced the evening, cheered on each other relentlessly and vied to take home the much-coveted ‘Black Lady’! Check out the winners and highlights of the star-studded night in the pages ahead.
Also in this power-packed issue, are our exclusive interviews with the music icon Robbie Williams, the gorgeous Kriti Sanon and the stunning Madhuri Dixit. Furthermore, do not miss the highlights of some of the most happening events that rocked Dubai – From legends Asha Bhosle and Sonu Nigam creating magic on stage to Bryan Adams wowing music-lovers at his concert, from the grand birthday bash of Founder and Chairman of Danube Group Mr Rizwan Sajan hosted by Rajan Lal to Sonu Sood and Honey Singh attending the premiere of their film Fateh… Varun Dhawan to Bobby Deol in the city… Dubai was buzzing and how, check it all out in the Dubaiscope segment ahead!
And on this exciting note, happy reading folks and may this new year be the best one yet – Own it, rock it!