Glitzy skyscrapers, opulent cars, tonnes of shopping hotspots, and desert safaris—these are the things that are most common in every promotional tourism video featuring Dubai. But this time, get ready to witness a story of friendship and camaraderie between Anil Kapoor and Maniesh Paul, along with the above-mentioned things.
“Once Upon a Trip to Dubai,” a show directed by Satyajit Kadam, features Anil Kapoor and Maniesh Paul in their lead roles as themselves as they embark on a road trip across Dubai, exploring a lot of its aesthetic and cultural aspects. From the teaser trailer, we can see that Maniesh Paul is trying to convince Anil Kapoor to do a film with him. This story, along with the picturesque landscapes of Dubai, builds a novel narrative that goes beyond a typical travel show. The duo is seen taking the Edge Walk Dubai, followed by a stroll in Al Fahidi, competing in a game of padel, and exploring myriad other adventures across the city in this unscripted show. It concludes with a finale highlighted by a guest appearance from Emirati singer, Aqram Al Abri.
In a sea of promotional travel videos and shows featuring Dubai, a new one just feels unnecessary. However, for JioTV, a platform that offers its viewers free access to live sports, news, and much more, these kinds of shows serve as a major revenue source. Thousands of Indians flock to Dubai every year, and millions more aspire to do so. Shows like these appeal to this audience base massively. This in turn acts as a major money maker for both the sponsor, i.e., Dubai Tourism, and the streaming platform, JioTV. We, as audiences, sincerely hope that JioTV will reinvest this revenue into creating and providing its audiences with more amazing content. And, well, it’s always a pleasure to watch AK and Maniesh Paul on screen anyway.
“Once Upon a Trip to Dubai” is now streaming on JioTV.