What’s On details movies filmed in Abu Dhabi, after Baby, released this week and starring Akshay Kumar, followed Star Wars and Furious 7.

Hot on the heels of the latest ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Fast And The Furious’ movies filming in the capital, another international film released this week also showcases the capital city on the big screen.

Bollywood film ‘Baby’, starring action hero Akshay Kumar, is showing in UAE cinemas this week and showcases the Emirate several times, particularly in the second half of the film. The Indian espionage action thriller shot scenes in the capital in 2013 and is just one of many blockbusters to take advantage of the rebates offered by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission for filming on location.

And it seems that the star of the show isn’t ready to stop filming in the capital just yet. “I would like to announce that I will be returning to film another project in May 2015,” said Kumar. The thriller, titled Airlift, will focus on the story of evacuating Indians living in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion.

For residents eager to spot the city in upcoming Hollywood flicks, a very short teaser-trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted on YouTube in November. Filmed in Abu Dhabi in May last year, fans will have to satisfy themselves with an opening shot panning across the red deserts of the Western Region – or is it a glimpse of the famed planet of Tatooine? The film will be released in December 2015.

Petrol heads can glimpse sneak peeks of the Corniche skyline, Emirates Palace and rolling deserts in the trailer for Furious 7, the seventh edition of the Fast and Furious series, which will hit cinemas in April.

Noura Al Kaabi, Chief Executive Officer at twofour54, added: “Abu Dhabi is fast becoming the new hotspot for worldwide filmmaking. Apart from the diverse mix of locales that the emirate provides, unique initiatives such as the 30 per cent rebate on all production projects filmed in the emirate serve as attractive incentives for filmmakers.”

Other major international film and TV productions that filmed in the Emirate last year included ‘Deliver Us From Evil,’ BBC’s ‘Top Gear’, Clacket Productions hit Syrian Drama ‘Al Ikhwa’ (The Brothers), and ‘The Bold and The Beautiful’.

Paul Baker, Executive Director twofour54 Film & TV Services, added: “Over the past few years, twofour54 has made a concerted effort to expand and enhance the filmmaking infrastructure in Abu Dhabi including accessibility to skilled crew and a range of production-related support services.

“This combined with the Emirate’s range of amazing locations and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s 30 per cent production rebate has meant studios from Hollywood, Bollywood and the region have benefited from what Abu Dhabi has to offer. In the space of 12 months, twofour54 has been the UAE producer on films such as Disney’s ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, Universal’s ‘Fast and Furious 7’ and Bollywood features ‘Bang Bang’ and the recently released ‘Baby’ and will continue to drive both regional and international productions to Abu Dhabi.”