Lara Dutta’s harrowing escape from Dubai with daughter amid missile strikes and sonic booms

Bollywood actor Lara Dutta, who was stranded in Dubai due to the ongoing Israel–Iran conflict, has safely returned to Mumbai with her 14-year-old daughter Saira. The actor had earlier shared a video on social media describing the anxiety of being caught in the middle of escalating tensions in the Middle East. In an interview, Lara opened up about the circumstances that led her to share the emotional video and the frightening journey she undertook to return to India with her daughter. many Indians were stranded in the UAE amid US, Israel and Iran conflict that has left the entire Middle East in a state of unrest. However, many Indians including R Madhavan, Vivek Oberoi and Lara — who now called the UAE their home — have praised the peparedness of the country in the face of attacks.
Lara, her daughter Saira, and husband Mahesh Bhupathi have been living in Dubai for the past three years. They had moved there to support Saira’s tennis training with an elite performance coach based in the UAE.
Why Lara Dutta shared the video
In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Lara admitted that she usually avoids sharing such videos publicly because she does not want to create panic. However, she said the uncertainty of the situation led her to record and post it.
“I think the reason for me to do that video, I’m being really honest. I was going to undertake, for me, what I felt was going to be quite a dangerous journey back with my daughter alone. And we didn’t really know what was going to be on the other side of that because it was really uncertain times. Nobody has ever seen something like this in the UAE. And I think the reason that I wanted to put it out was just a 1% thought in my head that if this could possibly be the last thing that ever goes out.”

 
‘Booms that sound like sonic booms’
She explained that she and her daughter happened to be alone in Dubai when the conflict escalated, as her husband, former tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi, was in London for work.
“So it just happened that Saira and I were on our own in Dubai at that time because Mahesh was away in London when this war broke out and though everybody had an inkling that there is a possibility of something happening until the time comes when you have bombs being intercepted right overhead and you hear these booms that sound like sonic booms. It feels like far, it doesn’t feel like it’s a close reality. It feels like it may or may not happen. But, you know, there are uncertain times.”
ALSO READ: Priyadarshan reacts to Paresh Rawal saying Hera Pheri role ‘choked’ his career: ‘He jumped for it; promised to put his soul in it’Story continues below this ad
The risky journey back to India
Eventually, Lara and her daughter decided to leave Dubai and take a SpiceJet flight departing from Fujairah. “We chose to take a Spice Jet flight that was actually flying out of Fujairah, which meant getting on the roads because we hadn’t left the house. We had these alerts going off on our phones every couple of hours whenever missiles were being intercepted.”
She said their home was located roughly 10 kilometres from the Jebel Ali port area, where explosions and interceptions were frequently heard.
“We live is just about 10 kilometers away from the Jabal Ali Port, which was being literally bombed and hammered every day. So you felt the reverberations of every time, you know, even if there was an interception or drone debris were kind of hitting the ground, you could feel these reverberations very, very strongly. So we decided to, you know, kind of take that chance.”
“So we got in a car and drove two hours on the roads to Fujairah. And Fujairah had been bombed just the day earlier… So it was scary. I’m not going to lie about it. I was joking with my co-star Akshay that I felt like I was part of Airlift 2.”Story continues below this ad
The wait at the airport, she recalled, was equally tense as several flights were being cancelled.
“Even at the airport you could hear these booms. You were just hoping that nothing was struck.”
Lara also praised the airline crew for their swift evacuation process.
“I would say hats off to our airlines as well with Spicejet. There were very quick turnarounds. The aircrafts were landing, loading passengers within about 15 minutes, and taking off immediately. None of the crew even deboarded.”Story continues below this ad
She described the chilling sight they witnessed while taking off.
“As we were taking off, we could see these huge orange balls of fire in the dance, which was still the fire burning from the bombing that had taken place.”
How the conflict affected her daughter
The tense situation also took a toll on her daughter Saira, who tried to cope with the fear in her own way. She revealed that Saira created a small safe corner for herself at home.
“Saira actually created a little space for herself underneath the staircase in the house. She had a sleeping bag and pillows there. Every time the alerts went off, that’s where we would go and sit until it felt safe again.”Story continues below this ad
The video that Lara had posted from Dubai
Earlier, Lara had shared a video from Dubai explaining the stressful situation around her. She said the tensions escalated suddenly while she was filming at a studio.
“We ran out of the studio and saw missiles being intercepted in the sky. I can’t lie… it’s been stressful for the past few days. It’s been scary. There are jets flying overhead, lots of loud booms.”
The conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate, with Iran launching missile and drone attacks across the region following joint strikes the United States and Israel on Iranian targets in late February.