TAKES, retakes, clapperboard clicks, actors’ adrenaline and the production crew pulling it all into cue was the sneak-peek team Sunday Tribune got, when filming for The Cane Cutter movie began in Durban on Wednesday.
It’s a modern day love story with intertwined themes that hark back to the days of Indian indentured labourers’ struggle to settle in South Africa.
The movie is due for release next year.
While Wednesday was an “emotional experience” for the movie's mastermind-producers Shan Moodley and Dr Eubulus Timothy (director) - as their mission to tell the stories of the South African Indian tribe gathered momentum, actress Shika Maharaj lapped up the occasion.
“I was so amped to finally get to that step. It's been an incredible road to getting there. Since the auditions we have been practising and preparing.”
On the drive to the set for her movie debut, Maharaj, 40, was in a state of disbelief. “I said to myself, I’m actually going to shoot a movie.”
Apart from acting roles in school concerts, Maharaj’s hopes of featuring on the silver screen have always remained subliminal.
That’s until she heard East Coast Radio’s shout out for The Cane Cutter cast members.
“They had briefly described the story and I thought it would be a fun opportunity. So I auditioned.”
Maharaj was in the running for the lead role (Amisha) during the auditions run via ECR, but that eventually went to Doctor Kajal Lutchminarain.
Instead, she got another prominent character, Priya, Amisha’s best friend.
“I didn’t think I would come this far. It was never about getting the lead but the process and the whole experience.”
Once Maharaj, who works as a key account manager for a marketing company, became familiar with the script she realised she was “perfect” for Priya’s role.
“She (Priya) is an independent businesswoman, who has to make hard decisions and balance what her heart wants against family and society’s expectations.
“Priya is a free spirit and loud, that’s very much who I am,” Maharaj said.
Having landed the movie role, Maharaj hopes others would follow her example, move outside of their comfort zones and do something different.
In spite of new found fame since landing the role, Maharaj maintained she was a private person.
Maharaj is grateful to Timothy and Moodley for “literally holding our hands through this whole process” and the workshops they held, which helped to shape their acting skills.
She loves how the cast and crew have quickly gelled like a family.
“Everyone has day jobs and families so we have been meeting whenever we can because of our common focus to make a successful movie…and we are having an absolute blast getting there.”
Maharaj grew up in Greytown, but attended varsity and lived in Pietermaritzburg, got a BCom honours degree in marketing management and moved to Durban a few years ago.
The youngest of four siblings in a close-knit family, regards her young son as the most precious human in the world.
She said landing the role of Priya, post the Covid-19 pandemic, floods and looting, had heIped her get a better perspective on life.
“It has opened up a whole new world and ignited a passion that I perhaps forgot about,” she said.
Timothy said when they saw Maharaj, they saw something different in her.
“We offered her the part of Priya and she said, oh my God this is me. She has brought so much energy, love and excitement to this set.”
He said the movie presented an opportunity to tell the story of South African Indians as a tribe in the country.
“Who we are, how we got here and all the things we have achieved and our failures. We tell the story as is with no filters and the movie will provide future generations with a record of who we are.”
With the movie being low-budget, he estimated filming to last about three weeks.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE