Annalakshmi’s perseverance pays off
FROM a struggling single mom who worked local gigs in the community, to making the semi-finals in one of the country’s biggest talent shows and performing in this month’s King and Queens of Comedy, Anasia Govender has proven that with the right mindset and hard work, the world becomes your oyster.
Now with her first “one woman show” set for Johannesburg, Govender, better known as Annalakshmi, is set to take her career one step further.
For one night only, Govender will take to the stage at Theatre of Marcellus at Emperors Palace for the musical comedy, Annalakshmi’s African Adventure.
The show centres around a North Indian woman, who finds refuge in South Africa, away from her dreaded mother-in-law. Speaking about the show, Govender said: “I play a South Indian woman, who falls in love with a North Indian man. She is later rejected by her mother-in-law but eventually thinks of a plan to get away from her. It’s also about my experiences in SA and the political Bollywood-style love story between JZ (Jacob Zuma) and the Guptas.”
She said she was grateful to those who supported her. “When you’re sitting on the other side of the spectrum, you tend to realise how important that support is.”
Her reason, she said, for choosing Johannesburg for her upcoming show over Durban was simple. “I’ve been doing a lot of my shows in Durban and haven’t been exposed as much in Joburg. So I want to see how I’m received there,” said Govender, who had worked with local comedic legends, including Carvin Goldstone, Joey Rasdien and Marc Lottering.
Looking back over the years, she believes her parents played a pivotal role in her success.
They taught her respect, confidence and humility, she said.
“They believed in me from the start. My parents were amazing. I am everything I am because of them.”
Born in Chatsworth and raised in Phoenix, Govender is the eldest of four girls.
“My father was a huge motivation for me. He was Hindi-speaking and married a Telugu-speaking woman, which was outside his caste, and this was taboo at the time. He was a builder by trade and had the utmost respect for anyone he met. He taught us to have the same respect for people across the board.”
It was her mother, she added, who had recognised her talent. “She pushed me to perform at family functions and community events.”
At age 11, Govender began refining her craft.
“I joined the Sathya Sai organisation and had my first singing performance there. From then, I began receiving opportunities to perform.”
She later began to pave out a clear path to where she wanted to go in her career and was set to study drama at university when her life took an unexpected turn.
“I had everything going for me. I knew what I wanted to do and when I was going to do it. I knew I was made for great things and studying drama was going to take me there.
“But I found out I was pregnant, and my whole world shifted. From trying to complete my studies, carrying my child, dealing with my parents and leaving the father of my child in a matter of months felt like the worst thing at the time.
“I thought I was going to be an academy award winning actress but was a 19-year-old single mom to a six-month-old baby, who I had named Kamz. I struggled.”
To support herself and her newborn, Govender was left with no choice but to find a job.
“My first job was in an office. I then became a debtors clerk in 1996.”
She eventually found love and married her now husband in 1998 with whom she has two children Virusha, 16, and Yuveshan, 12.
In 2009, Govender became a teacher at the Sathya Sai School in Bayview but was retrenched two years later.
Instead of returning to an office job, she decided to pursue her passion for entertaining people.
“I wanted to do it my way and advertised on Gumtree. I began performing comedy skits and playing with different accents at birthday parties, anniversaries and other events.”
After a while, Govender realised that most people related better to her “India-Indian” accent and she began growing a brand.
While at a débutantes ball at a Shallcross school in 2014, her new lease on life began.
“I had forgotten my backing track and decided to just wing it. I began to tell real-life stories of some of my Indian friends, and people loved it. It was definitely a start to something new for me.”
Govender, who is also the chef and owner of the Indian restaurant Chilli Kadhai on North Coast Road, said in April 2015 she got thinking about doing a buffet evening with comedy shows.
During that year, she hosted 18 shows at the restaurant.
“I used to cook, shower at my sister’s house in Sydenham and host up to 50 people. My son, Kamz, (Kamalan Govender) was my opening act.”
Word spread and, before long, people were queuing at her door for authentic meals and a show.
She then had the opportunity to perform at her first “open mic” in July 2015 in Glenwood and later posted a video advertising her restaurant with a parody of Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud. It went viral.
“We never thought we would get the response we did. Hundreds of people came to the restaurant, not only from Durban but from different parts of the world.”
The video, added Govender, gave birth to her curry paste last December.
Asked what was next in the pipeline, after the Joburg show, she said nothing was set in stone, but she had a feeling something big was about to happen.
Her advice to others that share a similar story?
“Whether you are a teenager or a working mother, time does not exist in the larger context of the world. Don’t allow time to paralyse you and to imprison you. Always believe that something good is going to happen. Expect the best, and you will get the best. There’s no rule book. Throw it out the window. Live like it’s your last day. And lastly, be authentic. Don’t copy someone else. Nobody wants a copycat.”
Annalakshmi’s African Adventure will be held at Emperors Palace on March 24. Bookings via Computicket.