Doctor, author – and soon to be a film star
DURBAN-born medical doctor and author Nirvadha Singh is set to debut in a new short film next year.
Singh, who has a social media presence of more than one million followers worldwide and was previously conferred with the title Ambassador of World Peace in India in 2013, said she felt “blessed” to feature in the yet-to-be-titled film.
“I feel blessed by our Creator to have a scientific mind as a doctor and yet a creative side as a writer and now actress. Nothing in life has been served to me on a golden platter. I’ve worked hard to accomplish many of the achievements I’ve attained… In the same way, I hope to inspire people, especially the youth and women, to never give up on their dreams,” said Singh.
She took acting classes with US-born actress Angela Valverde-Riekert, who owns the OCA (On Camera Acting) Studio in Durban.
“Angela is my coach and such a talented woman, who has an in-depth understanding of Hollywood. So no doubt we had the best coaching throughout,” said Singh, who studied scriptwriting and attended acting
classes. Through these, she met her fellow cast members, who co-wrote the script, which features more than 13 characters for the short film.
It was then that their simple script became a full production. Executive producer Valverde-Riekert said: “I was drawn to this script because it’s different. Every now and again you meet really talented people like Nirvadha and you want to help them grow.
“This class project has now turned into a short film and hopefully, with enough support, we can get it into next year’s Durban Film Festival and then festivals worldwide.”
A production assistant, Adhir Mungroo, who worked on projects for movie producer Anant Singh, will make his directional debut.
The 38-year-old contributed to Oscar-award-winning movies, including Yesterday, Nelson Mandela’s biopic Long Walk to Freedom, Bridget Moynahan’s Prey, Hilary Swank’s Red Dust, Dollars and White Pipes, Mama Jack, Mr Bones 2 and Racing Stripes. He also worked with many A-list Hollywood actors such as Hillary Swank, Grammy Award winner Quincy Jones and Peter Weller (Robocop).
“I was approached by Angela
of OCA, who I’d worked with previously on a cinema ad campaign,” Mungroo said.
“When I read the synopsis, it immediately attracted me. I liked the fact that a vast array of characters from various backgrounds were represented, which is quite befitting our rainbow nation. The story had a lot of entertainment value and I felt that audiences would connect with it.”
He’ll be working alongside actor Alex Largatzis, debuting as assistant director on the project. Mungroo said that due to budget constraints the cast and crew pooled their resources to create the short film with a high standard. The scenes are shot in an authentic environment with lots of natural lighting in a new creative “raw” style.
“The performances have
been rehearsed a number of times, thus allowing us to do much longer takes.
These factors combined enable us to shoot on a very tight budget.”
The production, which is being filmed at The Pavillion Hotel in Durban, centres around a self-proclaimed professor (Sharma), played by the main actor, Nishal Singh.
Professor Sharma decides to solve the mystery of a missing rare blue diamond, but the investigation is foiled by a strange hotel couple as checkout time nears.
“Playing a part in this mystery taught me a lot. The character of the professor is so arrogant and different to who I am in real life that I’ve had to adjust and come out of my shell, so to speak,” said Nishal, 43.