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Singapore's newest and first multilingual drama is set to see actors get their hands dirty in real hawker stalls selling popular fare such as roti prata, mee siam and more.
Most of the main cast who played hawkers in the drama titled 128 Circle, starting Monday on Channel 5 at 9.30pm, had to undergo a Basic Food Hygiene course, accredited by the National Environment Agency.
"It was a unique experience and a challenge. Though it was a very short and concise course, it was very interesting," said Ashwini Nambiar, who plays Rani in the drama.
It is the Vasantham actress' first English-speaking drama.
The 15-episode weekly drama, filmed at Ci Yuan Hawker Centre at Hougang Avenue 9, features an Indian family.
Chandra (Silvarajoo Prakasam), famous for his prata, runs his hawker stall with his wife Rani (Ashwini) and soon-to-wed son Arun (Jitenram Kiran Bala). The close family bond is challenged when Arun makes it clear that he does not want to take over his father's stall.
In the show, the cast will speak a mix of English and their native mother tongues - Mandarin, Malay or Tamil - to reflect the authenticity of local dialogues in situations where they naturally arise.
Jitenram, 28, told tabla! at the public launch of 128 Circle at Bedok Mall last Saturday: "While switching between speaking Tamil and English was relatively easy, the biggest challenge was making sure that the context of the scene stays true to the essence of the story.
"Certain things when translated may come across differently; it may have a different meaning, so it was important to be conscious of that."
His on-screen mother Ashwini agreed.
"In our daily lives, we tend to speak a mix of both English and our mother tongue - it's a very natural way of speaking, so that comes through in the drama," said the 43-year-old.
"I would say 30 per cent of our speech is in Tamil and it helped us to emote well. There's an identity to Tamil and I found that in the drama amid the English."
Jitenram and Ashwini have previously worked together in a Vasantham drama called Masala in 2016.
Shooting in a real hawker centre posed some challenges such as sound recording and crowd control but it provided a "very real vibe", said Jitenram.
"People were walking in, coming to order their food from the stalls and we had to tell them 'no, it's just a set-up'. It was hilarious at times but there was an authentic vibe because it's a real hawker centre."
The titular 128 Circle Food Centre is meant to sound like "want to eat", a reference to the Singaporean passion for food, combined with the metaphoric circle of community.
The multiracial cast includes veteran actors such as Duan Wei Ming and Silvarajoo, familiar faces Daren Tan, Jae Liew, Sharon Ismail, Ashwini and Jitenram and new faces such as Constance Lau and Chase Tan.
128 Circle executive producer and director Lee Thean-jeen said she could not think of a better way to showcase Singapore's multi-faceted society.
"128 Circle serves as the perfect backdrop to explore the colourful and rich interactions between different races in Singapore," she said.
"The stories that these hawkers tell are raw but very relatable to every Singaporean."
