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A. VISHNU VARDNI
The multilingual youth artiste who because famous in 2020 for his Magic Cup video, a parody on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's circuit breaker address, has debuted in a Singapore-made movie - Reunion Dinner.
Dharmadasa D Dharamahsena (Das) is a 31-year-old Indian social media influencer who has worked with Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) and acted in several Vasantham and Channel 8 dramas.
For NOC, he impersonated Mr Lee in a fun video that saw him speak in four languages.
The video caught Mr Lee's attention, and the Prime Minister messaged the artiste saying that he enjoyed watching it.
Das has the unique ability to speak fluently in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
His creative works have gained him fame and led to director Ong Kuo Sin casting him in Reunion Dinner.
The film, presented by Clover Films and iQiyi, opened in cinemas on Jan 20 as the first local film of 2022.
It is a romance-comedy that follows the misadventures of a man who hires actors to be his family members and attend a reunion dinner.
Das, one of the few Indians who have entered the Singapore film industry recently, plays the character AK in the film.
He found filming a comfortable experience despite his initial fears about working with experienced and accomplished artistes. He quickly built a good rapport with the co-actors.
"The aspect I appreciate most about this film is the lack of slapstick comedy as well as humour that is derogatory. There was natural, light-hearted humour in the script," he said.
"I was not included in this film just because I am an Indian. My character AK was also not forcefully fitted into the plot. I am a comedian who can speak fluent Chinese and happens to be Indian. I am happy I was chosen for this role based on my abilities.
"The characterisation of AK does not harbour any stereotypes. This film also promotes a deeper understanding on the importance of family bonds, which I feel is highly relevant to people of all stripes."
He added that the film does not have scenes, dialogues or screenplay elements targeted at a particular section of society and it is made for all to enjoy and appreciate.
From the film, Das also gleaned several cultural lessons. For instance, he now knows that certain Chinese New Year practices are unique to Chinese Singaporeans.
He hopes the film will create more cultural appreciation among Singaporeans as they largely prefer to consume international content and doubt the quality of homemade productions.
"We should all encourage our local artistes and works," he said. "Spending some money and time on watching local films at the theatres once in a while will go a long way.
"I hope that along with Reunion Dinner, upcoming local movies like Ah Girls Go Army will give everyone the opportunity to support local movies. There needs to be more awareness about our industry and artistes."
