Posts Tagged ‘Carishma Basday’

Deep End

Durban based film director Eubulus Timothy makes superb use of Durban Beachfront in his cross cultural surf drama Deep End starring Carishma Basday and Greg Kriek (The Recce).

Deep End centres on the story of an independently minded South African Indian young woman who is desperate to escape the clutches of her father played by TV personality turned actor Mahendra Raghunath as she embraces the surf culture of Durban which historically was only made up of young white people.

The competitive surfing world clashes with the arranged marriages family orientated world of a Hindi South African family as the main character Sunitha Patel takes to the waves in a bid to surf where she meets disgraced American surfer Corey Taylor who is lying low in South Africa. Corey is ironically played by South African actor Greg Kriek who was so brilliant in the South African Afrikaans war drama The Recce which has just won Best Foreign Feature Drama at the Idyllwild indie film festival in California – http://www.idyllwildcinemafest.com/awards-iifc-2019/

But back to Durban and what better way to show off the city’s miles of beautiful beaches and warm Indian Ocean, by making a surf film set in a city synonymous with some of the best surfing in the world.

Deep End is by no means a brilliant film and at times the storyline and script is slightly contrived but director Eubulus Timothy does the best he can with a film that not only shows off Durban’s delightful coastline but focuses on two very fascinating subcultures – the surfing community in Durban as well as Durban’s unique Indian cultural dynamic which is exemplified in the forbidden cross-cultural romance between Corey Taylor and Sunitha Patel.

There is also some comic moments thrown in to Deep End and the middle section of the film could have been edited more efficiently. Overall if you want to support South African cinema then Deep End is a fun filled cross cultural surfing movie which fantastically showcasing Durban as a surfing city with beautiful beaches and a superb vibe especially showcasing urban locations including North Beach and the hip Florida Road precinct in Morningside.

Deep End is a fun filled surf film and gets a film rating of 6.5 out of 10. Recommended viewing for some light home grown entertainment.

31 Million Reasons

Fantastic Heist Film

31 Million Reasons is part Jackie Brown part Slumdog Millionaire and is set in Durban, Chatsworth and the surrounding areas and focuses on the daring heist of R31 Million from a cash holding facility in Pinetown back in 1997 , dubbed the SBV Robbery. This sleek action heist film based on the book by Naresh Veeran of the same name, premiered at the Durban International Film Festival in 2011 and is brought to the big screen by the producing team of Ross Garland and Brad Logan who make up Roguestar Films responsible for such South African hits as Spud and Confessions of a Gambler.

31 Million Reasons directed by John Barker shows Durban in the opening sequence as hot, sexy and sleek as there is a wonderful opening shot of the palm-tree lined Esplanade, making Durban look its best in a truly Miami-style crime thriller with Barker playing homage to movies like Bad Boys and Jackie Brown. The film focuses mainly on the South African Indian community and follows the adventures of crooked cops in Chatsworth and a shady gangster in the city centre, who plan to rob a cash holding facility in Western Durban. The gang of thieves include Ronnie Gopal played by TV star’s Jack Devnarain, Reggie played by ECR deejay Neville Pillay and theatre personality Hamish Kyd playing Uncle.

There are 31 Million Reasons to go to the cinemas and see this fast paced and entertaining film, with great acting, slick directing and some wonderful Cameo’s by Ben Voss and Jason Fiddler whilst showing off Durban in a truly spicy, cosmopolitan, sometimes sleezy light as a sultry and vibrant African port city.

Like any heist films there are those that get away and those that are caught and while the thieves are trying desperately to conceal such a large amount of cash there is a sharp detective Sashwin played by Meren Reddy who solves the daring crime.

31 Million Reasons is a great testament to the blossoming and diverse South African film industry which will be a sure to attract a wide audience on commercial release and is thoroughly entertaining. Highly Recommended like a Durban Bunny Chow!