Celebrity spotting is on for Durbanites as the glamorous and gorgeous Minnie Dlamini, Kajal Bagwandeen-Singh and Tumi Morake are in Durban, as the trio have started filming new feature film, The Honeymoon, in and around the city.
Directed by Bianca Isaac, filming started this week for the comedy-adventure feature film with the trio of SA’s favourite actresses.
It unwraps the story of three friends in a dilemma. One of them is dumped the night before her wedding and the three best friends, played by Dlamini, Bagwandeen-Singh and Morake, turn the would-be honeymoon into a wild time in paradise.
Filming will take place in Durban and Zanzibar and, having started this week, the three stars spoke to IOS about the fun and hard work of the movie business and The Honeymoon, which will be released next year.
For Dlamini, who is already well known for some of SA’s best television shows such as Generations, The Wild and Rockville, this will be her first feature film.
“I’m having the time of my life. It feels so good to be acting again and to finally act in a feature film is definitely something I’ve been dying to do for a really long time,” said Dlamini.
Her movie character is Lu, who is married with two kids and stuck in a rut.
“She’s someone I think we can all relate to. We’ve all felt stuck in some way in our lives and it’s about how we get ourselves out of it before it’s too late,” she said.
Durban’s own Kajal Bagwandeen-Singh, who has acting credits in Jozi, For Better For Worse and 3 Days To Go, said she was delighted to be filming on home turf.
“Durban is underrated and I can’t wait for more people to use it as a location. We truly do have so much to offer so it’s safe to say I’m very excited to be filming in my hometown and also to be showing it off to the world.”
About being on the set with Dlamini and Morake, she added: “The energy of the combined lead cast and the director is so important. As an actor, you want the ensemble to work because you are spending so much time and building a story with them.
“When we got together for the first time at our table read, I was pleasantly surprised at how well we all got along, let alone the wonderful energy between us, including Bianca.
“There’s nothing like working together with women who are passionate and compassionate human beings. Minnie and I are new moms and Tumi is a mom of three, so outside our wonderful set moments, we have some beautiful chats and bonding time discussing our journeys as mothers as well as women in this industry.”
Bagwandeen-Singh plays the role of Kat, who is a “sassy fashion designer who wears her heart on her sleeve”.
Morake said: “Oh my goodness! I feel like I am back in my happy place. Lots of laughter, lots of playing and learning new stuff from our director. This is exactly what I need after a trying year.”
She’s also happy to put in the work on set, saying: “It is hard work because when you play, it is focused play, everything works to feed the film. The glam is a stolen selfie in between scenes.”
She was not about to reveal her character’s name, saying “my character is a child trapped in a grown woman’s body, hahaha. Yes, in fact her inner child needs a timeout”.
Figjam Entertainment Isaac director, who also wrote the film and is supported by producer, Gregory Mthanji, said: “It has been an interesting challenge due to Covid, with the lack of physical interaction during soft-prep with HODs. Film-making is a physical, organic process that requires the director to see, touch and hear her environment. But when the lockdown eased, there was opportunity to interact.
“The production team has shown the power of teamwork and I love that the most amazing female squad came together to make this a reality,” said Isaac.
The Independent on Saturday