Durban - Actress Carishma Basday’s new movie, Deep End, about a young Indian woman trying to find herself, has landed her in water, literally.
The film, directed by Eubulus Timothy, recently had its world premiere at the Durban International Film Festival at Suncoast, further cementing the KZN-born stunner’s career.
“Audiences must expect to be wowed, to laugh and cry and to hopefully leave inspired,” said Basday about the R4million budget coming-of-age surf love story.
She plays a Durban girl Sunita Patel, who defies her father to become a competitive surfer.
“Suni is a young Indian woman trying to find herself. She has spent most of her life trying to be a good Indian girl but now her heart and soul are calling for something more. She is a maverick and a trailblazer, forging her own path in the world.
“Suni is feisty and headstrong when it comes to things she believes in but she is also extremely kind and compassionate.”
The former Material actress and Mela presenter said preparing for the role was a challenge.
“I did a lot of work in the water learning to surf, trying to perfect certain elements. I had surfed only once or twice before but luckily, I am comfortable in the water and enjoy many water sports like free diving and my husband is an excellent surfer, so he was my coach.”
Yoga and strength training, she said, also helped her tone.
“I knew I was going to be in swimwear for a large part of the movie and I wanted to look and feel strong to project a positive body image.”
The leading man and her love interest was Greg Kriek, whom she described as amazing.
“I couldn’t have asked for better. We have a similar approach to acting and gave each other a lot to work with on set which was amazing.”
The movie was inspired by Timothy’s observation of surfing and fishing life in Durban.
He noticed that surfing was never aspirational for Indians and wanted to tell a story set in his community with characters that were relatable and universal.
“The issues they deal with are common and perennial - relationships, family and a sense of belonging. Deep End is about capturing the essence of culture and the extreme and sometimes dark side of surfing,” said Timothy.
Producer Jacintha de Nobrega said she was proud the movie was local with 80% of the crew and cast hailing from KZN.
The film had its fair amount of challenges though.
“We were shooting outside and in the ocean and Mother Nature has a mind of her own. However, we had such a great crew and cast who understood the challenges and were willing to work with us. They got the vision and backed me up 100%.
“It was fulfilling because you can’t beat seeing the product finally coming to life.”
Timothy who hails from Queen Street and co-produced, directed and wrote the script for the movie, said making it was no easy task due to the nature of the film.
“This is an extreme sports movie so it was a bit challenging especially when having to film underwater scenes. But the movie is a wonderful feel-good movie with loads of life lessons. It teaches you about family and life.”
Timothy said that while the movie premiered at BRICS and The Durban International Film Festival, they were in communication with theatres to screen Deep End across the country.
The cast includes Suraya-Rose Santos, Mahendra Raghunath, Robin Singh and Priya Lutchman.