An opportunity to review the reviewer is great fun. Talented Daisy Irani Subaiah who does The Review for Connected to India afforded this opportunity in her role as Rajnee Verma in brand new mini-series ‘My Lockdown Wedding’.
The effervescent television actress, director and producer from Singapore, whose drama series Under One Roof, is running on Netflix, is busy working across all mediums. From Being Mrs. Gandhi on stage; to the recent series Coffee Shots – the Cafe that rids you of COVID-19 blues; to The Review for Connected to India; to the brand new mini-series ‘My Lockdown Wedding’ she is unstoppable.
This mini-series, that marries Bollywood and Singlish, is set in a topical COVID-19 situation.
Newly minted citizen of Singapore, experienced producer and director Mike Harvey has directed this 4 part mini-series that's free to view and available worldwide on Mediacorp’s mewatch.sg, partnering another locally based advertising industry maestro, Siddhartha Aneja.
With dozens of international awards to his credit, Harvey who got into Ad film production straight after graduating from film school is one of the more decorated directors/producers in the region.
Harvey speaks about the change when switching from ads to films, “Directing and writing this series was totally a different experience from what I am used to, which is making Ad films and music videos”.
“Although both formats have their own challenges, creating something like this takes a lot more time, especially when you are working on a very tight budget and schedule”, he adds.
“I was fortunate to have an efficient team to back me up and also because of the Lockdown I could totally focus on this one project”, he concludes.
Daisy and her husband Subin Subaiah, prolific writer (Being Mrs Gandhi among others) and actor, as Mrs. and Mr. Randeep Verma play the role of an affluent Indian origin family who have planned for a big fat Indian wedding for their only son Rajan with 500 ‘close’ friends and ‘relatives’, a Bhangra troupe, wedding band, and the family’s spiritual guru.
Shrey Bhargava as Rajan Verma is trapped in an unforeseen situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and his predicament justifies his histrionics.
Singaporeans and diaspora in Singapore will definitely relate to this Indian family’s lingo and the references to Crazy Rich Asians and Monsoon Weddings.
Daisy as the concerned mom, aunt and wife emotes fluidly as does Subin with both of them ‘bollywooding’, though not all the time.
Popular local actors Koh Chieng Mun as Liz Tan and Henry Heng as Richard Tan on the other hand are the bride’s traditional Chinese parents who believe in austerity and balance.
Vanessa Vanderstraaten as Kelly Tan makes up the trio who form the traditional Chinese family who evoke nostalgic memories of erstwhile Channel 5 English dramas.
The plot begins when the whole world goes into lockdown and COVID-19 puts paid to the dream wedding for both families.
The story takes us on a journey through the COVID-19 times in Singapore when at first flights started getting canceled and masks were still not a must-have. Soon canned goods and food items were flying off the shelves in supermarkets which also turned into battlefields over toilet paper.
Bounded by love, but divided by differences – was this a stupid decision, to get married? Will the time difference, family expectations, cultural differences and internet connections take a toll on Rajan and Kelly’s relationship? Watch ‘My Lockdown Wedding’ to find out.