Archive for the ‘Dayakar Padayachee’ Category

Saloon

Director: Dayakar Padayachee

Cast: Mbale Mavimbela, Kwenzo Ngcobo, Yateen Dayaram, Caitlin Goulding, Preston Kyd

Please note this is a Short Film

Nominated for the Best Short Film at the Kosice International Monthly Film Festival and a nominee for the South African Indie Film Festival, Durban based film director of Shadow, Dayakar Padayachee has compressed a Western style bar sequence into an impressive 11 minute short film with a distinctly South African flavour.

The two main characters Nkanyamba played by Kwenzo Ngcobo and the Bar Lady wonderfully played by Mbale Mavimbela exchange a short and tense dialogue written in Zulu, in which Nkanyamba, a washed up hitman who yearns for redemption seeks a safe place to quench his thirst in a saloon where he meets the tenaciously deceptive Bar Lady who questions his previous life with an aim of uncovering his weaknesses.

As the Bar Lady and Nkanyamba ‘s conversation intensifies, the dialogue is looked on by three shady observers Set played by Preston Kyd, Lilith played by Caitlin Goulding and Rudra played by  Yateen Dayaram who also starred in Dayakar Padayachee’s groundbreaking feature film Shadow which won Best Original Song at the 2017 Durban Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

These observers sip strong drinks in dark shadows as they clutch their hidden weapons waiting for the moment when The Bar Lady confronts Nkamyamba and a Saloon style gunfight ensues. Just as the climax of the short film is reached, director Dayakar Padayachee cuts the action and leaves the ensuing bloodshed up to the audience’s imagination. Saloon is an impressive and atmospheric short film produced within a South African context which is severely lacking in good quality short films.

This is an innovative and original short film and the best part is that viewers can watch it on various mobile devices.

Highly recommended viewing and I do hope Saloon gets some more local and international recognition.

Saloon gets a Short Film Rating of 8 out of 10.

Concise and to the point. Catch this South African original short film now online.

Shadow

Director: Dayakar Padayachee

Cast: Kajal Bagwandeen, Zahir Bassa, Lihle Dhlomo, Geaneviv Pillay, Tazme Pillay, Joshua Milne, Yateen Dayaram, Ismail Ganie, Rizelle Januk

Please note Shadow is classified as a short film.

Shadow had its world premiered at the 7th Annual Durban Gay and Lesbian Film Festival http://www.dglff.org.za/ and  directed by first time Durban based Dayakar Padayachee who explores the psychological effects of guilt, bullying and hidden sexuality through a distinctly horror formula. Shadow is a short horror film created by Dayakar Padayachee and co-written with Edgar S. Rochev.

Shot on a limited budget and using local Durban locations, Padayachee’s first time film is an achievement in developing a story which includes the diversity of Durban’s population as well as giving ample opportunities for rising young actors.

Shadow focuses on a teenage schoolboy Tyrone Sharma whose parents are on the verge of a divorce, while he is grappling with his own sexuality and bullying at school. He confides most of his fears with his best friend.

Shadow also explores the hidden agendas and secrets that parents keep from their children while tapping into the angst ridden anxiety of a conflicted teenager whose life slowly unravels as he starts seeing a ghostly apparition which haunts his own inner turmoil resulting in a dramatic ending.

While the sound quality in Shadow needs to be improved, Shadow is an immense achievement for a first time director. Dayakar Padayachee’s achievement and his definite film sense should be applauded.

Padayachee’s passion for telling fascinating and diverse stories relevant to a contemporary 21^st century South African cinema going audiences will benefit the rapidly developing South African film industry as a whole and I look forward to seeing more films from this innovative director.

Shadow as a short film gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and generated phenomenal South African interest especially in Durban when the film was released online in late 2017.