Meren Reddy nets big laughs as the lead in the rib-tickling comedy ‘Lucky Fish'

IOL News

3 days ago

Mayuri Naidu, Meren Reddy and Mekaila Mathys in a scene from the feel-good comedy, 'Lucky Fish'.
Image: Supplied
I knew of Meren Reddy from his 'City Ses'la' work as an executive producer and actor long before I met him at the launch of SABC3's 'High Rollers'.
While unpacking the latter show, he revealed his innovative thinking as a creative and his ardent passion for storytelling.
Fast forward several years, post the disruptive Covid-19 pandemic, it was awesome to reach out to Reddy again, this time to chat about 'Lucky Fish', a comedy feature where he wears the hats of co-writer with Craig Gardner, executive producer, as well as the film's lead, Sanjay Pillay.
Reddy's admirable candour during our conversation was humbling, and I appreciated the trust he placed in me. Our several off-the-record deviations will, of course, remain confidential.
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The film's title is a tribute to the canned fish, which is deeply ingrained in both Indian and coloured culinary traditions.
The feel-good comedy centres on a small-town sardine-canning company owner, facing financial troubles, who sponsors a beauty pageant as a publicity stunt. He is joined by his twin sister, Samantha (Mayuri Naidu) and a motley group of beauty queen hopefuls.
On how 'Lucky Fish' came to fruition, Reddy took me back to where it all began.
He said: This is gonna be a long rambling, but I think, a very significant thing to say, Craig Gardner, who is a writer-director who created 'Suburban Bliss', and the creator of 'City Ses'la', coming together to write a movie. I'm just giving you a context of the two brains behind it.'
'So around 2006, I didn't know who Craig was (at the time), he did a pilot called 'Miss Pilchards' with Stephen Francis, who is the cartoonist for 'Madam & Eve', for M-Net that is completely different to what the movie is now. It was sort of a mockumentary at that point, and it was going to be a television show.'
After getting to work with Gardner, who directed e.tv's 'Scandal' circa 2009 - 2010, where Reddy had a few acting stints, they got to get to know each other better and appreciated each other's sense of humour.
Fast forward to 2017, Gardner reached out to Reddy, asking him to take a look at the pilot as they were offered to buy the rights back.
Reddy shared: 'And this thing was like two white people who were trying to put on a pageant, and, at one point, Leon Schuster was involved in the pilot, and it was a mess. No offence to Craig, but the core of it was not necessarily available to me.
'But the one thing that I did say to him was, you have no idea how significant tinfish is to an Indian community. So we are going to take this thing now if we go into a deal together and write this thing, and I'm going to drive this thing forward. We're going to adjust the entire thing, and the guy who owns a tinfish company is going to be the focus of the thing.
'He was like, great. And so it was from that that this whole thing was born. So we've written the thing between 2017 and 2024. It took seven years to get there. It's not because we're incapable writers. It was because nobody wanted to give us the money. Like, you know, you get to 2019, 2020, Covid hits.'
Meren Reddy wears the hat of co-writer, actor and executive producer on 'Lucky Fish'.
Image: Supplied
Despite making a strong case around there being a market for this film, using the encouraging numbers of 'The Kandasamys', 'Material', 'Kings of Mulberry Street and 'Three Days to Go' as examples, it was difficult to get someone to back the project.
Reddy admitted it was like 'yelling into thunder'.
Fortunately, a woman higher up on the ladder at a prominent local streaming platform saw the potential of the film. However, she was overruled by her peers.
When she moved to an international streaming platform, she revisited their earlier conversation and managed to get a license agreement before the company pulled out of SA.
Reddy expressed his gratitude to the individual, whom he felt best not to name, acknowledging her crucial role in bringing the film to fruition.
During his five-week residency at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles last year, he also held online meetings to help finalise the cast in the movie, which is directed by Joshua Rous.
Interestingly, he never planned on playing the lead.
Reddy recalled: 'I wrote the movie for another actor. But they (the streaming platform) got a hold of my IMDB profile and were pushing for me to play the lead, and I kept trying to convince them that I had written it for somebody else.
'The last time I acted was in 'Trackers' in 2019.'
To avoid jeopardising the project, he agreed and rewrote the script as he couldn't pull off a 'really authentic thick Indian accent'.
While he always had Naidu in mind to play his sister, he sang the praises of casting director Susan Rossouw, who helped find an amazing ensemble cast.
'It wasn't just the casting brief that she sent out. She started finding people in the community, people who aren't represented, specifically from the Durban cast members. And we found some gems that are kind of on the fringes of our industry, but not like front and centre,' he added.
Of course, bagging industry heavyweights Jailoshini Naidoo (Arusha Budhoo) and Jack Devnarain (Melvin Moodley) were a coup.
That this film was shot in Phoenix was a bit deal for them, too, as it is unprecedented for homegrown offerings.
Overall, Reddy says the film will be enjoyed by a crossover audience.
At the moment, he has a few projects on the go, some of which are partnerships with his production house, Ghost Sheep Productions.
He has also been approached to write 'Disaster Holiday 2' for Burnt Onion Productions.
A sharp mind and disruptive creative, Reddy is gung-ho about leaving indelible footprints with an upcoming international venture.
∎ 'Lucky Fish' is showing at cinemas nationwide.