A week or so before the film; Stars in Her Eyes’ public release Shane the Gamer (StG) caught up with the actors.

While most of the cast had been in some form of media beforehand, all were up and coming in to their respective acting spotlights – and this is what makes and gives the movie the magic that it has. The exception being the inclusion of Colin Mathura-Jeffree who plays the favourite son; Sanj. Colin for some years now has been in TV and Film, most notably cast as a Judge in New Zealand’s Next Top Model (aswell as a Guest Judge on America’s Next Top Model) and New Zealand’s Hottest Home Baker. Colin has also been a male Super Model within the Global Fashion Industry.

Leila Alexander plays the main character Anousha Patel, Negin Allahverdi-Gorji stars as Anousha’s older sister Lakshmi and Vinay Chinni who we see as Raj, Anousha’s love interest.

Fresh from having interviewed the Writer and Director of Stars in Her Eyes; Athina Tsoulis, we put a handful of questions to the group about their careers, aspirations and their take on the movie.

Leila Alexander stars as Anousha Patel

Shane: Hi everyone, please tell us at Shane the Gamer (StG) a little about your background and how you gained the role in the upcoming NZ / Bollywood film Stars in Her Eyes?

Negin: I am an Iranian born kiwi raised actor. I was only 3 years old when I came to New Zealand. I have never been back to my country of origin but I am still very Persian not only by blood but by heart. I speak fluent Farsi and eat Persian food. I practice my culture with a side of rugby. My agent told me about this role where I initially auditioned for Anousha. Athina suggested I audition for the role of Lakshmi instead which I successfully landed. Wise choice as Leila was amazing!

Leila: I was actually in the course of sitting my Law exams, when I was approached by a Choir Conductor, whose Choir I was in at the time, to audition for a film that required a lead Indian actress. So I thought to myself, why not give it a go. What’s the worst that can happen. I went along to the auditions and they called me back and called me back and called me back and then they said they wanted me to have the part. I initially said that I don’t want to do the film, as they were filming right across the core of my Law exam time but we came to an agreement and that’s how I got in to it. I hadn’t done much acting prior to doing the filming. I was very much new to film acting and my background is mainly in singing. I also have a degree in music and am a professional Opera singer and I’m also currently working in a Law firm and will be admitted [to the Bar] in a few months.

Colin: Well, I was baptized as a Model in 1991 at my first day at Auckland University. The industry was so new and they were wanting a new diverse look, the likes of Naomi Campbell were getting quite big and Miss India won Miss Universe . It was on Queen Street in Auckland that I was discovered and then I became an International Model. So I left University after a couple of years and and took it on full-time, traveled and everything and then I came back home and decided that I’d try acting and just by chance I scored a role as the the King of India on Xena Warrior Princess. I was no actor but I got this incredible role, riding horse back, saving Xena’s life, reincarnating in to a woman, just all of this madness. Then I continued Modeling and travelling. I was kept out of New Zealand. I didn’t really feel that we supported ethnic diversity in the Fashion, Film and Commercial industry. Particularly in the Commercial industry. And if they did do something commercially it was very cliche and I didn’t really like that I preferred more contemporary. I went to retire from my career, I felt it was time for a change. I didn’t really see a projection of where my career could go. On the day that I retired my Agent kept calling up and I thought to myself she knows that I am about to retire, that I’m out.

Finally she got a hold of me and she said you have to go to TV3 for a casting. I said no, I’m not really that interested and she said Colin just one more thing. Just go in there and do it. So I went in and did this casting, apparently I was the last one in and first one hired on New Zealand’s Next Top Model. Which I thought would be the next step of my journey anyway. Transitioning in to TV Presenting. It was incredible, I did three Seasons of that and I was a Guest Judge on America’s Next Top Model, I made two appearances on that and then I had the show Hottest Home Baker. Hilarious, hilarious. In between all of that I get a phone call to act in a couple of other movies. One of them being this one; Stars in Her Eyes. I went and met with Athina and she gave me this script I looked at it and it seemed a bit safe so I asked what is it you want from me. She explained the character to me and I went yes I’ll do that.

Vinay: I come from a family of Engineers. I completed by Bachelors in Engineering (Hons) from University of Auckland. However, I was strongly interested in the arts. So I took a lot of acting and dance classes along the way as a hobby. Then I got myself an agent and started auditioning for roles. One of my friend from acting class told me about this movie and said I should go audition. So I reached out to my agent (Gail Cowan – she’s a great agent) and asked her if she could get me an audition. After a lot of back and forth, I managed to get in front of the director (Athina Tsoulis). It was a fun experience reading with Athina and as they say – rest is history.

Vinay Chinni stars as Raj

Shane: Was this the first feature film for you in New Zealand?

Colin: No. No it wasn’t. I wouldn’t call myself an actor by any stretch but I have acted in things before. I acted in a movie called Channeling and it was a movie about a young woman and I played the character Lord Shiva in that movie. That was incredible but I had to learn this dance, there was no dialogue for me, I had to dialogue through dance and I was hired because I looked like the Hindu God. So much fun and as far as I know there’s still footage of me but I ended up on the cutting room floor. I think that was my first ever – but it happens, I loved the experience and it was paid.

Vinay: Yes. This is my first feature film in New Zealand.

Negin: Yes! I was super excited for this. Every minute on set was pure joy for me as I have never had this opportunity before so coming to work everyday was exciting regardless of the long hours.

Leila: Yes. Yes it was. I’d done little bits and pieces over time as I’m an artistic, theatrical person. So I did little tiny things on Shortland Street (New Zealand drama TV Series). But otherwise I hadn’t done proper films.

Negin Allahverdi-Gorji stars as Lakshmi Patel

Shane: What role / character do you play in the film and what drew you in to taking on this role?

Negin: I am Lakshmi, Anousha’s sister. Her no nonsense character was awesome. I liked playing the bitch and being somewhat looked up to for it by Anousha. It fueled a great character relationship between us and made me more sassy. I loved it!

Vinay: I play the character Raj. He is goody two shoes and is pursued by the protagonist. He’s honest, shy, a little naive, waiting for his dream girl to come into this life. He is the type of guy that believes in traditional values and astrology. I had to play a guy who was pursued by the protagonist. That sounded so much fun. As humans the basic desire is to be wanted. I found myself lucky to have this character. Also, I knew I could draw from my life experiences to bring this character alive.

Colin: The role that I play is one of the siblings. I come from a very tight family, so that role was very entertaining. I play a very famous Cricket player [called Sanj] with a VERY big secret. And it’s the secret, which I don’t want to give the spoiler away, is what made it very interesting to me. Very funny, very good.

Leila: My characters name is Anousha Patel, she’s the main character in the film and she is pushing 30, she’s a little bit overweight, she doesn’t have a proper job – she looks after her mother fulltime and she writes a Star column. And that’s what she calls her ‘job’ but it’s basically a blog that she doesn’t get paid for. It’s her only hobby in life. I was drawn in to the role because firstly it was interesting to play an Indian character. I am half Indian and my Indian heritage is always something that I had wanted to explore. So this role called me to draw on the values that are inherit within Indian culture. It was also a role that I could relate to as it was a woman going through a transition from feeling unattractive, not fitting in anywhere, not having her own sense of self and trying to transition in to the person that she wants to be. Also separating out what other people want her to be. These are themes that all Western Woman and Indian woman go through. So it was really cool.

Colin Mathura-Jeffree stars as Sanj Patel

Shane: Now that the film has wrapped up production and releasing to Cinema’s from the 18th of November 2016, what’s next in line for you now?

Leila: I really don’t know. Having done the film it opened my eyes to a acting career. I know it can be really difficult having an acting career especially here in New Zealand. Having done that (Stars in Her Eyes) I am definitely open to the prospect of acting roles. But not too sure if I will actively be pursuing acting roles in the next year or two but I will probably look into getting an agent which I have not had and I’ll definitely be doing my singing which is another thing that I have wanted to do. I am working in Law at the moment so I’ll see how all of those things can fit together. But if any offers come up in the acting realm I’ll definitely take them.

Vinay: I moved out to Los Angeles to pursue acting further. Currently, I am working my with manager (Bohemia Group) and agent (Aqua Talent) in LA to get me out for auditions. Fingers crossed, hopefully, you’ll see me soon on American Television.

Colin: Well I’m very blessed. I get propositions to act in movies and to present all of the time. So what I want to do with this movie… I used to model in India, I used to live in India and I know that this kind of movie would be a huge hit in India so I want the crew, my fellow actors to do a showing there, it would be a huge hit in South India, maybe even Mumbai which is entrenched in Bollywood, they would just lap this up. I think we go there. And I don’t mind, I always do the odd appearance in Movies. I seemed to be typecast as a King or a God or a Scientist in movies. I want to be a Villain. I’ve always been a bit of a Hero [character]. But yeah, I really enjoyed the experience, the favourite thing was making friends with my fellow actors, with the cast. We have all become very tight.

Negin: I just signed up for Acting classes with Michael Saccente which I’m excited for. First class was November the 17th (2016) and the SIHE premier was November the 18th (2016). Pretty awesome timing. I want to see where this can take me. I love learning about the craft of Acting. It inspires me to be a better person.

Shane: A huge thanks guys for taking the time to chat with StG. we really appreciate it.

The cast of Stars in Her Eyes were an awesome bunch to chat with and you should most definitely check out the film which is currently showing at the Monterey Cinema at Howick, Auckland. It will later be available on VOD (Video on Demand).

The post A Chat with the Cast of Stars in Her Eyes appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Stars in Her Eyes is an independently made New Zealand film taking inspiration from Bollywood with collaboration from students at Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand.

It tells the story of a 30 year old Indian girl living in suburban Auckland, New Zealand, burdened with taking care of her disabled and elderly mother while her siblings live their own lives. Anousha has never had a boyfriend, slightly overweight and going nowhere fast. It’s her story and how she uses her fortune telling column to find love.

Recently released via a Red Carpet Premier in Auckland City Shane the Gamer (StG) was able to have a sit down and chat with the film’s Writer and Director; Athina Tsoulis.

Athina Tsoulis | Writer & Director of Stars in Her Eyes Film

Shane: Hi Athina, thanks for meeting with us today. Can you tell us a little bit about the film and how the project came to be what it is now.

Athina: Stars in Her Eyes began as film script. I started writing it a few years ago as I was inspired by the story of a friend of mine who was at home looking after her parents. Because the film is an ethnic story it is not entirely believable that you would be 30 [years old] and still be a virgin in Western culture. But in the communities that I come from; Greek or Italian or Indian woman are still brought up to safeguard their honour.

So it’s a real dilemma for her (main character of Stars in Her Eyes) and also as family culture dictates, family first before any other aspirations. Expected to put the needs of family first.

I was Head of Performing and Screen Arts here at Unitec (Auckland) and we were looking at ways that we could enhance the student experience aswell. They were making student films and, well, you know what student films can be like. They film over four days and work with other students. The learning curve is very different to actually working on a real film. So I thought that this would be one way to get [film] industry to come in and work with students and give students a steep learning curve. I approached Unitec leadership and suggested this joint venture, also as an experiment to see if we could do it. The other thing that I was very keen on was that we have alot of equipment and facilities at Unitec and Unitec is very much about vocational education and for students to be able to gain a job when they leave. But we also want to support local communities and the New Zealand Film Industry, by telling local stories. As there is very little money [in this] it was a good opportunity to show the industry that we could partner with them and that we have facilities here. There’s many reasons why I do things, I always want to maximize the experience. This was such a huge thing to do, not something that you take lightly and maximise [the exposure for] students.

Shane: Is this your first venture in to Feature Film Production?

Athina: No. This is my third feature. I have made ‘I’ll Make You Happy’ in 1997 and ‘Jinx Sister’ in 2007 and now this one. Stars in Her Eyes is my third feature film and I’m really pleased about that because after I made my first film, which was really hard, they told me that the second film was even harder and if you look at the statistics of it there are few people that have made three feature films in New Zealand. It’s a hard, hard road.

Shane: Being that Stars in Her Eyes is a collaboration between tertiary students at Unitec Auckland and existing Industry Professionals, what main obstacles did you encounter along the way?

Athina: Well, there was a lot of enthusiasm at certain levels to do this, but at other levels there wasn’t. You know, you get a lot of people who wish you well and then you get a lot that don’t. Because you are mixing a bureaucracy with [Film] industry the challenge is already there. And there were also some challenges with [the film] industry. Some of the [film industry] professionals that came in were fantastic, and really entered in to the spirit of it and others didn’t, infact some of them behaved badly. But that was all good because the students could see that and they could see what we were going into.

There are always people who do not adhere to best practice but you just need to carry on and do what it is you need to do, because the end product is what is important.

Also fitting in with the schedules of the students aswell. Shooting the film was fine as that fits in [with the students studies] but it was all of the post production stuff afterwards. So yeah there were quite a few challenges, but it wouldn’t be interesting without challenges.

Shane: Stars in Her Eyes being a romantic comedy and a take on Bollywood, why was this the chosen genre?

Athina: I tend to alternate, my first feature film was a comedy, my second was a more heavier drama and this one is a comedy / drama. I like humour and I think that people often get things more when it’s with humour rather than hitting them over the head with a message. There are alot of important themes in the film but I wanted to do it with humour. I don’t take life too seriously, you have to laugh otherwise you go mad.

When I first started I was trying to pick an ethnic group that this would be realistic for, given that I am Greek and there are not many Greek in New Zealand. I made the mistake in my first two films of having a Greek theme and trying to find actors [in New Zealand] was a nightmare. So I thought, what is a large ethnic group and I the script got in to the Cross Media Lab and there were quite a few Indian Directors there and they suggested that the Indian population is quite large and New Zealand has quite a large Indian community and I have been involved in the Indian community in the past where I’ve mentored woman making films and so it became a no brainer – the story suited and there were more actors and more of an audience here [in New Zealand]. I grew up watching some Bollywood films and I also thought we could have some Bollywood numbers in there too and because we have Dance students in Performing Arts [at Unitec] it was another way to involve more students.

Shane: Now that Stars in Her Eyes has wrapped up and is released, what is the next steps for yourself in Feature Film making?

Athina: I think I have done my dash with low budget feature film making, I have done three now, I’ve written a number of other scripts that I have a Sydney based Producer raising funds for one of them and I want a decent budget. And I have another huge project that I can’t talk about right now, but it is something where you can tell a story on different platforms, so I really want to get my teeth into that. . I find the whole trans-media thing very exciting.

Shane: Thank you so much Athina for meeting with StG today.

Athina: My pleasure.

Stars in Her Eyes premiered on the 18th of November 2016 and is now showing at the Monterey Cinema at Howick, Auckland. We definitely recommend checking it out. It will later be available on VOD (Video on Demand).

The post Interview with the Director of Stars in Her Eyes Film appeared first on Shane the Gamer.