Pic: Raeesa Mohamed, lead actress of “For Better For Worse” with A R RahmanThere was excitement and some scepticism at the SABC last week when local radio personality and lead actress of the film For Better For Worse, Raeesa Mohamed, received a call from a colleague advising her that Oscar winning music maestro A R Rahman requested to see her while he was at the Lotus FM studios. She was delighted when she went down to the studio and discovered that it really was the living legend himself !
Rahman had seen clips of Mohamed’s film, For Better For Worse on a television programme about Indians in South Africa and was impressed by what he saw. While interacting with the Lotus FM presenter, he asked where he could get a copy of the film and when he was told that the lead actress worked at Lotus FM, he immediately asked to see her.
Mohamed was thrilled to meet Rahman and said, “I was so surprised when I realised that he had actually asked to meet me. He was so humble and friendly and he asked me if he could get a copy of the movie and if I was working on anything else. I said to him that I would love to work with him, especially if he had a few million dollars to invest!
“For me, appreciation on this level, by an Oscar winner, is just added validation for a film that has already been received so well,” added Mohamed. “I am so honoured!”
For Better For Worse is a delightful, romantic comedy which tells the story of Anisa Khan’s (Raeesa Mohamed) search for the perfect husband. Anisa is an ambitious 30-year old lawyer who, due to a bad experience in the past, is wary of men. However, she is pressured by her family and friends to get married. They set her up with men they believe to be suitable and this leads to disastrous consequences. She meets these dates at a coffee shop. Zak Ali (Simon Morgan), the owner of the coffee shop, is attracted to her but the two are at odds with each other from their very first meeting.
For Better For Worse was released for rental and retail on DVD on October 18 by NuMetro Home Entertainment and is currently available from most major DVD stores.
For Better For Worse stars a host of popular local personalities including Afzal Khan, Suria Govender, Rahul Brijnath, Eubulus Tracy, Kajal Bagwandeen, Kogie Naidoo, Juanita Leopardi, Pranesh Maharaj and Clinton Marius. Marking Naresh Veeran’s directorial debut, it is written and executive produced by Raeesa Mohamed with Ross Garland as Line Producer.
AR Rahman will bring his Jai Ho World Tour to South Africa from November 20 to 26 and will appear in Durban on November 26 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Booking is at Computicket