(Tom Dennen as The Beggar)
Beggar is a film written and directed by Durban actor, scriptwriter and
director Pranesh Maharaj.
This film borders
on the docu-drama genre but remains a narrative, nonetheless keeping viewers
glued to its story for 59 minutes. It is produced by Polart Productions and
includes the participation of Shekho Entertainment. The executive producer is
Anesh Dusrath, Line Producer is Lovie Ramasrai and Co Producer/Assistant
Director is Pauline Dalais.
Beggar stars Blessing Xaba, Mohamed Haffejee, Ainsleigh Ingle, Maya Spector,
Tom Dennen and an ensemble of co-stars.
Richard Ntuli is
born into a middle class family living in a suburb outside the Phoenix area in
Durban. His dad progressed enough to move away from the townships. All Richard
knows about this democracy is that the likes of his father and the comrades who
had fought for it are largely entitled to it. To him, the white man is still
the enemy.
His childhood
friend, Dinesh, is objective towards Richard’s woes. He is a ‘live and let
live’ kind of guy but bears the brunt of Richard’s attitude. It doesn’t make
sense to him that Richard hates white people yet is in love with a Coloured
girl whose father is white. Even Dinesh comes with his share of baggage
represented in his resentment of another Indian pupil, Enzy, who is constantly
seeking attention.
The duo is tasked
with an assignment to shoot wildlife for their film-making course at college.
Soon after; they are confronted by a gangster who wants them to run drugs for
him at a local club. Dinesh is observant in his humble way. Fuelled by the
gangsters’ demeaning approach; Richard lunges at a Beggar who knocks on his
window at the robot. This is when he decides that; what better wildlife to
shoot than the two-legged kind? The boys start to film the Beggar for their
assignment.
“Democracy is a
political word. Socially the country has a long way to go. It is the mind-set
of the young that needs to be nurtured. Whilst the past need not be forgotten;
building this nation will need forward thinking; even though this too might
come at a price. The Beggar holds the key to exposing corrupt officials and
meets his demise this way. Although, the bigger key he held was his actual
relationship with Richard,” explains Maharaj.
This is Polart
Productions first film and the intention is to keep them coming exploring new
platforms and mediums. Beggar is
available for download from www.reelhouse.org at a mere $1.00 (usd).
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