Lucky Fish: A heartfelt comedy celebrating inner beauty and family

Locally produced film Lucky Fish, promises to take movie goers on a comedic journey that challenges societal beauty standards through an unconventional beauty pageant.

Lucky Fish, a film of underdogs, inner beauty and pilchards, is set in Phoenix and follows Sanjay Pillay (played by Meren Reddy), a desperate pilchards factory owner struggling to keep his family business afloat.

With debt mounting and public opinion tanking, he hatches one last, highly unconventional publicity stunt, a beauty pageant to promote his brand, Pillay Pilchards.

Unknown to him the competition is advertised as an “all inclusive” one which attracts a wide variety of non-conventional beauties. It's a pageant that nobody in their right mind would want to enter, let alone win the title of "Miss Pillay Pilchards".

Entries range from the aged, to the heavily pregnant, and none of the contestants embody the beauty queen that Sanjay has in mind to be the face of his company for the next year.

The comedy is directed by Joshua Rous and penned by Craig Gardner and Meren Reddy, who is also actor, producer and screenwriter of Lucky Fish.

The cast includes Reddy, Mayuri Naidu, Jack Devnarain, Carishma Basday, Jailoshini Naidoo, Mekalla Mathys, Kaseran Pillay, Leah Mari, Siyasanga Papu, Zenobia Kloppers, Kiroshan Naidoo, Hermione Reddy and Kathleen Stephens.

Producer, Luke Rous, said the film is their love letter to Durban, to "our eccentric families, and to everyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t belong.

"It’s loud, it’s loving, and it’s long overdue. The perfect date night out or bring the whole family for a Friday night flick,” said Rous.

Reddy said he and Gardner had been working on the script since 2017.

"This family friendly film will appeal to the local audience. Through comedy the movie conveys a message about social issues and things happening in society. Through the beauty pageant aspect women find themselves embracing who they are.

"You may only start to realise the message the movie is conveying towards the end," said Reddy.

Devnarain, who plays Melvin, the local loan shark, extortionist and unlicensed financial advisor, described the film as a family comedy that questions the social biases about what the public is programmed to believe is beautiful.

"It's a slick, sharp-witted comic joyride of a local businessman, Sanjay Pillay, trying to save his family's tinfish canning plant by stumbling through one catastrophe at a time," said Devnarain.

Jailoshini Naidoo, who plays Arusha, said it's a movie that everyone will love and it conveys some important lessons and messages in a comedic way.

"It has some warm, heartfelt moments, characters you will want to hate and others who will make you think a little bit. 

"Arusha is an ex-beauty queen and pageant organiser. She is very superficial and fake, focusing only on what's on the outside, how you look, your hair, skin and how you sound. She has a sidekick, played by Kaseran, who follows her everywhere like a puppy dog. He is hilarious. Wherever the two of us are, there is bound to be trouble.

"I got to work with some super talented young people on the film. I got to also work with some of my old friends. It's a warm, lovely, feel good movie," she said. 

She said through the comedy and laughter, the film highlights valuable lessons and how one should see beauty from within.

Lucky Fish, a hilarious family comedy, hits cinemas nationwide on July 25.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE