Lighting up the way (Video)

THIS YEAR has been a good one for actress Sangeeta Krishnasamy.
Her performance in the inspirational biopic, Adiwiraku, earned her two best actress awards – at the Malaysian Film Festival, and the Anugerah Pengkritik Filem Kuala Lumpur.
In Adiwiraku, she plays real-life teacher Cheryl Ann Fernando, who left Kuala Lumpur to teach English in a rural school in Sungei Petani, Kedah, from 2013 to 2015.
The film depicts Cheryl’s efforts to inspire her students to greater heights, and overcome their fear of speaking English.
More exciting roles are in store for Sangeeta. She will next be seen in the 13-episode Malay teledrama series Banteras, playing an officer attached with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
And early next year, Sangeeta will be playing a secret service agent, something along the line of Angelina Jolie’s role in Salt.
“I won’t talk more about this role until I’ve signed the dotted line,” she says. “I understand that with the awards come certain expectations.
“All eyes will be watching me and what I’m doing next. But I will not allow those expectations to stress me out.
“I am human and I will make mistakes. There will be times when I will choose the wrong projects. Mistakes are important because they teach lessons so that you do not repeat them.”
Sangeeta has a strong desire to be a scriptwriter and a film director in future. In fact, she is saving up money so she can enrol in the prestigious New York Film Academy.
“I have always been crazy about films since I was young.” she says. “I always turned to films when I have problems. Films are good distractions. They are an excellent way to be entertained.
“I love watching art films like Children of Heaven and The Colours of Paradise. Majid Majidi is one of my favourite directors.”
Interestingly, Sangeeta never harboured any dreams to be an actress before she first joined the entertainment industry.
In fact, she was working for a college which was located near the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) in Sentul, where from time to time, she would watch plays that were held there.
One day, she stumbled upon a notice in klpac announcing that well-known theatre director Joe Hasham would be conducting a 10-week acting course. She decided to participate.
“It was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said. “The acting course [got rid of] all the inhibitions I never thought I had.”
Her mentor, Joe Hasham, kept pushing her to attend auditions, and she eventually landed a plum role as an unwed mother in the Tamil series Manippu in 2009. Her performance got her noticed, and more roles started coming her way.
“I’m Anak Malaysia,” she says. “I will act in any [local] film, and in any language. I am even willing to act in a Chinese film if the director is willing teach me the language.”
Asked about her personal life, Sangeeta admits that she’s dating a fellow ‘entertainment personality’.
But she adds that right now, marriage is far from her mind.
“I have a very supportive partner,” she says. “Since he is [also] from the entertainment industry, he understands my busy routine, and I can always talk to him whenever I face problems in my career.”
Asked her plans for the Festival of Lights (which falls tomorrow), Sangeeta says this year, she intends to spend more time with her family.
She adds: “In the last few years, I have been putting my work before my family, and they have been seeing less of me. I want to change that this Deepavali.”
She is even taking time to make Deepavali sweets with her aunties.
Sangeeta also sadly misses spending Deepavali with her grandmother, Madam Alagammal, who passed away in 2006.
“She had a strong personality,” Sangeeta recalls. “She would ensure that we had our new festive dresses, and that we looked good for Deepavali. She taught me how to cook.
“She always brought our family together.
“Deepavali is a time for us to [celebrate] the triumph of good over evil, and for us to find opportunities to help others.”
With Deepavali just round the corner, we ask if Sangeeta is willing to do a photo shoot together with dancers from the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur to wish all theSun readers of the Hindu faith a happy Deepavali
Special thanks to Sangeeta as well as The Temple of Fine Arts and its dancers – Purnima Segaran, Harshini Sukumaran, Shonabushani ­Velusamay and Ananga Manjari – for making this photo shoot possible.
Below is a video of Sangeeta Krishnasamy wishing readers of thesun Happy Deepavali: