For 20-year-old TeKayha Sukuram, landing one of the leading roles in the film adaptation of Rubendra Govender’s book, Sugar Cane Boy is a dream come true, writes Shirley le Guern.
“You have to have a passion for something if you want to do it. You have to be prepared to work hard and make sacrifices to be the best. You can’t have everything, so you have to prioritise. You also have to have a positive mindset. Then, you will find opportunity in everything,” says 20-year-old dancer, model and now actress, TeKayha Sukuram.
In July, TeKayha auditioned for, and won, one of the leading roles in the film adaption of Rubendra Govender’s book, Sugar Cane Boy. This authentic account of Indian and African co-existence on the sugar plantations of KwaZulu-Natal during apartheid is already a popular English set work at several Durban secondary schools.
The movie will be shot in November and December and released in mid-2023, says an excited TeKayha who is looking forward to unpacking the complex character of Seyuri Murugappa, the adult love interest of the main character, Soya Sivaramen.
“She is very snooty because she is the princess of Groenberg, the sugar plantation. She comes from a very, very wealthy family and has this air about herself and thinks she is superior to others,” she explains.
The movie is currently in pre-production and TeKayha has just completed her first reading and rehearsal.
“We got our scripts for the first time. The director and producers told us more about the movie and the cast did some scenes and performed and got some direction,” she continues.
This is her first big role, although she is currently working on another short film. TeKayha says she has always wanted to act. She began dancing – Bollywood and hip hop – when she was just five.
“My family would leave Bollywood movies playing in the lounge and I would stand in front of the screen and join in. My grandfather had a guitar, and when he came home late from work at about 10 o’clock, I would jump out of bed and run into the room. He’d start playing and I would start dancing,” she recalls.
By the time she was 10, she was taking dancing lessons, and today she is hired to dance at corporate events and weddings.
She also made her mark at school, matriculating from Mount Edgecombe Private School in 2019 as both head girl and dux with five distinctions, the Principal’s Award and the Dux Award.
She was also a Miss Teenager South Africa 2022 finalist and, after signing up with a modelling agency at the end of 2019, began photographic modelling.
Right now, TeKayha is studying a BComm Accounting at UKZN as a safety net while she develops her career in the creative arts.
“I guess I’m what you would call a glass-half-full type of person. I take things very seriously and I’m a bit of a perfectionist,” explains this vivacious young woman who, despite loving the outdoors, fashion, watching movies and spending time with friends, spends a lot of time honing her acting skills online. She has already completed international workshops hosted by the New York Film Academy and several award-winning actors.
TeKayha sees her upcoming role as an important stepping stone. Never give up is her mantra and she says she is fortunate to have the full support of her family – including brother Sohan, a keen cricketer with the Dolphins Academy.
The next step up will be representing Africa at an International Modelling and Talent Association event in New York next year. The largest talent convention in the world, this will see her perform for 300 talent scouts and agents. Watch this space.