Daisy Irani (television personality)

This article is about the Indian-Singaporean actress. For the Indian actress in Hindi films, see Daisy Irani (actress).

Daisy Irani Subaiah
Born
Bombay, India
CitizenshipSingapore
Occupation(s)Actress, director, producer
Years active1992–present
SpouseSubin Subaiah
MotherPadmarani

Daisy Irani is a Singaporean television actress, director, and producer of Indian origin.

Early life

She was born to Gujarati film actress Padmarani and stage director Namdar Irani in Bombay, India.[1]

Career

Early career

Irani was an established actress in films and theatre in Gujarati, having acted in 18 Gujarati films, several television shows, and theatre performances with the Indian National Theatre.[2]

After she moved to Singapore, she appeared in the role of Daisy Matthews in the popular Singapore TV series Under One Roof televised in 1995.[3]

At Mediacorp, she was the executive producer for MediaCorp Studio's English Entertainment Productions Division. In 2007, she became the head of the Central Channel's Programming and Promotions, as well as their TV12 Creative Services Division.[4] In 2008, the Central Channel became defunct after the Kid's and Arts segments were merged to form Okto, and Vasantham Central became a full-fledged channel as MediaCorp Vasantham, occupying the original Central channel.[5][6]

HuM Theatre

In 2010, Irani founded HuM Theatre, a theatre company.[7] In 2020, the theatre company gave Zee TV broadcasting rights to four of its plays.[8]

In 2019, Irani produced a play, Being Mrs Gandhi, and acted as Kasturba Gandhi, the wife of Mahatma Gandhi, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth. The production came after Irani attended a talk by Gandhi's granddaughter, Ela Gandhi, about her grandmother in 2018.[9][10]

In 2021, Irani starred in a short film #MakeThatCall, about bridging an increasing physical gap between young people and aging parents.[11]

In 2023, Irani staged We Are Like This Only 3, with cast from HuM Theatre, with Irani calling it 'unintended trilogy'.[12][7] The first two plays focused on tensions between Singaporean Indians and expatriate Indians, while the third play focused on tensions between new Singaporean citizens from India and the Chinese majority.[12]

Personal life

She moved from Mumbai to Singapore[1] in 1991 when her husband, Subin Subaiah, was posted there for work. In 2004, the couple received their Singapore citizenship.[13]

Works

Television

Year Title Role Ref
1994 Masters of the Sea [2]
1995 – 2003 Under One Roof Daisy Matthew [3]
2004 – 2017 Incredible Tales Executive producer [citation needed]

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes Ref
1996 Suite Hearts Director, producer [14]
2013 We Are Like This Only [13]
2016 We Are Like This Only 2 [13]
2019 Being Mrs Ghandi Kasturba Gandhi Producer [9][10]
2023 We Are Like This Only 3 [12]

References

  1. ^ a b DeshGujarat (25 January 2016). "Noted Gujarati actress Padma Rani passes away". DeshGujarat. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Interview With Daisy Irani Subaiah Interview : www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com". www.mumbaitheatreguide.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Daisy Irani On Breaking Boundaries, Confidence And The Thrills Of Theatre". L'Officiel Singapore. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  4. ^ Safdar, Ashraf. Daisy Irani appointed TV12's Head of Central Programming Archived 25 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Channel NewsAsia 2007-05-23
  5. ^ Seah, May. Okto and Vasantham are new editions to tv line up Archived 2008-10-21 at the Wayback Machine, TODAYonline 2008-10-21
  6. ^ Yeen Nie, Hoe. Kids and Arts Central to be relaunched as okto Archived 10 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Channel News Asia 2008-08-25
  7. ^ a b cue (12 April 2023). "HuM Theatre uses humour to explore cultural clashes in We Are Like This Only 3 | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Singapore's HuM theatre rides on Zee TV's reach, enters 9.6 million homes". www.connectedtoindia.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Singapore play about Gandhi's wife sheds light on Indian leader's life". CNA Lifestyle. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b Santosh (11 October 2019). "Not easy Being Mrs Gandhi". www.tamilmurasu.com.sg. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Daisy's reminder to young people: #MakeThatCall". www.connectedtoindia.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  12. ^ a b c cue (23 April 2023). "Theatre review: We Are Like This Only 3's comedy shows racial integration is no laughing matter | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  13. ^ a b c "New Indians, old Indians". AsiaOne. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  14. ^ Siow, Pearlin (30 August 1996). "Suite stories of the heart". City Weekly. Retrieved 28 April 2023 – via NewspaperSG.