Daisy Irani On Breaking Boundaries, Confidence And The Thrills Of Theatre
Daisy Irani Subaiah first exploded onto our TV screens as the high-powered advertising executive Daisy Mathews from the 1995 hit-sitcom Under One Roof. The country would quickly come to know her as the gregarious Indian neighbour to Tan Ah Teck and Dolly – played by Moses Lim and Koh Chieng Mun – who often tickled audiences with her outlandish business propositions and no-nonsense attitude. “Most actors bring parts of themselves to the roles they play and so did I. Daisy’s don’t mess with me persona was mine as was her very binary sense of right and wrong,” she shares.
In person, the grandeur of Irani’s illustrious career and thespian roots – she is the daughter and niece of legendary Indian actresses Padma Rani and Sarita Joshi, respectively – makes way for a warmth and candour that one can only describe as familiar. At the height of her career, Irani – who was born in Baroda, India – made the decision to leave home for Hong Kong and then Singapore, a decision she brands as a “retrospectively wonderful moment.” Posed with the choice between her career and moving with her husband, the actress went with the latter, a twist of fate that would result in her chancing upon an audition for Under One Roof. The true testament to her star power? She had initially applied for a production job.
Almost two decades on and Irani boasts a heavyweight resume – one that includes assuming a long-standing Vice Presidency at mass media conglomerate Mediacorp, as well as being the founder and creative director of theatre company HuM Entertainment. Amongst her given titles today: trailblazer, visionary, pioneer and boundary-breaker. Her favourite one of all? “Cool grandma.”
Tell us about the audition that led you to the role of Daisy Mathews in Under One Roof.
I had applied for a production job with the then Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) but ended up auditioning for a role of the Indian neighbour. They cast me but had a massive conundrum on their hands. The character’s name was Letchmi and they felt I didn’t quite fit the profile. After much nail biting and chin scratching they figured that the best name they could christen my character was in fact right in front of their noses. That’s how Daisy became Daisy.
Your character was an advertising executive who, in hindsight, actually had a bold sense of style. Tell us about how the stylists on the show came up with her look.
Madison Avenue advertising executives in the nineties had an edgy, racy style to them but we had to temper that down. In hot and humid Singapore we had to sacrifice style for comfort or she would look a bit silly. So, Daisy’s wardrobe had a modest but elegant cut to it, using vibrant colours to accentuate her creative persona.
What was it like auditioning for roles as an Indian woman in Singapore back in the ’90s?
Beating the stereotype – that was always, in those times, a challenge. Convincing many Singaporeans that I was an authentic Indian was an issue. And it was understandable. The community was largely dominated by the Tamils and it was par for the course that the stereotype Indian was someone who physically and culturally represented the majority. To their credit and to my good fortune, the casting team accepted my submission that I represented the Indian diaspora as much as anyone else. To my greater delight the country accepted Daisy and took her to heart. This is a testament to how embracing we are as a country.
There’s a level of self-belief, confidence and conviction I imagine that you would have had to have to forge a path for minority actresses. How did you get to that point?
It’s not easy. Most Singaporean stories are centred around Chinese protagonists. That’s just the way it is. Trying to force fit a minority actor in a TV series about a Chinese family usually seems like an awkward submission to the politics of multiculturalism. Good roles for minority actors in English language programming were few and hard to come by. This was one reason why I moved into telling Singaporean stories from behind the camera. Theatre has been more generous and I have had the opportunity to perform with practically every major theatre company in the country. However to constantly feed the beast, I started my own theatre company, HuM Theatre, which has allowed me to tell universal stories about Indians and to give a voice to minority actors and theatre practitioners.
If you could assemble your dream cast of anyone in the world, who would it comprise of?
I would like to create an “Under One Roof Revisited” starring Daisy Irani Subaiah and Subin Subaiah with Mindy Kaling and Dev Patel as their grown up kids. Our neighbours would be Daniel Day-Lewis and Brad Pitt with Ken Watanabe and Gong Li as political activists living in sin in the flat opposite.
What are you working on these days?
I have just completed shooting Shakeshastra which is Indian classical dance and music that meets Shakespeare. I am also working on the production of our upcoming play Jihad Jones And The Kalishnikov Babes.
What’s next?
Que sera sera!
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Photography Joel Low
Styling Gregory Woo
Hair Junz Loke using Kevin Murphy Singapore
Makeup Wee Ming using Laura Mercier
Photography Assistant Alfie Pan
Subject Daisy Irani in Tiffany & Co. and Moncler
This article first appeared in the March 2021 issue of L'Officiel Singapore.
