Press Release
Kajal Bagwandeen, Zakeeya Patel, Farrah Mia and Jailoshini Naidoo.
Yarisha Singh (back), Kajal Bagwandeen, Yughika Sujanani, Jailoshini Naidoo, Tevin Naidu, Farrah Mia, Fadeen Mia, Mishal Mookrey and Zakeeya Patel.
Mela – A NEW LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCE ON SABC 2
A traditional Indian market or fair is always, first and foremost, a social event where people from near and far can get together. Old friendships are renewed and new acquaintances made - and this will also be just one of the attractions of the all-new SABC 2 eastern lifestyle property, MELA
, which started on Sunday, 07 September 2014 at 10h30.
Billed as an Indian Experience and inspired by Indian fairs and markets, MELA offers viewers an opportunity to get to know leading figures and innovators in business, the creative and performing arts, fashion, entertainment and many other sectors.
In short, these are the kinds of people who are making a mark on popular culture, setting trends that others follow or are presenting new ways of seeing and thinking about our contemporary world. MELA celebrates Indian lifestyle in a South African context. It is fresh and relevant. It is grounded and rooted in the South African experience.
Naturally, a show of this kind requires a strong presenter team with a balanced mix of established, popular personalities and fresh new faces.
Jailoshini Naidoo, Kajal Bagwandeen and Zakeeya Patel provide the core of slick, polished and highly experienced anchors, with Jack Devnarain lending a tone of friendly and engaging authority as the voice-over artist.
They are joined by a quartet of rising stars: Farrah Mia, Tevin Naidu, Mishal Mookrey and Fadeen Mia. There are a total of 9 Faces on MELA. Two of the 9 are experts in their fields. (Yudhika Sujanani - celebrity chef & Yarisha Singh - Yoga Demos).
Farrah is a petite package of dynamite with an Indo-Irish pedigree. Diversity has been a golden thread throughout her life and it can be seen in her passion for the performing arts. She had hardly begun school when she began attending the renowned Waterfront Theatre School - taking classes in modern dance, ballet and tap, as well as speech and drama.
Not content with pursuing her modeling and television talents, Farrah has felt driven to succeed in other areas of her life, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Management Studies from the University of Cape Town – but she was not quite ready to join the corporate rat race and decided to pursue her passion for television as a presenter.
Born in Johannesburg, raised in Durban and currently studying medicine in Cape Town,
Tevin Naidu is a proud South African Indian. A true all-rounder, Tevin demonstrated his potential in his high school days, before attending the “People People Leadership Ambassadors Program” in the USA.
Despite the pressure of his chosen field of study, Tevin has still been able to find time and energy to enter and win major talent competitions – becoming the youngest-ever official “Mr India South Africa”. After appearing as a guest on numerous talk shows, Tevin was drawn to the challenge of being a presenter – and his potential has been recognized.
Mishal Mookrey comes from an entrepreneurial Cape Town family with a strong work ethic, which he in turn has applied with commitment, energy and enthusiasm. Very introverted as a child, he is now completely comfortable in a public situation – even when he knows that hundreds of thousands of viewers are watching.
Where some Matriculants may enjoy a gap year, Mishal spent two years working in the UK before resuming his studies on his return to South Africa. Mishal completed his bachelor’s degree in Television Production and Media and recognizing the importance of the business side of the industry he enrolled for an MBA programme.
Having produced his own talk show for community TV, Mishal caught the eye of the broadcast industry – opening the door to a presenter slot.
Fadeen Mia is also a twenty-something with an amazingly steep career path. Currently a project manager at a major banking group, he fulfills the promise shown during his school days by continuing to excel on the sports field, playing cricket at premier club level and football as a semi-professional.
This combined with being a very active gym member helped Fadeen to develop a buffed physique that when combined with his personality made him a semi-finalist in the Mr South Africa 2012 pageant, and the second runner-up in the 2013 Mr India South Africa.
Having established himself as a successful club and radio DJ, Fadeen decided to explore new territory in front of the camera – and a break-through opportunity presented itself.
A fair without food would be unthinkable – and celebrity chef, author and foodie extraordinaire Yudhika Sujanani is MELA’s resident culinary expert. While healthy eating forms one part of the wellness formula, exercise is another and here renowned dancer, choreographer and yoga expert Yarisha Singh will add her unique contribution to the MELA mix, with accessible hatha yoga demonstrations.