The film, although funny, also celebrates the lives of South African Indians, their culture and lifestyle which is something that has hardly been tackled before. The city of Durban within which the film is located is given ample exposure.  The intent of the producers was to make a stylish, slick product moving away from shoddy stereotyping and ghettoising of Indians.

For Better For Worse is a delightful, romantic comedy which tells the story of Anisa Khan's (Raeesa Mohamed) search for the perfect husband. Anisa is an ambitious 30-year old lawyer who, due to a bad experience in the past, is wary of men. However, she is pressured by her family and friends to get married. They set her up with who they believe to be suitable men leading to disastrous consequences. She meets these dates at a coffee shop. Zak Ali (Simon Morgan), the owner of the coffee shop, is attracted to her but the two are at odds with each other from their very first meeting. Then, there's Anisa's mother, Ayesha (Suria Govender) who is obsessed with getting her daughter married, the father - Yusuf (Afzal Khan) - who is tolerant but would rather his daughter stayed at home, the brother, Farhan (Rahul Brijnath), who doesn't have a job and is involved in one scheme after another and, finally, the younger sister, Tasneem (Kajal Bagwandeen), who is dreaming of being a Bollywood star and thinks studying is a waste of time. Add to the mix, Anisa's best friends who have issues of their own, a nosy neighbour and we have a recipe for an engaging film with a whole lot of fun.

Other cast include well known personalities like Kogie Naidoo, Eubulus Tracy and Juanita Leopardi. The film was line produced by Ross Garland (Confessions of a Gambler, Big Fellas, uCarmen eKhayelitsha) and directed by Naresh Veeran who makes his directorial debut.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
The South African film industry is very much in its infancy when compared to its American, Asian and European counterparts. The lack of adequate funding mechanisms notwithstanding, this is especially evident in the body of work the country has produced over the last decade with many of its stories being told falling into only one of a handful of categories: politics, slapstick, crime and social issues. Genre movies haven't fully been explored by South African filmmakers and it is at this point that I began my journey on FOR BETTER FOR WORSE 3 years ago.
The story idea was inspired by the people who make up the unique and vibrant community in which I was raised, Indian South Africans. Further, it explores and interrogates the idiosyncrasies that makes us at once South African and yet Indian. Themes like family, marriage, custom and tradition are constantly at odds with emerging ideas about modernity, food, music, dance, art and literature. This creates an amazing fault-line from which some of the richest, most vibrant and dynamic entertainment has emerged in recent years. Whilst growing up, I've seen it on stage, heard it on radio, enjoyed it in theatres and, yes, lapped it up in my own home. However, I found that it had yet to be explored in film like the way it has in American English and Canadian commercial successes such as MISSISSIPPI MASALA, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, MONSOON WEDDING, HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD and EAST IS EAST.
Crossover films generally enjoy huge appeal partly due to the fact that their themes are universal but the vehicles they employ to carry the story are unique. I presented the idea of FOR BETTER FOR WORSE as a romantic comedy to my wife and partner, Raeesa Mahomed, in early 2006 who then used her radio and television expertise to flesh out a draft. While we both have worked in media and entertainment for over a decade, neither of us tackled a feature film before and so began an incredible and rewarding learning curve which, in retrospect, is a journey that either of us would happily go on again.
Using external script editors and consulting with industry colleagues and friends along the way, we finally opted to shoot the project ourselves creating in the process a unique shooting paradigm for South Africa. The model comprised three tiers:
· Funding using a carefully balanced mixture of investment and trade exchange,
· Production utilising a small, multi-disciplinary team combining HD technology with grass-roots knowledge of the layout and terrain, and
· Inspiration drawn from advertising, fashion, music and dance. 
Cape Town based producer, Ross Garland, was then approached together with Belgian cinematographer, Manu Lapiere. Bringing up the rear, we used gaffer, Simon Howes, from Cape Town and sound recordist, Dave Campion from Durban. The balance of the cast and crew were locals with whom either Raeesa or I worked over the years.
The shoot was tight - 12 hour days over 3 weeks - but the secret was in preparation. Ross, Raeesa and I spent almost 2 months with cast, partners, sponsors, crew, locations, equipment, storyboard artists and suppliers. This resulted in one of the smoothest, most efficient shoots that anyone had ever been on.
The clash between tradition and modernity, a rich and dynamic palette against one of the most beautiful locations in South Africa, romance vs comedy and, finally, the traditional film shoot vs the FOR BETTER FOR WORSE model resulted in a picture that I thoroughly enjoyed making.
In closing, FOR BETTER FOR WORSE is a commercial, genre-based film which is refreshing as it is situated smack bang on the middle of the slapstick-meaningful South African movie continuum that audiences have been forced to endure for so many years. The story is not unique but it's my hope that the way in which I've told it is.

Naresh Veeran JULY 2009   

Naresh Veeran makes his directorial debut with For Better For Worse.
A well-known media personality, Naresh has worked on a range of media with a variety of industry leaders over the last decade including the SABC and Media 24. He currently freelances his services as a Specialist Marketing Strategist and, to date, has undertaken a host of projects for such brands as the South African Revenue Services, the New Durban International Airport, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, the Institute of Bankers and the Gauteng Provincial Government.
A former head within the SABC's radio portfolio, Naresh also headed POP Communications, Old Mutual's in-house media arm.
Naresh is author of the best selling crime thriller 31 Million Reasons, the film rights of which have been sold to Rogue Star Films. Produced by Ross Garland, the project goes into production later this year.
He has also recently completed a development project entitled Lynwood Hall with the National Film and Video Foundation and plans to produce a series of short films based on local urban legends in the latter half of this year. His current project, Bodycorp, is a television series based on the lives of the people who frequent an upmarket health and fitness centre. The project will be produced by Noble Productions and  Naresh will direct.
A keen musician, Naresh spends the bulk of his spare time on his motorcycle and in the kitchen. He also enjoys spending quality time with his wife Raeesa Mohamed and their daughters. He lives and works out of Durban, South Africa.

Raeesa Mohamed (screenwriter) is a well known media personality and For Better For Worse marks her film debut as a writer and actress. She began her career as an anchor for M-Net's Indian entertainment arm, East Net, and was the first Indian woman to present on South African television. She then moved to London where she was news anchor for Zee Tv for two years. On her return to South Africa, she presented and produced for the TV magazine programme Good Morning South Africa and anchored Eastern Mosaic on SABC 1. She also presented and produced a 10 part series on Bollywood which she shot in Mumbai.
Raeesa started her radio career at Lotus Fm as a current affairs and talk show presenter/producer. She went on to produce full-time, host the Bollywood Top 20, and anchor the lunchtime show. She currently heads the drama department where she is responsible for producing three radio drama serials daily and managing a large number of actors, directors and producers.
Raeesa has done print and television modelling as well as written extensively for newspapers and magazines. She speaks 6 languages.
She has always wanted to make a film as this was one medium she had not tried and she believes it is extremely powerful in reaching out to people. Raeesa says, "South African audiences are always fed Hollywood and Bollywood fare and it is important to tell our own stories as well". This is what she did. The script of her movie is home grown, a Durban romantic comedy.

Ross Garland (Line Producer) heads Rogue Star Films, a production company based in Cape Town.
His film credits include:
Co-Executive Producer on The Story Of An African Farm (2004)
Executive Producer and Producer on U-Carmen Ekhayelitsha (2005), which was awarded the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival
Big Fellas (2007), a comedy starring Colin Moss, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Cokey Falkow, Kagiso Lediga, Marc Lottering, Louw Venter, Minki van der Westhuizen, Gina Athans, Grethe Fox, Lesley Mongezi
Confessions Of A Gambler (2008), based on the award winning novel by Rayda Jacobs about a Muslim woman with a gambling addiction

Ross and Rogue Star Films are currently developing Spud, South Africa's best selling novel in history, published by Penguin and written by John van de Ruit; adapting the novel Iron Love by Marguerite Poland, which will be directed by Ingrid Wylde and finally, adapting the best selling novel, 31 Million Reasons by Naresh Veeran.

PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN FILMMAKING

HOME