A recent graduate in Musical Theatre and Acting for Film at the New York Film Academy, Shaleeni Ranchhod is doing the City of Saints proud.
A recent graduate in Musical Theatre and Acting for Film at the New York Film Academy, Shaleeni Ranchhod is doing the City of Saints proud.
DSG alumnus Ranchhod has dreamt all her life of performing on a stage in New York City, “no matter what type of theatre it was, be it a straight play, Shakespeare, or a musical,” she said in an online interview.
For Ranchhod, who is currently based in the city, New York is “truly the city that never sleeps”, with fast paced workers, and where everything is bigger and better.
“This does not apply to the food though,” she said. “I really miss braaing so much that I have to go to a South African restaurant in Brooklyn called Madiba to get a local fix, like cream soda.”
She said her family in Grahamstown is “super-involved” with her life.
“My uncle calls just to ask how my day has been, so do my parents and grandparents. I could not have asked for a better family. Especially being in the arts, it’s not always a career that many people’s families support or understand,” she said.
Ranchhod is not resting on her well-deserved laurels: she recently played Jakie in a film musical Walk the Walk. This piece has been entered into a few short film festivals around the US. Watch it below! NYFA Final Film – Walk the Walk
