Musgrave filmmaker behind new online action series

MUSGRAVE local, Dayakar Padayachee, will embark on an exciting journey when he begins filming an online action movie series, 'The Cobra'.

The Cobra was a character created by Dayakar, a multimedia graduate from the Centre for Fine Art and Design, while still in primary school. “In Grade 3 I would create my own drawings. I created The Cobra character right there, but last year, over ten years later, my friend, Tyson, and I revamped the character,” explained the young film director.

Dayakar and Tyson Murugan, both film and comic book buffs, decided to turn 'The Cobra' into a series after they created a successful 17-minute, no budget movie that received over 700 YouTube hits.

Tragically, Tyson, a martial arts expert, was killed during a brutal mugging while making his way home. He was attacked and stabbed in Verulam in 2014, being caught unaware as he had his headphones on.

Dayakar decided to continue 'The Cobra' in honour of his friend.

Dayakar's passion for film began when he was only seven years old. “My dad would do family home videos, and I started playing with the camera and loved it.”

As he grew older, Dayakar said he became a self-confessed film and comic book geek, with a pretty decent collection. A big fan of Marvel, and especially DC Comics, Dayakar looked at Batman for inspiration for characters he knew he would someday bring to life.

Fast forward to 2015, and his dreams are fast becoming a reality with the assistance of a tight production team. Dayakar is the creator and writer, while Edgar Roshev is the project manager, writer and graphic designer, and Kylen Coetzee also a writer and actor in 'The Cobra'.

“'The Cobra' is set in an ultimate reality of South Africa, in a city called Dolex, which is taken over by a criminal mafia mastermind. It is revolves around a military doctor and a mysterious crime-fighting vigilante,” explained Dayakar.

The small production team will start shooting in June at various locations in and around Durban and the series is expected to be launched in July.

Dayakar said he was really excited about The Cobra coming to life in an online web series, one of the untouched territories in the local film industry. “As a young director I'm keen on getting involved in film projects, and last year our team won a popular film challenge, which was very encouraging.

“Web series films are the future, and the production process is also cheaper. The Indy film world is breaking ground and Hollywood is slowly dying out with their remakes, reboots, prequels and sequels,” he added.

The young filmmaker says the highlight of his career was winning the 48 Hour Film Project last year. “We managed to get our film, 'Glancesca', a romantic silent film written by Kylen Coetzee, screened at Suncoast, but we never expected to win,” he said, smiling proudly.