Why the award-winning Malaysian actress is thrilled for her titular role in the upcoming international action crime series, I Am Vash, alongside Bront Palarae
Many Malaysians may know her from her critically-acclaimed performance in the 2017 film Adiwiraku and her role in 2018 film Rise: Ini Kalilah, but Sangeeta Krishnasamy is about to go global.
In October this year, the award-winning Malaysian actress landed the lead role in the international crime series I Am Vash, to be directed by Adrian Teh and co-produced by London-based company 108 Media and Malaysian production house Revolution Media. In the eight-part series –which is set in 1970s Malaysia and inspired by actual events–Sangeeta plays Vash, a gutsy policewoman who battles societal prejudices and pressures as she works tirelessly to take down a notorious gang leader in the biggest case of her career.
Starring alongside Bront Palarae who will play Vash's partner, Rahman, Sangeeta is thrilled to take on a plum role that showcases a female protagonist from an ethnic minority. With production for I Am Vash slated for the second quarter of 2022 for an early 2023 release, Sangeeta tells Tatler how she's been preparing and the A-list celebs and directors she hopes to work with in the future.
How did you land the lead role in I Am Vash?
I met Justin Diemen, the producer, at the ASEAN International Film Festival not too long ago, and we got to talking about creating scripts based on powerful female protagonists. But then we kind of left it at that. He called me last year saying that he was excited to be putting together I Am Vash. I was very keen because it was based on a real-life character and real case files.
What is it about Vash's character that stands out for you?
The fact that she's a woman from an ethnic minority who leads the series. We don’t see enough powerful female lead roles here in Malaysia, especially women of ethnic minorities. There’s a lot of history attached to the script, which is interesting to explore, and I’m honoured to learn from it. The series is set in the '70s, a time when it must have been challenging for a woman to be in the position that she was; a time when the police forces were dominated by men.
