No one understands the combative nature of actors fighting for a role more than Manik Gunnartana and Yasmin Kasim. “All the time we would take roles from each other,” admits Yasmin with a laugh. “We kept seeing each other in audition rooms and nodding. And over the years, it turned into a mean look. I secretly hated her.”
Manick admits that early in her career, the entertainment industry “really encouraged this sense of competition and that person next to you getting that role wasn’t your equal and you shouldn’t be friends.”
Rivalries aside, the two actresses now form an unstoppable creative force and friendship; Co-writing and participating in the short film to deathDirected by fellow actor Rose McIver, produced by funny guy Luke McGregor (Rosehaven), with fight choreography by celebrity trainer Rashad Al Amin [below with the actresses on the set of To the Death].
Filmed in Los Angeles, the film is an action-packed romp about two South Asian Australian actors who are forced to fight to the death because it’s physically impossible to have more than one brown person on the show.
“They meet in the waiting room for the audition, and they get to know each other and when they are called, they face each other,” explains Manik. “Really fight to the death for the position… and we’re trying to turn the tables on them.”
It is clear that this film holds a deep connection to the two actors, who have experienced firsthand the limitations that the entertainment industry brings to people of South Asian background; Provides more opportunities for the role on the one hand, but on the other plays very much into stereotypes, limited to supporting parts and does not embrace a wide variety of characters.
Manick states that they came to this project together with the same troubled experience of navigating the audition circuit in Australia and the US. “We wrote it as a sort of cathartic release of all the anxiety and stress of being an actor.”
Yasmin promises that the film will be relatable to everyone… “who understands in the competition in the workplace and in the entertainment industry, when being brown sometimes means you are the only person who is just filling in.”
to death is their comedic critique of this problem and the good news is that it has been embraced by the film festival circuit. Recently nominated at the Atlanta Short Film Festival for Best Comedy, it has now been accepted into the prestigious LA Shorts International Film Festival, qualifying it for the BAFTA and Oscar races.
“We didn’t imagine that it would lead to the way it’s being received now. It exceeded our expectations,” Manick says.
“It means a lot that people feel the message, because we put our whole heart and soul into it. Even sometimes when I watch it, I get a little excited because it’s so real,” Yasmin adds.
What started as a rivalry between the two players slowly turned into a level of respect and trust for each other. “We were in an improv class in Los Angeles,” Yasmin reflects. “Just like in that movie, we pretended we didn’t know each other. And then I saw her on set and I thought she was just amazing. And we actually got along so well and then we thought, ‘We should actually work together. Let’s stop feeling like we don’t have a voice. Let’s come together and we can share our story'”.
They each brought so many things to the table creatively that it only made sense to continue the partnership. “Manik and I have a whole catalog of projects for which we have held meetings and it’s crazy,” admits Yasmin proudly. “I feel like I’ve been doing this with Manik for 15 years.
“It’s been so nice for people to watch it and just see how different Mink and I are. We just have such different energies. We’re completely different girls. We’re not ‘the same Aussie South Asian girl.’
Manik Gunnartana and Yasmin Kasim – just creepy for a change.
Manik is a Sri Lankan Australian, born in England, traveling to developing countries due to her father’s UN connections in the fight against climate change, before finally settling in Melbourne. Yasmin is an Indian, Malay Australian born in Perth and discovered when she was 6 years old as an actress on Michael J’s “HIStory Tour” Cason
Manick burst onto the acting scene as a regular on the iconic Australian soap Neighbors as the character Freya – the first time in the show’s 30-year history that South Asian characters have appeared in the main cast. However, Mannick felt that opportunities in Australia were dwindling. “I couldn’t see myself stepping out of that box to play certain types of characters.”
Hence, when she heard the bells of Los Angeles ringing, she took the plunge.
“I was so happy for the opportunity to go to Los Angeles. It was an escape from being in the box I was in Melbourne. To open up to an industry that is so huge, there is such a variety of roles… it was really liberating.”
This led to her being cast alongside Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman in an Oscar nomination lion and later, working with Oscar-winning New Zealand director Peter Jackson on the sci-fi blockbuster Mortal engines. “It was a crazy experience. Everyone was so approachable. And it was a real collaborative effort. It made me want to do more sci-fi/fantasy as well.”
After spending 7 years in Los Angeles and getting a taste of the creative possibilities and freedom in the entertainment industry, Manick decided to return to Melbourne. “It’s wonderful to be back. My whole family is here. It’s great to be around grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles and aunts. It’s really important.
“The idea that you can work hard to achieve what you want to achieve. How confident writers and directors are… I really want to bring that here.”
After performances in Neighbors and opposite Daniel Radcliffe b jungleYasmin also went abroad.
“I was in improv school, and someone told me I should audition for this comedy show where you create characters,” she says of one of her early experiences in Los Angeles. “There had to be 10-20 characters prepped and ready to go and it was such an amazing experience.”
This led to her becoming the first Australian to be part of the top ten performers/writers on the CBS Comedy Diversity Showcase.
“It’s a very creative group with high energies. As an Australian, it was a crazy experience. CBS really encouraged me to do stand-up and take everything that I feel has been killing me in my life and just flip it and make it funny.”
This led her to perform stand-up throughout Los Angeles. “I just got invited to the Comedy Store (Los Angeles) in two weeks. And it’s something to do here especially with the (writer’s) strike going on. It’s a way to stay creative and keep performing. I’d love to go back to Australia and explore that avenue as well.”
Yasmin and Manik frolic on the set of to death
With their solo careers going gangbusters, Manic and Jasmine are especially excited about the opportunities when they combine their energies. “We really learn both here and when we were in Los Angeles that as part of the South Asian culture in the entertainment industry, we are much stronger together when we lift each other up.”
and with till death, They want the short to open doors to an authentic representation of other cultures. “There was something so empowering about writing and creating what we wanted to see,” Manick explains. “You can’t be what you can’t see right? You can write your own thing. You can be funny. You can be a Marvel superhero. You can be nuanced and be an amazing thing that sells. I’m making Manick Ben’s dreams come true -15 to play all these different types of characters.”
Talking to Manik and Jasmine about their future plans, one of the projects in early development Christmas prawn curry, a romcom that is a combination of their experience with a white Christmas in America and the hot summers of an Australian Christmas. “Heavy on the comics!” According to Jasmine. “We sent each other ideas all day and night. We believe in mutual discomfort.”
“We’re both going for world domination. Few can do what Mindy Kaling has done for America. I think we’d be so happy to do it for Australia,” Mannick says.
