One of the funniest moments on the Red Carpet, for me, was when host Lekheraj Sekhar had to announce himself as an actor in Megan Lim En’s film Coast to Coast to take the stage with the film’s team. It was a reminder of the multi-disciplinary and versatile talents in our local film space, especially Raj, whose works I have had the privilege of following since we first met at a party at SGIFF in 2023. I caught up with the cover star of our inaugural Daily as he queued for the conversation with Aamir Khan.
Daryl: For those who do not have the privilege of being acquainted with you, tell us a bit about yourself and your history with SGIFF.
Raj: I’m currently working as the Ticketing Manager at Wild Rice, but I started off as an actor. So I now move back and forth between acting and my day job. It’s kind of like Batman, if you think about it. I still enjoy acting and doing music every now and then. The first time I ever attended SGIFF was as a guest for a feature film I acted in 2023 called Tomorrow is a Long Time. After I graduated from university the following year, I applied for a job at SGIFF in Partnerships that evolved organically into ticketing. Because of that, I now do ticketing at Wild Rice. The SGIFF team then asked me to be an announcer for the red carpet this year, and I said yes without any hesitation. I’m a bit of a nepo baby lah.
D: Walk us through what last night felt like for you, as former SGIFF staff, now host and actor.
R: I’m really proud of the film we did. It was a passion project, so that sense of pride for the film outshone everything else. It gave me some motivation and hope for the future as well, that anything is possible, anything can happen. As for the red carpet, I was not expecting myself to feel frazzled in front of a crowd, but maybe it’s the air or professionalism of the red carpet or the high-profile celebrities and I’m used to being goofy, I found myself suppressing that part of me.
D: For your film, you worked closely with friends. You’re also now hosting where you used to work. You started this conversation comparing yourself to Batman, but to what extent do you consider yourself like Spider-Man, where this year’s SGIFF is basically a homecoming to you?
R: Wow, did you just come up with that? Amazing. (Daryl laughs in faux humility) SGIFF kickstarted my life in film, my professional career, and my first job after graduation. No matter what, I’ll always end up here in some capacity and see the team that I know and love as well.
D: Let me now compare you to Superman. You do ticketing, music, stand-up, act, write, and host. That’s inspirational. Where does your drive come from?
R: I think these opportunities were just me remaining open to saying yes to things. Even if it can be scary, even if you’re doing it for the first time, just say yes to it. Once you’ve experienced it, it doesn’t seem as intimidating. Getting into stand-up was a bet I made with my friends too. Just remain open to whatever comes your way.
Written by Daryl Cheong, edited by Phyllis Chan