YET again, talented Guyanese film producer Mahadeo Shivraj has climbed the production charts with a stirring masterpiece in honour of Guyana’s 175th Anniversary of the Arrival of East Indians to these shores.

Shivraj has now produced a riveting movie, dubbed ‘Brown Sugar Too Bitter For Me’, which depicts the clashes in societal classes, and the economic differences encountered when the upper class weds an individual of supposed lower status. In telling a gripping story, this movie brings to life the everyday issue of differences in economic levels in our present society, which has eventually resulted in segregation between ‘societal classes’ in the past and even in present day.
Set for a red carpet launch on April 20, 2013 at the National Cultural Centre, ‘Brown Sugar Too Bitter For Me’ will also be screened in several locations across Guyana. On Saturday, March 30, the movie was screened at the Anna Regina Multilateral School Auditorium.

Mahadeo Shivraj evolves
At a very young age, Mahadeo Shivraj was involved in drama, and acted out scenes with such fervour and intensity that many heralded him as the next big acting and producing name on the local shores. While he disclosed that he did acting for the ‘mere love of it’, he certainly had no idea that his natural skills would have taken him to such heights, or brought him such fame.
As a young child, Mahadeo adored the cinema, and would sit after a movie had ended, musing and declaring dreamily to relatives how capable he felt of producing a better act than the lead roles in the movie.
They, of course, dismissed those musings as ‘a childhood phase’, because they had not the slightest idea that Mahadeo was actually serious.
Not at all discouraged by the lack of resources in Guyana, Mahadeo toiled and, with gritty determination, soon made his name is movies like the ‘The Smurfs’ and the blockbuster television series ‘30 Rock’.
Several years ago, his dream was to give young Guyanese a chance to realise their full potential and attain every aspiration, and that is exactly what he is doing, since his latest production comprises almost 99% Guyanese-bred actors and actresses.
He was the first of six children born to Purshotam and Sukhia Shivraj. He attended North Georgetown Secondary School, shortly after which he attended the newly-constructed South Georgetown Secondary, where he was a Business student. At 14, he moved with his parents to Lamaha Gardens, Georgetown, still with that broiling desires within, which rapidly propelled him to a career in acting and eventually movie production.
At the tender age of sixteen, he landed a job at the Ministry of Education, and there he met the vivacious and adorable Beena, with whom he fell madly in love, not caring that she was three years older than him. Nine years of steamy courtship continued before the lovebirds finally wedded and moved into their own home in Queenstown’ Georgetown.
He never stopped pursuing his dreams, and in 1987, he met Neaz Subhan, who is now attached to the Government Information Agency, and the two became buddy friends. In that year, Subhan was working on a play called ‘Vishwas’, and he offered Shivraj the lead role, which he executed with dazzling perfection. Yes, he was nervous as a first timer, but with encouragement, he overcame his jitters and unleashed his acting ability, amazing onlookers on the set.
His performance certainly enhanced his future prospects in theatre. While seasoned actors netted a maximum of five plays per year, the still young Mahadeo was raking in nine and ten in comparison. From then on, there was certainly no turning back for him.
This talented son of the soil however longed to be in the movies, and after playing roles in over forty productions, he was offered a full scholarship to India to study in the Film Institute of Pune [Poona]. Even though his wife was supportive, as per normal, ‘Shiv’ was essentially uncomfortable leaving his family behind.
And this was quite natural, since the scholarship was a five-year course that dictated one year for studying language, two years for acting, and two years reserved for directing. Shockingly, he turned down this offer, because his family mattered more to him.
But all was not lost, and not long after, he got an opportunity to travel to the USA. He knew the possibilities of the concrete jungle, so he pounced on the opportunity without hesitation. His intention was to make it in Hollywood, but the bond between himself and family was so strong that he put a hold on his career, and though he had travelled on a visitor’s visa, worked assiduously to get his wife and child to be with him. He was thirty-three years old when they joined him in the United States of America.
But fate soon dealt him a cruel blow, as his wife became severely ill and he found himself working between jobs to take care of her and his son, who had started attending school. By the time his wife had overcome her illness, it was time for him to put his son through college.
He had to choose between his dream and his son’s dream, and it was when his son had finished college and had started to work in 2007 that Mahadeo actually could have pursued his ultimate dream of landing roles in movies, and eventually directing and producing.
He was placed on a ‘fancy gallop parade’ before he actually managed an audition, since at that time it was deemed almost impossible to net an audition as a new face on the scene. There were even persons who told him he would have to fail about fifty auditions before he would be able to pass one. But he ignored that advice since he believed in his special abilities. At the time, he was attending New York University.
His first, second and third auditions did not go too well, but he was determined not to listen to others. He did not care if he had to do one hundred auditions,  he put every fibre in his being into it. His dream came true in the fourth audition, when he played the role of a forensic specialist in a television series called ‘100 Centre Street’.
Even though he had signed a contract, he wasn’t able to play that role. He was told the director had decided to cut that particular scene.
That’s when he truly realized how unpredictable the American film industry really was. He was not deterred though; he knew that he had to make it someday. He was even contracted, and had to be paid for the part anyway.
Mahadeo’s career took off on a roller coaster ride afterwards, and he began working on the same sets as some of Hollywood’s superstars with names like Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and many others, even though often times his pieces were background roles.
His gritty and unrelenting demeanour soon saw him acting in Hollywood movies and series like ‘The Smurfs’, in which he played the role of a cab driver. He was Bellhop #1 in ‘3 Backyards’; and Rishi in hit series ‘We Are New York’. He also played August Wells in ‘Truth’, and was Raj in ‘Karma: A Love Story’. In the blockbuster television series ‘30 Rock’, he played the hot dog vendor. The episode was named ‘Fireworks’.
All the while he was boldly marketing Guyana to many overseas directors, but when he finally was given a lead role, he sadly realized his visa had expired, and he certainly had to turn the offer down. Luckily, soon after, he became a citizen of the USA.
Shivraj’s heart was always with Guyana, and on the possibilities of discovering and unleashing the hidden acting talent here, so while in his early 40s, he did the unthinkable and gave up his Hollywood dream to return home with every intention of plunging into film production. And many Guyanese would have benefited from his exploits thus far.
Soon after his return, Guyana was privileged to see his first movie, ‘Till I find a Place’ which was well applauded, and even received rave reviews from the critics.
He was certainly at a grave disadvantage with only one camera and one lighting system, but he pulled it off successfully with unrelenting faith and perseverance.
He, however, received a slap in the face since, while a few original copies were sold, thousands were pirated and sold worldwide. He has encountered the same problem with many productions that followed, but he has never given up, and still hopes that Government can come up with legislation to erase piracy.
Some of his other handiwork included the hilarious comedy ‘Laugh till yuh belly Buss’, ‘Text me’ and ‘A Jasmine for a Gardener’, among others. He has also directed over thirty plays, doing the set-design for all.
To date, he has acted in some one hundred plays as well as on television, and has landed roles in over fifteen films. He is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artistes.
After enacting the Bollywood film ‘Baghban’ in a play directed by Neaz Subhan, one critic even asserted that Shivraj’s performance reminded him of the Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan.
His latest, ‘Brown Sugar Too Bitter For Me’, features an all-Guyanese cast with fully Guyanese soundtrack, and would reduce viewers to tears, as he dictated.