Indian boy's fluency in Mandarin lands him acting role

Denzyl Dharma's fluency in Mandarin landed him an acting role in the upcoming movie Wayang Boy, after he had impressed the director in an audition.

The 11-year-old said that people are often impressed when they hear him converse with ease in Mandarin, and credits his teacher with helping him with the language.

He also said that he wishes to donate a portion of the money from his acting role to an orphanage because he would like to lend a helping hand.

Denzyl's story is featured in the second video of the "The Best of Singapore", a series of three YouTube videos that seeks to celebrate and pay tribute to the seemingly ordinary roles in Singapore society that tend to be overlooked.

Besides Denzyl, the video also features the stories of Lillian, a coffeeshop aunty who has spent her life learning how to run a coffeeshop because she was not interested in school, and Abdul Rahman bin Eusoff, a freelance courier who lost his previous data-entry job when his company closed after the 9/11 incident.

Meanwhile, the third video of the series introduces viewers to Andy, a coffeeshop entrepreneur who appreciates the importance of coffeeshops in Singapore society and culture; Iqbal, a construction worker who works hard to provide the best for his four-year-old son back in Bangladesh; and Kenneth and Yew Jin, who volunteer with the NDP fireworks media team as a way to serve the community.

The Best of You movement aims to encourage people to recognise and appreciate the experiences that have brought out the best in them. The movement hopes to get people to share their stories on the things, people and experiences that have brought out the best of them via the-best-of-you.com. Submissions will end Aug 31.

The movement will conclude with an exhibition of selected submissions at Marina Square from Oct 22-26, and in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 28 to Nov 2.