Singapore has stressed the need for bilingualism since its independence in 1965. In school, we learn two of the four national languages – English and a Mother Tongue, which is Chinese, Malay or Tamil.
However, for Singaporean actor, comedian, and content creator Das DD, “either/or” doesn’t appear to exist in his vocabulary because he decided to become fluent in all of them.
And that is what brought him acclaim.
Back in April, the 33-year-old became the first Indian actor to pick up a performance accolade at the Star Awards, which spotlights local Chinese entertainment.
He bagged the Best Rising Star trophy for his work as the host of the variety web series #JustSwipeLah.
The SGAG artist, whose real name is Dharmadasa D Dharamahsena, spoke to MS News about the monumental win.
“When they called my name, I started crying because I was very emotional,” he recalled. “I never realised that I wanted the award so bad.”
Das DD explained that he had initially tried suppressing the desire as he did not want to get his hopes up.
However, the feeling hit him like a tidal wave as he finally soaked in the validation and recognition he so craved.
“The saddest thing is when you feel like you’re so close to something, but life snatches it away from you. So, I was very worried because I thought that was going to be one of those moments.”
In retrospect, the award washed away all the times when he thought the entire industry had forgotten about his existence, the actor noted.
Having launched his career in entertainment as an online personality, Das DD never expected to cross into mainstream media due to the perceived differences between these two platforms.
But his Star Award victory showed him that it was indeed possible for a creator of his background to be recognised on a mainstream level.
“If you’re a content creator and you want to be an actor, or the other way around, you can. You can even be a hybrid – I’m a hybrid, and that is fine.”
He hopes his milestone shows people that everything is possible, even for someone his age.
“The award is essentially a newcomer award, so most would expect a recipient in their early 20s. I’m in my 30s – some may even call me a late bloomer – but I have never ever tied my success to age,” he elaborated.
Das DD remembers being approached to host’ #JustSwipeLah’ after being featured as a guest to promote the 2022 Chinese New Year comedy flick ‘Reunion Dinner’, in which he had a small role.
According to 8days.sg, the director of ‘Reunion Dinner’ cast him in the film after watching Das DD’s viral Night Owl Cinematics parody in which he spoofs Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong and his famous ‘magic cup’ – another game changer in his showbiz career.
Just like PM Lee did during his ‘Circuit Breaker’ address, Das DD would switch languages whenever taking a sip from the small blue and white vessel, transitioning seamlessly from English to Mandarin to Malay to Tamil.
While his masterful performance impressed many (including PM Lee himself), Das DD admitted that he initially hesitated to take up the mostly Chinese-speaking job in ‘#JustSwipeLah’.
Things worked out in the end, of course.
“I think I did not win for my language proficiency, but I won for making every opportunity count,” he mused.
In his acceptance speech, he admitted that he would not have picked himself to host ‘#JustSwipeLah’ if he was the show’s producer.
Source: GVPictures on YouTube
“In my mind, a host has to have a high language proficiency,” he explained. “Of course, I cannot beat the other hosts in terms of my Mandarin. But I’ve realised it’s not just about the awards, but the journey that got me here.”
Being able to speak all four national languages was something that, according to Das DD, “just happened”.
His first language was Tamil, which he speaks at home with his parents. They figured he would eventually learn English in school anyway, so they mostly communicated with him in their native tongue.
They then sent him to a childcare centre when he was around two years old. That was where he picked up Mandarin from his Chinese classmates.
“My friends were all Chinese-speaking, and their parents were all Chinese-speaking. No one was speaking full English around me other than the English teachers.”
In fact, he got so good at Mandarin that teachers told his mother about his ability. At first, she could not believe it and thought the teacher was just being polite.
That was until another teacher, a Malay lady, shared that he had been helping to translate what his Chinese peers were saying.
“I was only about two-and-a-half years old, I sound like a prodigy,” joked the creator.
When it came time for primary school, the principal of his kindergarten wrote a letter of recommendation for him to study Chinese as his Mother Tongue Language, which he ended up taking until his GCE O-Levels.
At the same time, Das DD started picking up Malay from his parents.
As they were also fluent in Malay, the adults sometimes spoke in the language when there were things they did not want the young Das DD to know about.
He laughed and said, “But you see, that’s where they went wrong because that’s how I learnt!”
At the time, Das DD would go around speaking broken Bahasa Melayu to his Malay friends.
He credits his fluency in the language now to those who would correct him instead of making fun of his attempts.
“When people see that you are genuinely trying to communicate with them, they’ll correct you along the way. That’s when you truly learn.”
Although he studied English and Chinese in school and spoke Malay casually to his friends, he never forgot his Tamil roots.
He shared that the Tamil language holds a special place in Das DD’s heart.
“We are a minority group, so I don’t bump into other Indians on a daily basis like I do with others. So every time I speak in Tamil with someone, I feel a strong sense of closeness to them.”
He shared that his favourite part about his Star Awards win was that those from the Indian community were happy about his achievement even though ‘#JustSwipeLah’ is a Chinese programme.
Recalling a memorable encounter with some people who approached him outside an Indian club, he gushed, “I thought they were just going to ask for the time, but they congratulated me instead. I was so touched that they are proud of me.”
He highlighted that language is a bridge for people to understand and feel closer to one another.
“Every time I see a Chinese aunty, they don’t want to talk to me,” he said. “Not because they are racist, but because they don’t know how to communicate. The moment I speak Chinese to them, they open up.”
To Das DD, the biggest obstacles for those trying to learn a new language are the lack of opportunities to speak them or the fear that they will make a fool out of themselves.
He is convinced that the only way to truly learn is to have a proper conversation with someone in person – not through text, voice messages, music, or media.
“You need to speak to someone in real time, on the spot. At that moment, you are pressured to respond instantaneously. If you make a mistake, they can also correct you immediately. That is how it goes into your long-term memory.”
Although classes are another popular way to pick up a new language, he says the problem with them lies in their formality and rigidity.
In other words, if you want to improve your language skills, you should put yourself in a situation where you learn from real-world environments. He stated matter-of-factly,
If I throw you to some village in France for one year and you come back and tell me you cannot speak French, then there’s something wrong.
For those who wish to learn a foreign language but may not have the means to go overseas, Das DD recommends befriending your nearest native speaker – better yet, if their English is limited.
“Sometimes you might get lazy if your foreign friend can also speak English. But if they can’t, you’ll have to force yourself to speak their language until they can understand.”
Ultimately, language’s most important function is articulating one’s thoughts, emotions, and personality.
Das DD quipped,
You communicate to express, not necessarily to impress.
Although, of course, one could argue that the impressing part comes naturally nonetheless.
Looking back at the Star Awards, the actor expressed his gratitude to the people around him for taking a chance on him even though his Mandarin is not the best.
“They could have said that my Mandarin is not good enough and not given me the job.”
“But they did, and now I’ve been getting so many varied roles. I am very grateful for the opportunities I have been presented with so far.”
You can catch Das DD on #JustSwipeLah via meWATCH and follow him on Instagram.
Know more inspirational profiles like Das DD? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image by MS News. Photography by Clement Sim.
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