Ageing populations, dwindling family businesses, and national identity are issues that have been plaguing Singapore over the past few years. Mr Jagraj Singh Wasan or Genuinely Jag – the stage name he goes by – is attempting to dramatise this issue through his show Mind Your Business.
The comedy-drama follows rich spoiled brat Jag, who has to return to Singapore from the US and look after his family business when his father falls ill. Mr Jagraj released the pilot episode this year to start pitching to networks.
He started writing the script in 2019 when his father started falling ill. Speaking to tabla! on Wednesday (Aug 5), he said: “The show is like my own personal love-letter to my father,” who passed away in early 2020.
His script was selected to be presented at the Asian Television Forum Market Place in 2022, where he pitched the script to platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. However, he wasn’t able to go further, and the major feedback was that the story was too niche or too Singaporean and wouldn’t reach global audiences.
Mr Jagraj, 35, disagreed with the notion, citing the success of South Korea and Thailand in their global reach without having to sacrifice cultural specifics. “We think the story has to have the same colour or gender as our audiences, so they can identify with the problems that a character is having or the happiness the character might be having.
“I think we don’t give audiences enough respect sometimes, you know? In fact, we can resonate with a dog on film. We can watch Toy Story. We can watch Finding Nemo and resonate with inanimate objects or even like other animals,” he said.
In the end, Mr Jagraj self-funded the pilot episode. He reached out to local talent like actress and former producer Mrs Daisy Irani, and his peers in New York to help with the filming. As a musician, he composed and wrote the songs for the show, with a few of them created during his Master’s programme at the Berklee School of Music in New York.
This is not the first time Mr Jagraj has attempted to showcase Singaporean stories. In 2022, he released the music video and original song Dance Karneya as a tribute to migrant workers. While he was able to get support through non-governmental organisations and crowdfunding for that project, he was not able to get the same level for the pilot.
Still, he believes that there is a booming arts scene in Singapore, which is only held back by an inability to speak as freely as places like New York or Los Angeles.
“I’m vegan and when I first came back after undergrad (study), I stopped eating meat and eggs and all that. People always said this is going to be difficult in Singapore. But Singapore is one of those places where once you open your eyes to things, they exist. Whether it’s finding vegetarian Chinese places that make fantastic laksa or mock chicken rice, they exist, and once you open your eyes to them, you’ll find them. I think it’s the same with the art scene,” he said.
The future of Mind Your Business is still uncertain, but Mr Jagraj stays optimistic and confident that this story can be as resonant as shows like The Office. He continues to market the story on social media and to interested parties, using his experience in the television and production industry.
He has also received offers to remake the script for the Indian and US markets; however, he believes that the show still rings true in Singapore. Despite that, he is open to the idea of redesigning parts of the show if need be.
“I feel like we can make a show anywhere. We can make a show in Iceland, and it can be watched anywhere. But of course, I would love to discuss if the India market is interested in making their own version or the US market is.”
“And of course, this NRI (non-resident Indian) story is something that maybe Indians in particular can resonate with more than any other country in the world because we are all over the world now,” said Mr Jagraj.
