The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2011 12:38 AM PST Osman Ali's Ombak Rindu will tug at your heartstrings. FOR the last decade, Osman Ali has been steadily carving a niche for himself as a prolific feature film director. Versatile, creative and a talented storyteller, Osman cleverly incorporates a local flavour to his tales. Known for his more risque works, such as Bukak Api (revolving around transvestites in Kuala Lumpur) and the short film Malaikat Di Jendela, Osman has also written and directed his own scripts ranging from dramas such as Anak Halal to romantic comedies like Cun. Now, fresh from winning the best director award at the recent Anugerah Skrin 2011 for his work on Cun, Osman is ready to give movie-goers an emotional roller-coaster ride with the love story, Ombak Rindu. An adaptation of a bestselling Malay novel of the same title, Ombak Rindu tells the story of Izzah (Maya Karin) a village religious teacher who is sold to a brothel by her uncle on the pretext that they need money for her aunt's surgery. Her first customer is rich playboy Hariz (Aaron Aziz). Izzah begs him to marry her as a way out of prostitution and he agrees, but with the intention of making her his mistress. Little does he know that when two people spend so much time together, feelings are bound to develop. As time goes by, love grows and Hariz falls for Izzah. But there's a problem – Hariz is engaged to his childhood sweetheart Mila (Lisa Surihani) and has to find a way out of the mess. Mila, in turn, proves herself as a force to be reckoned with and she is determined to win him back at all costs. So how is Hariz going to get out of the emotional mess? For those who have been following Osman's work all these years, Ombak Rindu is definitely a big surprise. A very pleasant one at that. And be warned – a box of tissues is likely to come in handy. With leading ladies such as Maya and Lisa (both have won the best actress titles at the Malaysian Film Festival, in 2008 and 2010 respectively) and Bront Palarae (he won the best actor award at the MFF 2010) as well as the popular Aaron Aziz, Ombak Rindu is arguably the most anticipated movie of the year. Jointly produced by Astro Shaw and Tarantella Pictures, the movie was filmed last August in Langkawi, Kedah and Cameron Highlands, Pahang, and racked up a RM2.1mil budget (it was originally estimated to cost about RM1.6mil). For Osman, directing an adaptation from a novel was a huge challenge but it was something that he had wanted to do for so long. "The opportunity never materialised before this. I don't think there are many filmmakers who have made movies based on books. So when Tarantella Pictures contacted me about the movie, the first thing I did was to contact novelist Fauziah Ashaari. I needed her blessing ... it was very important for me as a director," said the affable filmmaker, after the media was treated to a preview last week. "We also discussed the script which was already written by Indonesian Armantono (who wrote for movie Lagenda Budak Setan). What I did was to make minimal changes here and there to suit Malaysian sensitivities. While working on the screenplay, Osman also took into account that fans of the book may have problems accepting some of the changes made in the film adaptation. He said that he was aware the fans would have their own expectations and he had to stay true to the book. "I couldn't possibly follow the book 100%. I guess it is a big challenge for any director to work on a movie based on a book. In fact, I read and loved the book. The story was set in a Malay community, and it was full of love and tears. "It is how a woman struggled all her life to find true happiness; that's really fascinating for me as a director," he said, adding that it was important for him to love the story and the charactesr from the get go. "I think one has to give a part of their soul to the story and I did. He added that one of his biggest challenges was to create a new Izzah in Maya Karin and a new Mila in Lisa Surihani. "I was proud to see how Maya worked so hard to play her role. I also decided to make Maya's character, Izzah, wear a tudung (headscarf) and I kept telling Maya to play Izzah as honest as she could. "Then we also had Lisa playing the strong-willed b***h Mila, who is the total opposite of her own soft-spoken personality. So it was a challenge for me to change Lisa into somebody else through the filming process. For Maya, to play an ustazah in Ombak Rindu was challenging, but she embraced it whole-heartedly. "Izzah is a soft-spoken, righteous girl from a village. She's always used religion as a guide in her daily life," she described her role. To ensure she did her best, Maya personally hired an ustazah to teach her more about Islam. "I took it upon myself to hire a religious teacher for three weeks to teach and show me all there is to know about Islam and what being an ustazah is all about. We spent about two to three hours a day together and I learnt a lot from her," said Maya. "Before I got the offer to act in Ombak Rindu, I had already read the book (which I bought seven years ago!) It was the first Malay novel that I read and I loved it! I loved Izzah's character in the book and I fell in love with Hariz too. "So when I was offered the role I was beyond excited. I guess I'm a romantic at heart, and I loved it most when Izzah and Hariz (who love each other deeply) have a difficulty expressing that love," elaborated Maya. Having worked with Osman previously in Anak Halal and Cun, Maya is quick to give the director props. "Osman is an amazing director and my fellow actors have been amazing too. I'm glad to finally see the movie on screen," she said. Lisa, meanwhile, feels that Mila has been her most challenging yet. "When I heard about the movie I just said yes, without knowing which role I was going to get!" she revealed. Lisa is glad for the acting rehearsals that Osman put her through with actress-turned-acting coach Ellie Suriyati. "It helped me familiarise myself with my role. Osman did give me 'Mila' because he wanted to show a different side of me. I have to admit it was very challenging." "There's an obvious black or white streak to Mila's personality. My main challenge was to balance that out a little so people wouldn't hate her for who she is." Ombak Rindu is now playing in cinemas nationwide. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2011 12:38 AM PST Singaporean actor Aaron Aziz does good in Malaysia. MANY will remember Aaron Aziz from the underrated romantic comedy Pisau Cukur, arguably one of the best Malaysian films of 2009. There was already a bit of hype surrounding him as a relative newcomer in the Malaysian film industry when he played a supporting role in the film alongside stars like Nur Fazura, Maya Karin and Dato' Rahim Razali. But not many would have predicted the sort of meteoric ascent that has seen him become not only the undoubted dreamboat of Malaysian film and television, but also a much sought after actor with some serious acting chops. Such is his busy schedule that an opportunity to sit down for an interview with him had to be fit in during the lunch break at the shoot of an upcoming production you'll be seeing him in. Just what made Aaron, a Singaporean who began his acting career on TV for the Suria Channel in Singapore, try his luck in Malaysia instead? "Kak Erma (local actress Erma Fatima) was a member of the jury for an awards show called Pesta Perdana in Singapore in 2002, and she saw me then. I had won a Best Supporting Actor award that night and later she called me up and asked me to play a supporting role in Sumayyah in 2004. "Back then I just went up to Kuala Lumpur for shoots, and then I would return to Singapore, but as time went on I started getting more offers, like from Kak Erma again for Haryati 2 and from Dato' Yusof Haslam for Janji Diana, and finally in 2007, Astro offered to sign me as one of their artistes, so I decided to make the jump and try my luck here, as it was beginning to look more and more like I could make a career out of this here, as opposed to it being more of the part-time thing like it was in Singapore," answered Aaron. Aaron's dashing good looks are a strong hint that he got his start in front of the camera as a model, and when asked whether he had always wanted to be an actor, he explained that it wasn't really the case at all. "I sort of stumbled into the acting profession through modeling," the 35-year-old said, elaborating on how he was asked to enroll in acting classes to arm himself with better skills for TV commercials. He also adds: "People always say you won't know something unless you try it, and that's how it was with the acting classes and the TV commercials. Unlike some actors, it was never a case of actively seeking out production houses with a portfolio for me. There's a huge element of luck where I was concerned because people would come up to me and say, 'why don't you come and read for this part?' It never crossed my mind that I'd be an actor, but as I started going for those early auditions and trying out for my first few parts, I began to fall in love with the craft ... and here we are now." Having starred in a variety of highly popular TV dramas and telemovies including Gerak Khas, Cahaya Kasih, Emil Emilda and the latest TV sensation Nora Elena, Aaron saw his star rise even higher this year when he snagged the lead role in Syamsul Yusof's KL Gangster, currently the highest grossing Malaysian film in history with box office takings of around RM12mil. Add to that two more big box office hits in Evolusi KL Drift (Parts 1 and 2), the aforementioned Pisau Cukur, and another high profile release in the now-playing movie adaptation of best-selling Malaysian novel Ombak Rindu and it's pretty clear that this is one guy who is fast becoming the new "Hero Malaya" (as the local press likes to dub whoever the current "king" of Malaysian films is). In addition to being a much-in-demand actor, Aaron has also quietly made his first foray into feature-length directing with the recent airing of his telemovie Kekasih Awal Dan Akhir, which judging from publicity and reported high ratings (more than one million viewers, Aaron informs with a big smile) is quite an achievement for a first-time director. On both sides of the camera Was it difficult, handling the pressure of being both behind and in front of the camera for this first telemovie? "Luckily, I've done a few commercials, music videos and info ads in Singapore where I was both behind and in front of the camera, so when the time came to shoot Kekasih Awal Dan Akhir, I'd already learned how to compartmentalise my different roles, so that didn't worry me that much," he answered. "What did worry me, was whether the things I had planned and put in the movie would be good enough to interest people to tune in. Watching it again now, of course, there will always be things that I wish I did better, which I'm sure is something that any filmmaker will feel about their 'baby', but I tried to do my best and hopefully people can see it in the finished product." Talking about his latest film, the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling novel by Fauziah Ashari, Ombak Rindu, Aaron revealed that he didn't read the book. "As an actor, I always choose to read the screenplay only, as it is the screenplay that will be shot and put on film, and what the director wants is always in the screenplay. I don't want to risk confusing the character and putting in things that are not in the screenplay but are there in the book, so as a general rule it's the screenplay only for me." Starring alongside Maya Karin and Malaysia's most popular leading-lady-at-the-moment, Lisa Surihani, in what is surely the love triangle weepie of the year, Ombak Rindu also boasts some heavyweights behind-the-camera power in producer Sharad Sharan, who directed and produced last year's hit movie adaptation of Lagenda Budak Setan and, of course, award-winning director Osman Ali, who also adapted the book with Armantono. "When you're doing films, the directors are usually quite particular, and if they're not getting what they want on film, they're unlikely to say 'Let's move on to the next scene'. Some directors put more emphasis on technical and visual matters, and less on acting, while others are more concerned about getting the right performances from actors but are not as fussy, technical-wise," said Aaron as he related his experiences with Osman, adding that he'd like the opportunity to work with such filmmakers as Ahmad Idham and Shuhaimi Baba. "Osman Ali is particular about both these things, and it's this commitment that makes him special. If you see the movie, there's one short scene on a yacht, which he insisted on getting, even if it was only a short scene. Yes, it might be expensive to do it, but it's beautiful, and Osman thinks it was worth having that shot in the film, and it's these details that make him quite different. He's not the kind of director who takes the easy way out, and I really respect him for that." Having neither seen the finished film nor read the book at the time of this interview, one wonders what Aaron thinks the audience reaction will be like to the film. He said: "I think it's something that people will find easy to like. It's not too 'urban' and it's also not too simplistic in the way that some Malay movies are, and since it's adapted from a popular novel, this means there's already a built-in audience wanting to see the film ... I hope it will do well." 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| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:50 PM PST The Muppets – Walter, a big fan of the Muppets, along with his friends Gary and Mary, discover the shocking plans of a rich businessman to tear down the Muppet Theatre. They immediately set out to find Kermit the Frog, who is no longer with the Muppets, and reunite him with the rest of the gang to stage a fundraiser and save the theatre. Starring Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Chris Cooper. New Year's Eve – This movie celebrates love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts, among couples and single people living in New York. Their lives somehow intertwine, and on New Year's eve, everything comes together in a dazzling end. Starring Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Ludacris, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel and Zac Efron. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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