Kuala Lumpur - THE movie about our country`s history of independence, 1957 Hati Malaya, is currently screening in cinemas nationwide.
It is about how Malaya gained its independence and intersperses footage of actual events with contemporary scenes.
The film`s presentation is unique as the story is narrated by five young people – Salmi (Maya Karin), Hali (Rusdi Ramli), Rafik (Adlin Ramli), Ani (Sharifah Amani) and Ang Lee (Douglas Lim) – who have been assigned to produce a picture book to commemorate the country`s 50th year of independence.
While conducting research, they find themselves transported back to the colonial era and become involved in the momentous events leading up to Merdeka.
The film focuses on Tunku Abdul Rahman, founder of the Alliance Party (now Barisan Nasional), who became the first Prime Minister in 1957, as well as his on-off rival Datuk Onn Ja`afar, founder of Umno.
It was Datuk Onn who stoked the fire of Malay nationalism against the formation of the reviled Malayan Union proposed by the British in 1946.
Performing arts lecturer Mohamad Kamarulzaman Taib plays Tunku and Datuk Onn is portrayed by theatre actor Zaefrul Nordin.
The country`s two other founding fathers, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V.T. Sambanthan, are portrayed by The Star`s associate editor Kee Thuan Chye and actor G. Nadarajan, respectively.
Made with a modest budget of RM3.5mil, the story was put together based on limited archived historical papers.
StarTwo talked to three actors who play the key characters in the movie.
Zaefrul Nordin
Datuk Onn, played by Zaefrul, was a visionary and true leader. He was a man ahead of his time, with intelligence and a unique personality that was sometimes misunderstood.
He succeeded in uniting the Malays to fight against the Malayan Union and to regain the power of the Malay rulers and the rights of the Malays.
For newcomer Zaefrul, playing the charismatic and yet very private Onn was a huge challenge.
“My biggest problem was that there wasn`t much footage or documentation on the late Datuk Onn, Zaefrul said.
“We managed to get a three-minute film footage that was taken in 1961-62, when he delivered a speech at University Malaya. I watched the footage countless times.
“It is hard to play a non-fictional character, you know, to balance things out and not overdo them. Shumi (director Shuhaimi Baba) made my job a lot easier and my fellow actors, like Ida Nerina (who played Datuk Onn`s wife Datin Halimah) helped me a lot.
“I have also realised that many significant historical events are not in our history textbooks, such as the struggles of politicians against the British.
“Even though I have given my best in playing the role of Datuk Onn, I`m very anxious and nervous about the public`s reaction, especially that of his family. I`m very grateful to Shumi for taking me on this journey,” said Zaefrul, whose acting career started off with the lead role in a play, Malam Haram, at Istana Budaya in 2001.
Maya Karin
In 1957 Hati Malaya, Maya Karin plays dual roles, one of which is Salmi, a free-spirited photographer who joins a publishing group to produce a coffee table book on Malaysia`s 50th Merdeka.
Her other role is Normala, a young and naïve woman living in the pre-Merdeka era. Normala later matures into a highly-spirited woman who is committed to Tunku Abdul Rahman`s cause.
“I wouldn`t say that it was difficult to play both the women in the movie,” Maya said.
“Despite the fact that Salmi and Normala live in different eras, they are both very passionate about things or issues that they believe in.”
Maya admitted that she learnt something more profound while filming the movie.
“After the filming, I became more aware of what Merdeka and our independence were all about as I didn`t grow up here and didn`t know much about the struggles. It was quite an emotional journey for me.
“I would strongly recommend parents to take their children to watch the movie. It is not an entertainment movie. It is a historical lesson done in an interesting way and hopefully, will help us to become better Malaysians.”
Kee Thuan Chye
For veteran playwright Kee, clinching a part in 1957 Hati Malaya was an opportunity for him to work with Shuhaimi Baba again. They last worked together in a short movie, Maria, 20 years ago.
“I heard about 1957 Hati Malaya but I didn`t know that Shuhaimi was trying to contact me.
“Once we got in touch, I turned up for auditions and all of us were required to sing, which surprised me a bit,” Kee said.
After he was given the role of Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Kee conducted his own research. “But I didn`t have to do much because everything was given in the script and it helped when Shumi talked about the character at length during rehearsal.”
Tan was a founding member of MCA. He was one of the wealthiest and most influential businessmen in Malacca and was known for his passionate efforts in fighting for the rights of the Chinese.
He succeeded in uniting the fragmented Chinese community as a result of the Communist presence. He was also involved in the struggle, alongside Datuk Onn, and later helped Tunku Abdul Rahman to achieve the nation`s goals.
“Tun Tan Cheng Lock was very passionate about independence and put his own personal safety at risk. There was an incident whereby he was injured by a grenade during an MCA meeting in Malacca.
“He was also fighting for the Chinese to get citizenship and urging them to mix with other races.
“Unfortunately, some lines (on this issue) were edited. Personally, I think it would be more poignant and quite relevant to today`s integration efforts.”
If Zaefrul managed to get a three-minute footage on Datuk Onn for his role, Kee was shown a footage that is less than 30 seconds long of Tun Tan Cheng Lock.
“But I wasn`t trying to imitate his character slavishly because what`s important to me was to bring out the emotional truth of his character, apart from the historical truth.”
For Kee, who has been acting for 30 years, working in 1957 Hati Malaya was a great experience.
“We were treated very well and I really cherish the friendship that I developed with Zaefrul and Kamarulzaman during the filming. It was truly a great experience,” he concluded.
Source: www.star-ecentral.com (26 Oktober 2007)
