“IMISSED acting so much!” said actress Siti Saleha Baharom, 27, who prior to her short break from acting, was a busy bee, hopping from one drama set to another.
The last drama production she was in, 7 Hari Mencintaiku, in November last year, was so popular that it earned her and co-star, Shukri Yahya, the Favourite Screen Couple Award at Anugerah Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur 2017 last April.
“Before this, I had always been busy juggling acting jobs. So, with such a long break, it’s only natural that I missed being in action and having a hectic schedule,” she said at the press screening of the psycho-thriller drama, Mandatori, in Kuala Lumpur recently.
“While I was busy with wedding preparations, the offer to star in Mandatori fell on my lap. I knew I had to take it,” she said.
However, that meant she had to be at the filming set two days after her wedding reception on Aug 12.
“It’s a sacrifice I had to make for having to return to work so soon after our wedding reception,” she said when asked about the challenges she faced during filming.
The actress, however, was thankful for having an understanding husband in government officer Ahmad Lutfi Azhar.
“Due to the drama being a psycho-thriller, filming took place mostly at night. Sometimes, we wrapped up past midnight and even till the sun came up the following day,” said Siti Saleha, adding that Lutfi understood her commitment as an actress.
Although it was challenging, she was happy that she accepted the offer to play Juliana in the miniseries as the character was not the stereotypical girl-next-door roles she had always taken on in the past.
“I hope that this role will open doors for me to get more character-driven roles,” she said.
Mandatori sees her starring beside actor Aeril Zafrel for the fifth time. The first drama they starred together was Kasut Tumit Tinggi.
Mandatori is a six-part miniseries based on a crime thriller novel written by novelist Ramlee Awang Murshid.
Directed by Razaisyam Rashid for Ideate Media and Astro, the miniseries also lines up artistes, such as Alvin Wong, Iedil Putra, Datuk Ahmad Tarmimi Siregar, Chew Kin Wah, Jo Kukathas, Meor Hashim Manap, Vanida Imran, Susan Lankaster and Amerul Affendi.
The miniseries premieres on Astro First Eksklusif (channel 480) and the On-Demand digital platform on Dec 14.