KUALA LUMPUR: Award-winning actress Datin Seri Umie Aida Rahmad once had a major fear of Pudu Jail and the dreaded executioner, but she successfully fought and conquered them while filming the thriller Dukun 11 years ago.
“I would have gone hysterical staying in a prison cell and then meeting the terrifying hangman. Thank God, I was allowed to step out of both rooms and pray for a few minutes before the cameras rolled,” she said at the press preview of Dukun in TGV Cineplex in Suria KLCC, yesterday.
Admitting that the scenes filmed in the now-demolished Pudu Jail were chilling, Umie added: “I heard many scary stories about Pudu Jail prior to this, thus stepping into a cell sent shivers down my spine.
“Spending hours in my cell was depressing, but the most terrifying scene was when my character finally received the hangman’s noose.”
Umie, 44, was so repelled by that scene that she stepped out of the hangman’s chamber to rest for almost half an hour before approaching the unnamed actor who played her “executioner”.
On a brighter note, Umie whose best known films include Embun and Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang, befriended a batik python for two months to prepare for her role as the demented bomoh Diana Dahlan.
“I got the snake from a friend, and became its virtual stepmother throughout the filming of Dukun. Every day, I pretended to talk to my reptilian friend, facing it eye-to-eye and observing its slithery movements, even in my bedroom,” she said.
Umie revealed that veteran actress Fauziah Nawi suggested that she have a snake companion in order to play Diana effectively.
The actress admitted that the snake’s movements came in handy during prison scenes where Diana became hysterical and attacked fellow woman prisoners, and scenes where she chanted mantras, danced around and sprinkled blood on her victims.
“The snake represents a sinister and seductive force. A despicable villain has such snaky qualities - KL Gangster 2’s ruthless crime lord Tailong, convincingly portrayed by Datuk Rosyam Nor is another good example,” said Umie.
Helmed by award-winning director Dain Said of Bunohan fame, Dukun was completed in 2007 and released today. Produced by Astro Shaw it also stars Faizal Hussein, Namron, Bront Palarae, Elyana Emrizal, Chew Kin Wah, Hasnul Rahmat and Soffi Jikan.
Dukun is about witch doctor and nightclub singer Diana who is tried for the gruesome murder of businessman Datuk Jeffri Jailani.
Diana is defended by a depressed lawyer Karim (Faizal) whose daughter Nadia (Elyana) has gone missing. In return for his services she agrees to help him find Nadia.