KUALA LUMPUR: Ramadan and Aidilfitri will never be the same again for award-winning actor Zul Ariffin.
The action hero of J Revolusi and Tombiruo is still grieving over his mother Robiah Nasir’s death of a heart attack last December.
“My mother was always my biggest fan, who supported my acting career from the start. And our best moments together have always been during Ramadan and Hari Raya,” he said in a news report yesterday.
Zul, 32, revealed that every Ramadan, his mother who lived in Taiping, Perak never failed to visit him and his siblings in the Klang Valley.
“We always had our ‘buka puasa’ together, at different places to experience the culinary talents of various restaurant operators. It was always a joyous occasion, and we all had different stories to share.”
The actor also said that whenever he was involved in dramas and films, he still found time to give his mother a “buka puasa” treat.
“Even if it was a little stall near the film’s location, she always appreciated my treat. As she always told me, what’s important is not the food but the tradition of sharing.”
On Aidilfitri, Zul and his mother always spent their first morning visiting the graves of his grandparents in Taiping. Things will now be different.
Zul will be visiting her grave at the Bukit Kiara Islamic Cemetery this year.
“This will be my new routine from now on. I’ll still go back to Taiping to visit my father, but on the second day,” he said.
Zul said his mother often visited him on the set of his films, and they had planned to go on an overseas holiday during Aidilfitri this year.
“She would have been on top of the world had she attended the recent Anugerah Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur in Putrajaya, where I won Choice Actor. Coincidentally, it was Mother’s Day, and I dedicated my win to her,” he said, adding that he did the same when he won Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian’s Popular Film Actor title last year.