Munafik 2 has Syamsul Yusof’s Ustaz Adam battle a cult with help from a single mother, played by Maya Karin.
BRAVE Ustaz Adam is back in action, saving souls from hypocritical monsters in human skin.
Having lost his wife and son in a tragic accident and battled a nasty neighbour who used black magic in Munafik, the faith healer now confronts a deadly cult in a remote village.
Director and actor Syamsul Yusof is reprising his role as Adam in Munafik 2, which opens in cinemas nationwide on Aug 30.
His RM2.8 million film will be screened in 130 cinemas here as well as those in neighbouring Singapore and Brunei. It will mark his first collaboration with popular actress Maya Karin, in which she plays a brave single mother who exposes the cult.
Syamsul filmed Munafik 2 over 60 days beginning March 20 last year. Filming took place in green areas around the Kinta Valley in Perak, Kuantan in Pahang as well as his “home ground”, the Klang Valley.
While the film is touted as a thriller, Syamsul prefers to call it a spiritual story with “lots of important lessons”.
“It’s scary, a lot more so than the first movie, but at its heart, the message is very spiritual, how many fall prey to charlatans who invoke the name of God to do evil,” he said in a recent interview.
“That is why the film retains its title Munafik. It’s about the evil in men, those who are hypocritical and pretend to be God-fearing yet harm others.”
Munafik 2, which will reach Indonesian screens three weeks after its Malaysian premiere, also marks the return of Asmawi “Mawi” Ani to the big screen after KRU’s fantasy Magika in 2010.
Popular baddie actor Nasir Bilal Khan, whose last film was Mamat Khalid’s Usop Wilcha Menghonjang Makhluk Muzium in 2015, is cast as the cruel cult leader, Abu Jar.
Syamsul, who filmed many scenes in mangrove swamps, admits that he revised its script thrice, even doingso while he was asleep.
“To make sure that no controversies cropped up, I sought spiritual advice from several religious teachers, some of whom are family friends,” he said.
Approval was also obtained from the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the Film Censorship Board (LPF). While satisfied with Munafik 2, they advised Syamsul to remove three brief scenes showing people in prayer.
“I expected this film to get a rating of 18, but the LPF gave it PG13,” said Syamsul.
Below is an interview with Syamsul and Maya, held at Balai Berita last Tuesday.
TELL US ABOUT USTAZ ADAM’S LATEST ADVENTURe. IS HE STILL HAUNTED BY THE LOSS OF HIS WIFE AND SON?
Syamsul: He still misses them and dreams about them but he has largely come to terms with losing them.
Ustaz Adam gets a call for help from a friend who tells him about a deviant religious teacher in an isolated village who abuses and brainwashes his young students besides making them sick.
Ustaz Adam’s mission in the movie is to help the villagers rescue their children from this “monster”.
Munafik 2 is deeper in terms of its storyline compared to its predecessor and it touches on deviant religious teachers.
When I was a child attending religious classes, I learnt that the most wicked men are teachers who deviate from the true teachings and make their students spiteful or sick.
Munafik 2 is my telling of this cautionary tale which my father told me during my childhood.
ON MAYA’S CHARACTER, IS SHE A VICTIM WHO NEEDS TO BE SAVED, OR DOES SHE HOLD HER OWN COMPARED TO USTAZ ADAM?
Maya: I am Sakinah, who has a daughter named Aina. She’s played by seven-year-old Nur Zara Sofia.
Sakinah is a single mother who stands up to Abu Jar’s cult. Threatened with death, she is on the run with her child.
She needs saving and here’s where Ustaz Adam comes in.
The young mother is very intelligent and helps Adam devise a plan to save the helpless youngsters from the cult leader.
Sakinah is a strong character that I can easily identify with. She is also spiritual and compassionate, and risks her life to save dozens of children.
HOW IS IT LIKE WORKING TOGETHER?
Syamsul: Maya is capable of taking on heavy roles like Sakinah. When the going gets tough, she’s still so cool!
I have always been a fan of Maya and specially created Sakinah for her.
I’m a perfectionist who is very demanding on set. Maya was very patient and committed to her task — she delivered her role beautifully.
Maya: I hope to work with Syamsul in more films. He is a capable director who knows how to bring out the best in his team of actors.
I’ve been following Syamsul’s work from Day One. I like his style of directing because he allows his actors to have their say in the development of their characters as well as the story’s plot.
He has his “moods” while on the set. I guess I was smart enough to tiptoe around him and get on his good books.
WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT YOU BOTH FACED ON THE SET?
Syamsul: The climactic scene towards the end of the story where monsters tortured me. That was a major challenge because I had to make myself howl out in pain, as if I was really getting bashed up!
Maya: Getting hung up on a tree, getting punched by evil spirits and getting thrown around a room.
Thank goodness I’ve gone through similar experiences in my last thriller Jwanita and, to a lesser extent, the two Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam movies.
These films toughened me up and prepared me mentally and physically for the role of Sakinah.
TELL US ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH NASIR BILAL KHAN (WHO PLAYS THE BAD GUY).
Syamsul: He is a shy and soft-spoken man. He’s got a good sense of humour too. But when he gets into his character, he is like a man on fire.
He really made Abu Jar terrifying. His eyes are creepy, like that of an evil wizard, throughout the story.
If we Malaysians had a Harry Potter villain, Nasir looks the part!
It was my father who suggested Nasir for the role of Abu Jar as he worked with our company Skop Productions in Bohsia: Jangan Pilih Jalan Hitam in 2009.
In that movie, he played an abusive, lustful and good-for-nothing parent.
DID YOU DO A LOT OF THE STUNTS? DO YOU THINK PONTIANAK HARUM SUNDAL MALAM AND JWANITA PREPARED YOU FOR MUNAFIK 2?
Maya: Yes I did.I jumped, kicked, punched and threw the ghostly baddies around. And I certainly have my past movies to thank for “training” me.
YOU’VE GOT MAWI BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN NOW. tELL US ABOUT HIS ROLE AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE.
Syamsul: Mawi plays the kind Ustaz Azhar. He is a God-fearing young man who becomes a good friend of Ustaz Adam.
It is Azhar who introduces Adam to Sakinah, and he also helps them escape from the terror of Abu Jar.
While Mawi excels in playing humorous characters, this time he is 100 per cent serious.
WILL YOU BE SINGING THE THEME SONG WITH MAWI AGAIN?
Syamsul: Yes, Mawi and I recorded the theme song Kerana Dunia. I wrote and composed it with help from Anwar Fazal.
Kerana Dunia, like our past collaborations Bukan Propaganda from Desolasi and Kalah Dalam Menang from Munafik, combines pop and hip-hop.
IS MUNAFIK 2 THE FINAL CHAPTER OF USTAZ ADAM’S STORY?
Syamsul: No, I’ve always wanted a trilogy as three is my favourite number.
Ustaz Adam will be back in Munafik 3 in a couple of years’ time and he will once again fight a hypocritical villain who abuses God’s name to do evil.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING PROJECTS.
Syamsul: I’ll be reprising my role as tough Inpector Wahab in Abang Long Fadil 3 and my brother Syafiq will be filming it in October.
It will be way more explosive and more exciting than the first two Abang Long Fadil outings.
I’ll also be returning to the set of Mat Kilau which is being filmed in Perak and Pahang. We expect the historical film about Pahang’s anti-British warrior to be out in cinemas next year.
Maya: My next film is Olympic Dream which is likely to be screened in early 2019. It is the story of a young Singaporean who excels in badminton and aspires to represent her country in the Olympics.
This film is directed by Dan Ho and Annabelle Lin plays the protagonist. I will play a makcik who is a family friend and a staunch supporter.
As for singing, I’ll soon be releasing Getaway, a duet with Kaka Azraff. The song is composed by Audi Mok.
There is also My One True Love, a duet with Awi Rafael which he wrote and composed.
DO YOU PLAN TO DO AN ACTION FILM NEXT?
Maya: Yes, of course. I hope to play more action heroines capable of flooring baddies.
It’s great to be in action-packed adventures, especially police and detective movies.
I love challenges, even performing my own stunts.