Liyana Jasmay and Afdlin Shauki team up again a decade after Papadom and its sequel, writes DENNIS CHUA
DATUK Afdlin Shauki and Liyana Jasmay first teamed up in the 2009 family comedy Papadom, and reprised their roles as father and daughter in its 2013 sequel Papadom 2.
In both movies, Afdlin directed Liyana, and along the way she learnt the ropes of good filmmaking from the multi-talented star.
Papadom won big, bagging the Best Film, Best Actor (Afdlin) and Best Actress (Liyana) at the 22nd Malaysian Film Festival in 2009.
COMEBACK COLLABORATION
On Thursday, Liyana and Afdlin mark their "comeback collaboration" Cikgu Vs Hantu, screened exclusively on Astro First, but this time their roles are reversed.
Cikgu Vs Hantu is directed by Liyana with Afdlin as its main star.
The horror comedy produced by Liyana's company Mermaid Studios has Afdlin play a schoolteacher Daud who comes face to face with the ghost of a past principal, Shima who dwells in the padlocked school hall.
Shima, played by Liyana's close friend and frequent collaborator Che Puan Juliana Evans, is not convinced that she is dead, and seeks the help of Daud and his fellow schoolteacher Samad (Khir Rahman of Papadom 2) to find out what actually happened to her.
MULTIPLE REUNIONS
"Cikgu Vs Hantu is not just a reunion of Papadom's and Papadom 2's stars, but also those of Bella & Jamie, and Kami The Movie," said Liyana at the press preview of Cikgu Vs Hantu at Dadi Cinema, Pavilion Shopping Centre, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Bella & Jamie, a 2019 family comedy co-starred Liyana, Juliana and Khir while Kami, a 2008 coming-of-age comedy-drama co-starred Liyana, Juliana and Zahiril Adzim.
Liyana said that Cikgu Vs Hantu, her first film on Astro First, was filmed over two weeks around the Klang Valley in September last year, shortly after the lifting of the Movement Control Order.
Strict standard operating procedures were observed by the cast and crew and only 20 people could be on location at any one time.
TRIBUTE TO PAST FILMS
"Afdlin was the first person who came to mind when I wanted to cast my leading man. And I only had Juliana in mind as my leading lady," said Liyana.
"I decided to have a horror comedy set in a secondary school as these elements have played a major part in my career journey thus far.
"For instance, my first horror Histeria was set in a school, Afdlin was the gardener of my school in Papadom, and Juliana was a convincing ghost in Hantu Bonceng."
RARING TO GO
Afdlin said that he immediately said "yes" when Liyana invited him to star in Cikgu Vs Hantu.
"I was raring to go. Even though Liyana is my protege, I am most honoured to be directed by her, and as a veteran actor I am very pleased with her work," said Afdlin.
"Not only has she learnt what I've taught her about filmmaking, she has also put her very own ideas to great use. She is a fine director who will go far."
DIPLOMATIC APPROACH
Afdlin added that he never objected to Liyana's methods of directing him.
"If I felt that some of her tasks were not what I expected, I merely stated my opinion on how it could be done better," he said, adding that they were diplomatic with each other all the way.
SATIRE OF MALAYSIAN LIFE
Afdlin described Cikgu Vs Hantu as a hilarious satire of Malaysian life, cleverly woven into the main characters' dialogues.
"It is also a cautionary lesson about safety in schools, and how dirty office politics can ruin a reputable institution," said Afdlin, adding that Liyana came up with the "perfect plot twist".
Zahiril said that he would remember Cikgu Vs Hantu as his first bomoh role.
"My character Yusof is the school's security officer, but he doubles as a bomoh. Daud and Samad seek his help to discover the back story of Shima and they discover that she died tragically, as a result of an avoidable accident in the school compound."
SYMPATHETIC FIGURE
Juliana said that while Shima was occasionally scary, most of the time she was a sympathetic figure.
"Ghosts need not be terrifying all the time. I'm so glad that Liyana got me to play a very human ghost whom viewers can relate to.
"While Shima is different from Ayu in Hantu Bonceng, both of them died terrible deaths and are unable to accept that they have left this world," she said.
POSSIBLE SEQUEL
The film's producer and Liyana's elder sister Adriana Jasmay said that there might be a sequel to Cikgu Vs Hantu later.
"While the story has an unpredictable yet satisfying conclusion, there's still lots of room for Daud, Samad, Shima and Yusof to come back next year," she said, adding that the film was also a tribute to Malaysian teachers.
Cikgu Vs Hantu also stars Shuk Sahar, Fathil Dani, Mohd Fadhli Masoot, Muhamad Muntazar Ghani and Syafiq Kyle.