KUALA LUMPUR: Comedian Kunal Doli or Atu Zero, 30, is happy that talents from East Malaysia have "boomed" in mainstream Malaysian show business over the last two decades.
However, not all film and television productions have depicted East Malaysians properly and "more could be done" to boost their presence in television dramas, telemovies and films.
"I'm glad that we East Malaysians, from Sarawak, Labuan and Sabah have become household names, especially those who were discovered in talent searches and reality shows," said Atu who found fame with his elder brothers Syaiful and Sharif Doli in comedy search Raja Lawak 6 in 2012.
"It's also great to see many of us play main characters in Malay language dramas, and it's fantastic that films made by East Malaysian directors and producers have made it to cinemas nationwide. I especially love Marc Abas' Kadazan-Dusun language films Avakas in 2021 and Silence Of The 177 last year."
Atu who is of Bajau descent from Kudat, Sabah added that he was honoured to play major characters in the bilingual 2017 movie Tombiruo: Penunggu Rimba and the 2018 film Tangisan Akinabalu, but felt that they did not portray indigenous culture correctly in certain scenes.
"Both films are testament that East Malaysian stories are gradually being appreciated in Peninsular Malaysia. However, filmmakers must be factually correct and work closely with East Malaysians in the know, to develop good scripts, good costumes, good dialogues and realistic interactions in their films."
Atu said that the key to improving East Malaysian dramas and films was having joint ventures between East Malaysian-based production companies and their Peninsular Malaysian counterparts.
"And if there is a need for a West Malaysian to play an East Malaysian character, he or she should emulate Zul Ariffin as the mysterious masked warrior hero in Tombiruo. Zul worked extra hard to make his role an iconic one."
Atu will soon appear in the horror-comedy Sumpahan Malam Raya with Datuk Yusry Abdul Halim of KRU, his wife Datin Lisa Surihani, Dr Soo Wincci, Reen Rahim and Nora Danish on April 22.
The film is directed by Prof Datuk Dr A. Razak Mohaideen and marks Atu's first big screen role as a protagonist.