Zahiril Adzim, who loves challenging roles, tells Dennis Chua it’s an adventure being ‘deaf’
ONE of the country’s most versatile actors, Zahiril Adzim Mokhtar loves challenging roles.
He was a romantic in horror comedy Tolong! Awek Aku Pontianak, a gangster in Kami The Movie, a Muay Thai fighter in Bunohan, and a former juvenile delinquent haunted by his past in the Juvana movie series.
His latest challenge is playing Uda, a romantic young man who is deaf, and desperately wants to undergo surgery to rectify his impediment, even if it means dealing in drugs.
Uda is the protagonist of director Khairul Azri Mohd Noor’s big screen debut, Pekak, a co-production of Grand Brilliance and Lightbulb Pictures.
The movie opens in cinemas nationwide today and stars Sharifah Amani, Sharifah Sakinah, Iedil Putra, Amerul Affendi, Zaidi Omar, Chew Kin Wah and Joe Flizzow.
“I like Uda, because he refuses to believe he is deaf. While he is able to communicate using sign language, most of the time he uses his talent for lip reading, and it works,” said 30-year-old Zahiril at a Press preview of Pekak, in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, recently.
However, Zahiril also cautioned fans that Uda is no role model for youths. “He takes the easy way out, dealing with drugs to earn money for a cochlear transplant to restore his hearing. That is duit haram (dirty money) and it puts his life and those of his friends, in danger,” said Zahiril, who nevertheless
sympathises with Uda.
To prepare for the role, he learnt sign language from his father who teaches handicapped children. “Director Khairul, or Kroll as we call him, also introduced me to some friends who are deaf. I studied their ‘conversations’ for a week and after careful observation and coaching, I got the hang of playing Uda,” he said.
Zahiril also plugged his ears for long hours, removing them in the late evening. “I heard buzzing sounds each time I took the ear plugs off. My father and Kroll said that was how deaf people felt when they regained their sense of sound.”
On working with Sharifah Amani, who plays Uda’s love interest, Dara, he said it has always been his dream to do so. “We got along great on the set, because we both love challenges and playing characters who are the opposite of our real selves,” he said.
“Our characters are named after Datuk Usman Awang’s star-crossed lovers, Uda and Dara, from his play of the same name. However, our Uda and Dara are not star-crossed lovers. They are lovers who breach the sound barrier to establish a pure, honest romance.”
Zahiril admitted that the most “terrifying” scene in Pekak is one where Dara is brutally raped by the sadistic, drug-addicted artist, Azman (Amerul), who is the boyfriend of her best buddy Melor (Sakinah).
“Azman is mean and he treats women like sex objects. Amerul, who studied performing arts with me at the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara), nailed it with this acting. I’d vote him as the meanest villain on the local big screen this year,” said Zahiril, who has also tried his hands at directing, his first drama being a telemovie titled Dika Baran aired last year.
“It’s my 10th year in showbiz, and from now on, I plan to be both director and actor. As for acting, I hope to work in theatre as well as in TV and cinema.
Saying that directing gives him new perspectives in his career, Zahiril, who admires Sir Ben Kingsley and Johnny Depp, is currently filming One, Two, Jaga, a film about police corruption, which is supported by the Royal Malaysian Police.
“I play an honest police officer who investigates corruption amongst the boys in blue. Namron, my teacher and mentor during my Aswara days, the film,” he said.
FITNESS ACTIVIST SAKINAH STILL ENJOYS ACTING
THESE days, actress Sharifah Sakinah Al-Khaired is a fitness guru who conducts fitness camps for youngsters around the country.
She often teams up with fellow fitness guru Kevin Zahri to handle the Jom Kurus Cabaran 30 Hari challenge which is broadcast on Astro Bella (133).
“I believe that physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body but it is the basis of a dynamic and creative activity,” said Sakinah, who plays Melor in Pekak.
Describing Pekak as an educational movie filled with important lessons about life, she said: “Melor is not perfect. She lives a double life, partying with friends who do drugs by night. Her boyfriend, Azman, is a sadistic bully who views women as sex objects. Nevertheless, I can sympathise with Melor.”
Last year, Sakinah married pilot Aliff Adha, her longtime boyfriend who is her big fan.
“He always gives me feedback on my acting and hosting career. Besides, he knows a lot about showbiz, be it local or Hollywood,” she said.
While Sakinah spends more time teaching children about fitness these days, she says she is an actress first.
“I still love acting, but I am going to be more selective with scripts now. My ideal movie role remains the same — a character who is seemingly wild, wacky and weird but possesses a heart of gold,” she said.
Her next movie, Hantu Rumah Sakit Jiwa, will be screened by year end. She plays a mad woman in this horror comedy directed by Michael Ang, and her co-stars are comedian Abam, Fizz Fairuz and Saharul Ridzwan.
“I’ll also be in Redhaku Untukmu, a P. Ramlee tribute drama which also stars Zaidi Omar and Iedil Putra, my Pekak co-stars,” she said.
SYMPATHY FOR THE HANDICAPPED
DIRECTOR Khairul Azri Mohd Noor a.k.a. Kroll described Pekak as a movie with a heart.
“It takes us into the world of deaf people and we learn that they have feelings, needs and emotions like the rest of us,” he said of his first movie, which was screened at the Marche Du Film in Cannes, France last May.
Kroll’s 95-minute movie is about the deaf Uda, who sells drugs to pay for surgery to restore his hearing.
He meets Dara, a troubled teenager who longs to escape her overbearing father. An unlikely relationship blossoms between them, but it is challenged by a world filled with violence, sex and drugs.
Kroll said his movie does not merely explore the handicapped but it also talks about how crime does not pay, and how overbearing parents can unwittingly drive their children into promiscuous lifestyles.
“Each character is flawed, because nobody is perfect. For instance, Uda deals in drugs, and Dara and Melor play truant and mix with bad boys such as Azman and Kamil who love partying.”
Kroll enjoyed working with his young cast during the month-long filming of Pekak in the Klang Valley. “Zahiril, Amani, Sakinah, Amerul and Iedil are full of ideas on how to make the show entertaining. I’d definitely want to work with them again,” he said.
His next film is another Grand Brilliance production scheduled for year’s end. The graduate from the New York Film Academy in 2006, entered his first short film, Bandit’s Dream, for the Malaysian Film Festival the same year.
He later filmed music videos and advertisements, before hitting the jackpot in 2009 when he received the Best Music Video award at Anugerah Industri Muzik for Butterfingers’ Seribu Tahun. Three years later he produced and directed the hit 8TV series, Projek Pop.