Seasoned actor Farid Kamil and newly-minted action star Zul Ariffin are set to fire up the local action film scene with the kinetic J Revolusi. Aref Omar writes
IT seems like the two sure-hit genres for local moviegoers are action and horror. On The Malaysia National Film Development Corporation’s (Finas) website, six of the Top 10 highest grossing local feature films fall into either of these categories.
At No.1 is buddy cop action comedy Polis Evo from 2015, which raked in a whopping RM17.47 million at the box office. The Ghaz Abu Bakar-directed film, starring Shaheizy Sam and Zizan Razak, pushed boundaries of what a local action film could be and brought a newfound excitement to moviegoers in the country.
Across the region, Indonesian action movie The Raid (2011) and Thailand’s Ong-Bak (2003) made stars out of its leads Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa respectively.
In keeping up with the times, a new action film is set to push the local bar even higher with aspirations of being on par with the likes of international releases. The highly anticipated film, titled J Revolusi, hits cinemas on March 2. Zul Ariffin and Farid Kamil star as the main protagonist and antagonist of the action-packed feature film.
During a photoshoot session at Damansara Heights in Kuala Lumpur, both actors were very enthusiastic about the exciting project they took on.
“That’s a very positive benchmark and our target is also to reach, if not top, the almost RM20 million box office taking of Polis Evo,” says Farid when asked about being compared to the successful action film.
For sure the action genre is a popular one. “That and horror, these are really strong genres. Even in the international market, these types of films always do well wherever they travel,” he says.
KEEPING IT REAL
In J Revolusi, Farid adds that the producers were willing to take a chance by diving in deep to create a proper action film with a lot of thought and preparation put into it as well.
The actor explains that the filmmakers were very serious about giving moviegoers an entertaining film with visual impact and quality. “A lot of details, from A to Z, were involved in its making,” he says.
With a healthy working budget of RM3 million, J Revolusi is produced by Grand Brilliance and Infinitus Productions, a Hong Kong-based company owned by Chinese megastar Andy Lau.
With that collaboration, the production team was able to utilise the expertise of seasoned Hong Kong action experts.
“We had a stunt director from Hong Kong working with the local stunt team,” says Zul, who also convinced the producers to bring in Saiful Reza as a fight choreographer.
“Reza taught us hand-to-hand combat and he brought in his team of 15 amateur fighters to add to the realism of the brawls.
“They are the real deal, so when they got the opportunity to be in J Revolusi, they were really excited to commit genuine and hard-hitting moves to film,” says Zul.
One of the highlights for the main actors was the fight training in the style of the deadly Filipino martial arts Kali. “We had two weeks to train for Kali,” says Farid, who is a Taekwondo practitioner. “It was a very different approach to fighting and this was my first encounter with it, so it was challenging for me.
“Zul was my sparring partner and we used a lot of hand-to-hand combat movements,” he added.
Farid, who has starred in action films such as Remp-It (2006), Evolusi KL Drift (2008) and Apokalips X (2014), explained that he was satisfied with the preparation time.
“We worked closely with Reza and had 20 days to focus on crafting the fights and developing beautiful, as well as fluid choreography,” he said.
FRUITFUL COLLABORATION
Another factor that added value to the fight sequences was the collaboration with sports media property, One Championship (a first for a Malaysian film), which showcases the fighting skills of professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, such as Peter Davis and Saiful Merican.
“All of these different aspects helped to elevate the production so that we could deliver action that was fresh and new for a local film,” says Farid.
Zul, who has done a bit of boxing before, adds that it was easy working with Farid on the fight sequences, since both understood the vocabulary of physical movements from an action perspective.
“Although it was all physical, there was still a form of acting in the movements, and it was about action and reaction as well.
“This was an aspect that we had to share with the other fighters and fighting stuntmen since it was still a movie, which is a very visual medium,” says Zul of the fruitful collaboration. Some of the fight sequences required wire work stunts, where a line was hooked up to the actors who were setup several storeys high above ground.
“We had some intense action scenes in the KLCC area and at Berjaya Times Square, which was kind of dangerous.
“Farid was wearing a jacket while I just had a white shirt on, so I got more bruises, bumps and cuts during the falling sequences,” Zul says with a laugh.
Both agree that it was really fortunate that no one, including the rest of the cast and crew, got hurt during the filming.
“The production was all about safety first and aside from a few bruises and cuts, there were no major accidents thankfully,” says Farid.
The actor had previously spent close to a month learning stunt work at the Australia Stunt Academy in Queensland, Australia.
“It was really great and fulfilling to be able to apply what I had learnt for this film,” he added.
ADDED SOPHISTICATION
J Revolusi, directed by Zulkarnain Azhar, also stars Izara Aishah, Nur Fazura, Azad Jazmin and Iedil Putra. The film aims to introduce a new hero to Malaysian audiences in the form of Jay Zulkarnain, played by Zul.
Moulded after big screen spy heroes such as James Bond and Tan Sri Jins Shamsuddin’s portrayal of Jefri Zain in the popular Malayan thriller movies of the 1960s, Jay is valiant and brave but not invulnerable.
A leader of the Royal Malaysian Police’s elite Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK — Special Action Unit), he is no stranger to action or dangerous situations.
Things go south when he is framed for a murder he did not commit and his sister gets kidnapped by an arms trafficking organisation.
Behind the nefarious misdeeds is an evil kingpin named Andra, played by Farid.
Now Jay must race against time to save the day, clear his name and take down the crime lord, although Andra is not going to make it easy for him.
On his villainous role, Farid says that Andra is a very sophisticated character.
“From his well-groomed facial hair and sharp dress sense to his keen intellect, mentality and persona, it just screams sophistication.
“He’s also very slippery, manipulative and can get pretty physical when the situation demands it,” says Farid.
He adds: “It’s the first time I’m playing a character like this so it was very interesting for me, since it represents a new flavour of sorts.”
Besides the challenges of fighting, Farid explains that his character’s physical appearance was also quite demanding.
“They gave me a specific look and I had to wear a wig to lengthen my hair. Each time before I stepped onto the set for the film shoot, I had to go through 4½ hours of makeup and preparation,” he says.
The 35-year-old actor further relates that it was all worth it since the 60-day shooting schedule gave everyone enough time to delve into their roles properly.
“This is my biggest film to date and I’m very fortunate to be a part of this up-to-date production that will hopefully raise expectations and perceptions of a local action film,” says Farid, who was born in Alor Star, Kedah.
LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS
Zul agrees but bears the burden of carrying the film on his Herculean shoulders.
For the buffed 30-year-old actor, J Revolusi represents his first major starring role in a film.
“That’s the challenge of me playing Jay. I had to really prepare myself mentally because there are lots of expectations of me from different people.
“At the end of the day, I just gave it my best,” he says with a smile.
The physical aspect of the production wasn’t really daunting for him and he promises viewers will get to see a film packed with action scenes.
“The shooting process has lots of waiting time in between scenes so whenever I had free time, I took the opportunity to rest just to keep my energy levels up throughout.
“After a day’s work I’d go home, eat and sleep then head back, so I held off socialising for a while,” says Zul.
“We really want to raise the benchmark. The fights were with real fighters so it looks great. I even requested for real punches to be delivered to me for certain scenes just to make it more real onscreen,” he adds.
Another highlight of J Revolusi would be the scenes involving the UTK.
“We worked closely with the police force on this and they were very supportive.
“It’s the first time the special forces of the police force let us portray them, so we really wanted to do a good job,” says Zul.
He adds that the masked elite personnel featured in the film were actual UTK officers.
“They also let us wear their uniforms and use their gear, which included the assault rifles.
“Most of the firearms you see are the real deal (firing blanks, of course) just so that it would add to the authenticity of the film,” says Zul.
He adds that the scenes in downtown Kuala Lumpur, where the UTK group was shot on location will certainly make moviegoers proud.
“You’ll definitely have a sense of appreciation for our special forces personnel, what they do and what they go through,” he says.
ACTION GALORE
On his work with Farid, Zul says: “Farid’s been in showbiz for more than a decade, he’s very cool, has star quality and the right attitude.”
The two found it very easy to work together. ”There’s no ego with the two of us on set. I’ve been on sets that had that. With J Revolusi, it’s a total collaboration, even with the rest of the production team and crew,” says Zul.
The two actors will be starring in another action film that’s due for a release later this year.
Titled Tombiruo, the film is co-directed by Australian VFX supervisor Seth Larney (of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader fame) and Nasir Jani, based on the best-selling novel by Ramlee Awang Murshid.
Set in the lush greenery of Sabah, Zul plays the titular muscular hero with a deformed face, who is the protector of the jungle.
“I consider myself to be very lucky to be able to be a part of these two action films. It just fell into my lap,” says Zul, who hails from Taiping, Perak.
For J Revolusi, director Zulkarnain approached producer Gayatri Pillai and Zul with a script he had written, and the rest was history.
“As actors, we all want to be in action movies. There’ll come a time when there’s an itch to punch someone,” he says with a laugh.
“Whatever the case, I’m really grateful for this chance and I won’t waste this opportunity,” says Zul, who will also star in a drama for TV3 in March, titled Menanti Februari, opposite Nur Fathia Latiff.
Farid’s next film will be the Osman Ali-directed romantic tale, Pinjamkan Hatiku, which was partially filmed in New Zealand and also stars Ayda Jebat.