SHOWBIZ: Real love and reel love

Husband and wife Rashidi Ishak and Vanidah Imran have teamed up for a movie, 12 years after their first TV drama, writes Nur Aqidah Azizi

THEY first met in 1999 while playing the lead roles in popular television drama, Athirah.

It was love at first sight for both Rashidi Ishak or Shidi, and Vanidah Imran or Vee. They tied the knot the following year.

“They say when a man really loves a woman, it won’t take him that long to marry her. I guess it was the case for Shidi and I,” says the actress, smiling.

“I didn’t know much about Shidi back then. I only knew of him. Funny, how fate has brought us together,” says Vee.

The couple, who are now married for 12 years, are blessed with two children — Mikail Aimran, 11, dan Maryam Rashika, 8.

Shidi, a member of rock band Dead Mushroom, says that Vee is still as beautiful as the first time he laid eyes on her.

“I was stunned. She’s blessed with natural beauty. She also has this positive vibe that helps you be comfortable around her,” says Shidi.

“We have been together for 12 years, faced ups and downs. My feelings for her have never changed. Instead, they are stronger.”

The two will revisit their romantic moments in their first movie together, Untuk 3 Hari.

Produced by Tarantella Pictures and directed by Afdlin Shauki, the movie, an adaptation of Ahadiat Akashah’s best-selling novel of the same title, features the couple as the leads.

“After Athirah, we have never been paired as a couple on screen. We never received offers like that,” says Vee. “Afdlin (Shauki) told me about the movie project during my involvement in Cuci The Musical 1 in 2009. But at that time, he didn’t say a thing about roping Shidi into the project. When the project was ready to take off, Afdlin expressed his intention to have Shidi in the movie. I was surprised.”

“It’s an honour to work with Vee and the rest of the team. The movie has a great team behind it — great producer, and award-winning director and talented cast. The thought of working alongside an award-winning actress scared me a bit,” Shidi says, laughing. Vee won Best Actress at the 20th Malaysian Film Festival in 2007 with her performance in The Red Kebaya.

He adds: “Honestly, I felt very small among a cast of heavyweights but I didn’t feel sidelined.”

Also featuring Afdlin, Dira Abu Zahar, Ayu Raudhah, Fauziah Datuk Ahmad Daud, Khatijah Tan, Zaibo and Ainul Aisyah, Untuk 3 Hari tells the story of a couple, Zafrin (Shidee) and Ujie (Vee) who have to marry their parent’s choice of a partner, despite being so in love with one another. They promise to stay in the marriage for three days, and plan to divorce their spouses after that.

Zafrin marries a beautiful girl named Juwita (Ayu), Ujie marries Armi (Afdlin). A lot of things occur along the way, as the couple struggle to keep their promise and find a way to release themselves from the arranged marriages.

Portraying lovers was a journey that both Shidi and Vee cherished.

But according to Shidi, it came with challenges too. “We had to constantly remember that we were an unmarried couple in the movie.

“We couldn’t be too comfortable with one another. We had to be careful with body language because in the movie, we are not married. So it was quite challenging for us because, being together for 12 years, we are so used to one another,” says Shidi.

Vee looks forward to acting with her husband again in the future. “I love working with someone who knows how to give and take while acting. It makes the job much more easier,” says Vee.

“Shidi knows my working style. I have nothing to complain about.”

Afdlin’s song
•    Untuk 3 Hari is Afdlin Shauki’s debut directorial of an adaptation of a novel.
•    Afdlin sings a song in one of the scenes. The song, Hingga Ke Akhirnya, is written by Afdlin himself.
•    The film is produced by Tarantella Pictures, the producers of box office hit Lagenda Budak Setan, a spin-off from the novel of the same title.
•    Tarantella Pictures managing director Sharad Sharan says a sequel to Untuk 3 Hari has been planned, but it will depend on the response to the movie. • Untuk 3 Hari has also drawn interest from the Tollywood entertainment industry, which has expressed its interest in a remake of the movie.

Untuk 3 Hari opens on Thursday.

From left: Ainul, Vee, Afdlin, Shidi, Ayu and Dira at the film preview

This celebrity couple is extending their romantic link on the silver screen with their debut film together, Untuk 3 Hari

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