KUALA LUMPUR: Handsome hunk Zul Ariffin may be hot, but the actor’s keeping his cool when it comes to romance on set.
The 31-year-old ABPBH 3.0 ‘s Popular Film Actor award winner feels that leading men and their respective leading ladies don’t need to be “real close” to the point of setting tongues wagging, just to establish potent chemistry during the filming process.
BH Online reported that the muscular Rindu Awak 200% actor admitted to not mingling much with his female counterparts except during rehearsals and when actual filming is taking place on location.
Zul gave the example of his experience working with actress Farah Nabilah during the production of the popular TV3 drama, Titian Cinta.
“When we’re acting, we give our full attention to getting the work done. So when I’m in the element, I don’t tie myself down to the script.”
“I get myself comfortable with ad-libbing, after getting permission from the director of course. From there on, Farah follows my lead. Eventually, we indirectly develop a good working relationship.”
“We only meet when we’re on set or when there are rehearsal sessions,” he said.
Titian Cinta, which was adapted from the Ridhya Iman-written novel of the same name, aired on TV3’s Akasia slot from Sep 12 to Oct 30. It was reported that the popular drama drew an impressive 11 million viewership.
Although Zul was satisfied with the chemistry that he shared with Farah, he said that the successful combination was a kind of miracle.
“There have been dramas I’ve starred in with famous and established actresses that weren’t as well received.”
“This shows that experience and popularity are not fail-safe measurements that determine the success of a drama. I guess it all depends on rezeki and luck,” he said.
Zul, who has been acting for almost a decade now, revealed that he had almost declined the offer to act in the Heykal Hanafiah-directed drama.
“The reason was that I didn’t want it to get in the way of my promotional schedule for the film Tombiruo: Penunggu Rimba,” said Zul of the action movie in which he plays the titular hero.
“I was worried about whether the three-month commitment to act in the drama would prevent me from doing any promotional activities for the film. But after some discussion, the production team was gracious enough to rearrange the shooting schedule to accommodate me,” added Zul, the star of two box office hit movies this year with Tombiruo, that grossed over RM8 million, and the over RM7 million-grossing J Revolusi.