DESCRIBED as a tribute to Malaysia’s unsung heroes, director Adrian Teh’s story of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Special Warfare Force or Pasukan Khas Laut / Paskal (the Malaysian quivalent of the United States’ Navy SEALs) has been this year’s biggest local cinematic surprise.
Raking in a whopping RM30.5 million at the box office two months after premiering on Sept 27, Paskal now stands as the third highest-grossing local film after Syamsul Yusof’s Munafik 2 (RM48 million) and Mamat Khalid’s Hantu Kak Limah (RM36 million), both of which were also screened this year.
Teh said that Paskal’s joint producers — Asian Tropical Films, Golden Screen Cinemas, Multimedia Entertainment, Granatum Ventures and Astro Shaw — were delighted with its “runaway success”.
They may consider making another action-packed sequel which focuses on other brave heroes of Paskal, apart from First Admiral Anuar Alias, its current head who was depicted in this movie.
HARD WORK PAID OFF
“Our young actors gave their 200 per cent to the movie and endured two months of gruelling training at the Royal Malaysian Navy base in Lumut, Perak. Of course, what they went through was merely a fraction of what the real navy men endured, but I’m truly proud that they went all out to make their characters feel real,” said Teh at a special dinner recently to celebrate the success of Paskal.
“If the producers agree to give them bonus payments, they all deserve it,” he added.
The dinner at Hotel Majestic, Kuala Lumpur, was attended by Royal Malaysian Navy Commander Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin, the navy’s Deputy Commander Vice Admiral Datuk Mohd Reza Mohd Sany, Anuar, representatives of the producers and the cast of Paskal.
Ahmad Kamarulzaman expressed his utmost satisfaction with the movie. “Well done to Asia Tropical for coming up with a realistic story and making the fullest use of our facilities and personnel in the production of this wonderful film,” he said.
He was proud that the film had been shown in Singapore and would also soon be shown in several other countries including Brunei, Turkey and China. “Congratulations to Paskal members involved in those breathtaking stunts as these require only well-trained and qualified people on board.”
At the dinner, the producers presented RM100,000 to the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Welfare Fund. Golden Screen Cinemas’ Chief Executive Officer Koh Mei Lee presented the mock cheque to Ahmad Kamarulzaman.
Teh said the contribution was their tribute to the navy which had worked hard to keep the country safe from external threats since Merdeka. “The navy has given us a lot of help during the making of Paskal. We want to thank them for their advice and guidance,” he said.
Paskal, with its budget of RM10 million, is said to be the most expensive local film ever produced. The film details two actual incidents involving Paskal (formed on Oct 1, 1982) which takes on multi-functional special operations including guerrilla warfare, counter-guerrilla warfare, counter-terrorism, hostage rescue and other specialised missions.
The missions depicted in Paskal are the United Nations Angola Verification Mission II (Univem II) in 1998, and the rescue of hostages from the MV Bunga Laurel, which was hijacked by Somalian pirates in 2011.
The film collected RM2 million on its opening night, RM7.5 million after four days and RM22 million in 18 days. Paskal not only made waves around the country, it also received honourable mention in the United States’ Internet Move Database (IMDb).
HI-OCTANE
It has become this year’s highest rated Malaysian movie on IMDb. Paskal received a rating of 8.4/10 on the movie database. It was recently given the royal nod of approval by the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak and the thumbs-up by Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.
Sultan Nazrin praised Paskal as “realistic and educational” with “great acting by a well-trained ensemble cast”.
“It’s a great movie. Hope there’ll be a Paskal 2. Love it,” said Sultan Nazrin, adding that the sequel could highlight more heroic missions of Malaysia’s fearless navy commandos locally and internationally.
Mukhriz described Paskal as a “great story with quality acting”. He also said that it was a must-watch action movie of Hollywood quality which invoked a strong sense of patriotism amongst viewers.
TRAINING FOR THE CAST
Paskal stars Hairul Azreen, Ammar Alfian, Taufiq Hanafi, Gambit Saifullah, Hafizul Kamal, G Theeban, Henley Hii, Nam Ron, Amerul Affendi, Datuk Eizlan Yusof, Tiger Chen, Steve Yap and Jasmine Suraya Chin.
Hairul plays Paskal commander Arman Rahmat who is based on Anuar. He said Paskal was his second action adventure after Polis Evo 2 and the two months of police training for the first film greatly prepared him for the gruelling navy training which the cast underwent in Lumut.
“I plan to appear in more action-packed films as I began my entertainment career as a stuntman a decade ago,” he said. He said his son, social media celebrity Yusuf Iskandar, has begun teasing and calling him a “superhero” ever since the premiere of Paskal, which he and his wife (former Meletop host) Hanis Zalikha attended.
Ammar, who starred as hot-headed navy Seal Jeb, hopes that any sequel would focus on anti-terrorist operations involving the navy’s special forces , describing them as Malaysia’s “Avengers” who help promote global peace.