SHE often plays “sweeties” on the small screen, so popular actress Zahirah Macwilson was startled when director Ghaz Abu Bakar (of Polis Evo fame) picked her as lead for an action-packed comedy-drama.
“I sure got a quantum leap for my big-screen debut,” says Zahirah at the launch of her first film, Bulan Dan Pria Terhebat.
The launch, held in Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya last month, was attended by Ghaz and Zahirah’s co-stars Zizan Razak, Alif Hadi, Maya Karin and Syed Hussein Syed Mustafa Al-Qudsy (or Sein) of hip-hop group Ruffedge.
In the two-hour film, which opened on March 12 in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, Zahirah, who recently got married to Kimchi Untuk Awak actor Aiman Hakim Redza, plays the title character Bulan.
She is a courageous and idealistic Indonesian special forces officer who leads her team against a ruthless, regional crime syndicate.
This syndicate, led by crime lords and drug kingpins Ricky (Sein) and Agus (Khir Rahman), is involved in regional drug trafficking as well as human trafficking.
One of its victims is Bulan’s younger sister Melati (Aprena Manrose), who has gone missing from home for almost a month.
Bulan and her team of crime fighters get good help from Haris (Zizan), a crazy e-hailing driver, and his best friends Daud (Alif) and Arab (Bell Ngasri).
The trio have an axe to grind against Ricky and Agus, and are determined to “bring them down”.
But the crime lords prove to be a lot more lethal than expected, and Bulan has to face her biggest nemesis in the form of another iron lady.
She is Tony (Maya), a ruthless assassin skilled in gun and knife combat and martial arts, who is determined to eliminate Bulan.
DREAM COME TRUE
“Playing Bulan is a dream come true. Best of all, Ghaz had me do my own stunts!” says Zahirah, who admires action heroines Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh and Milla Jovovich.
“Even though all these stunts, such as jumping down from cars and first floors, and sparring on top of buses, were risky, Ghaz made sure that we adhered to strict safety rules.
“We had lots of harnesses, safety nets and trampolines. Thank God none of us got hurt, just slightly bruised here and there, which is fine with me.”
Zahirah says her tough cop role delighted her father, veteran actor Zainol Johari Macwilson, a real-life police officer for four years.
“My father served as a constable with the South Yorkshire Police Department in the United Kingdom for two years from 2005. I was 10 years old then.
“In that decade, I grew up watching lots of crime dramas on TV, especially Jennifer Garner’s Alias which was my favourite. I loved her character Sydney Bristow who was a fearless American secret agent, a female version of James Bond.”
She also enjoyed the Lara Croft movies.
“Lara was awesome. I’ve always imagined being in her shoes. Therefore, I am so grateful to Ghaz for finally making a Lara and Sydney out of me!”
Zahirah is happy to star with Maya, who is her favourite Malaysian actress.
“I only got to spar with Maya in two scenes but they were fantastic. We were made to fight on top of a bus, which was stationary but appears to be moving, courtesy of special effects.
“And we really had to hit each other, a difficult task knowing how nice she is. But at the end of the day, both of us grinned and bore the pain stoically, and we all felt proud to show off our minor bruises,” says Zahirah, adding that filming took a month in the Klang Valley.
POTENT CHEMISTRY
Zahirah, Maya, Zizan, Sein and Khir also underwent brief police training in order to handle guns for the pivotal shoot-out scenes.
“Training wasn’t as tough as I thought,” says Zahirah. “There were no gruelling physical exercises in early mornings, just gun practice sessions which did not last too long. Holding guns for the first time excited me, but once again, strict safety rules had to be followed.”
Zahirah is fortunate to master Bahasa Indonesia rather quickly, with a little help from Maya, who lived in Indonesia during her teenage years.
“I had a tutor to guide me, but it’s great that Maya knows the language well.”
When asked if she hoped to appear in joint Indonesian-Malaysian productions in future, Zahirah answered in the positive.
“Many of our well-known actors and actresses have starred in Indonesian films. It’s good to go regional.”
Zahirah also says Aiman was 100 per cent behind her “action heroine” character because he shared her belief that women deserved stronger and more versatile characters, on television and film.
Maya says she was impressed with Zahirah’s work ethic and willingness to learn.
“Zahirah is really talented, and insisted on doing all of her own stunts. When she got into her role as Bulan, she really talked, walked and sounded like a police detective, cutting every bad guy down to size.”
Maya adds that she and Zahirah “bonded well” on the set, and enjoyed each other’s company.
“The director and producer didn’t want us to get too comfortable with each other since we were meant to be enemies in the story, yet Zahirah quickly became my ‘enemy’ in a flash when the cameras rolled.”
Zizan says it was his second time playing “sidekick” to a tough female law enforcer.
His first was the 2012 action-comedy Mael Lambong where he played a bumbling car repossessor who became an unlikely ally of a police detective played by Juliana Evans.
“Since I’ve been the hero in two Polis Evo movies, it’s refreshing to play second fiddle to an iron lady for a change. I’m all for having more female-driven films, where the guys are the supporting cast, but still hold their own and have great comedic lines.”
EXPLOSIVE COLLABORATION
Bulan Dan Pria Terhebat marks a “reunion” for Zizan and Ghaz, who last collaborated in Polis Evo five years ago.
“Ghas is a visionary director, always thinking out of the box. He’s also witty and funny to work with, just like me,” says Zizan.
Sein, who is also the producer, says it was his third villainous role after Psiko: Pencuri Hati and Balada Pencinta, both in 2013.
“Actually, I prefer playing baddies, since they are more memorable. Look at Darth Vader. He’s hugely popular and many kids love to wear his mask.
“Ricky is bad. Everyone knows that. But the real menace to the law is Tony and Maya plays her with a terrifying viciousness. This is a real ‘girl power’ story.”
Bulan Dan Pria Terhebat is a joint production of Nizra Entertainment, Astro Shaw and Skop Productions.
Nizra Entertainment chief executive officer Nik Iruwan Nik Izani says: “We are honoured to work with Astro Shaw and Skop for this action-packed film. We thank Datuk Yusof Haslam of Skop for guiding us in this project, and sharing his vast experience filming action movies.”
Astro Shaw head Raja Jastina Raja Arshad says: “Our company is always open to collaboration with new and established production companies to uplift local films. Bulan Dan Pria Terhebat is a fresh take on local action comedies. The protagonist is a strong and brave female. Likewise the main antagonist.
“We are optimistic that viewers will enjoy this action-packed and explosive adventure, and that it will be a game-changer in the film industry.”
Bulan Dan Pria Terhebat’s theme song Terapung is performed by Akim And The Majistret, and written and composed by Hang Nadim.