KUALA LUMPUR: Producer, director and actress Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina has described the late filmmaker Mamat Khalid as Malaysia's 21st century answer to Tan Sri P. Ramlee.
A close friend of Mamat, Tiara said that he was not only a gifted director but also a brilliant social commentator whose works gave an impact to society.
"Like P. Ramlee, Mamat was a genius who could produce, direct, compose and write music, and come up with brilliant stories that spoke directly to Malaysians from all walks of life," said Tiara in a news report yesterday.
"He was a towering and extraordinary Malaysian, and one in a million."
Tiara also revealed that Mamat was a great musician who could play the piano well.
"During one event which we both attended, he mesmerised diners with his brilliance on the keyboard. I had never seen a keyboardist who was that amazing."
Nevertheless, Tiara admitted that at times, Mamat was slow in completing film scripts.
"I once locked him in a room, to make him focus on completing the script for Puteri Gunung Ledang The Movie fast. However, he did not take offence and thanked me for doing that!"
Tiara added that not many people realised that Mamat came up with the beautiful script of Puteri Gunung Ledang, as they thought comedies were his forte.
She described Mamat as a big brother who genuinely cared for her, and would always remember his friendliness, kindness and sense of humour.
"When I didn't win Best Actress at the Malaysian Film Festival for Puteri Gunung Ledang, he was there to console me.
"He said don't worry, I will come up with better scripts for you in our next projects. Alas, this was not to be."
Mamat, 58, died at Slim River Hospital, Slim River, Perak at 12.30am yesterday. He is survived by his widow Hasmah Hassan and five children.