THE well-known saying "what you see is what you get", aptly applies to pop queen Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza, and the production team behind her first documentary film can attest to that.
Co-directors M. Azhar Rot and Anz Izwan, who have filmed Siti's concerts for a decade, revealed that the country's No.1 singer handles stressful situations with tact, controls her temper and is always diplomatic when it comes to expressing disappointment or regret.
The duo, who compressed 17 hours of film footage into an 80-minute docufilm titled Siti: Are You Ready? are always happy to work with Siti, and describe her as the ultimate positive-thinker, optimist and hands-on star.
GENUINELY KIND
"If there is one word that can describe our experience of working with Tok Ti, it is "wonderful boss". And that's because she is genuinely kind, friendly and humble," said Azhar at the gala premiere of Siti: Are You Ready? at Dadi Cinema in Pavilion Shopping Centre, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur recently.
"And even though she sometimes disagreed with what we filmed, she said it with a smile and listened to our point of view. At the end of the day, we got each other's point of view and made a compromise," said Anz.
BECOMING A MOTHER
Siti: Are You Ready? is based on Siti's concert tours of Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in 2019, and offers fans a close-up, behind-the-scenes look at her first major concert since becoming a mother to Siti Aafiyah Khalid in 2018.
The concert tour was Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza On Tour — Live In Concert at Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia (Feb 21), Singapore Expo in Singapore (March 2), and Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur (March 16).
It marked her 23rd anniversary in the music industry and was attended by more than 20,000 guests.
EXTREMELY WORRIED
Siti said: "This is my very first film, and Azhar and Anz did a fantastic job. All these years they have been great at filming my showcases, so I couldn't think of anyone better for the director's job."
She added that being part of a docufilm was an "exciting new experience".
"It is here that fans will learn that my concerts were simulated in a studio space for rehearsals — a first for Malaysia, and that I became extremely worried that the Jakarta concert would not happen," said Siti.
"There was a lack of promotion of the concert in Jakarta, but I told my team that our show must go on and we must not let our fans down."
Siti revealed that she went the extra mile to visit Jakarta earlier, in order to promote her concert via interviews on leading Indonesian radio stations.
"Things soon got better, and a much bigger crowd eventually turned up at the concert. At the end of the day, many audiences told me it was truly a night to remember."
DOES HER BEST
The docufilm's executive producer Shirazdeen Karim of Shiraz Projects said that it was largely told from the point of view of Siti.
"It may be a simple story about the preparations for Siti's comeback concert tour, but on a deeper level, it is one of a superstar who cares for her fans and production team, goes all out to help solve problems that they face, and does her best on and off stage," said Shirazdeen, who is marking his first collaboration with Siti.
Shirazdeen also said that there were many hiccups along their journey, and "everything that could go wrong, did go wrong".
"We chose not to film every one of them, but they included logistical problems such as flight delays and the curtains of the big stage not opening. Thank God we overcame all of them," he said.
FINAL SPEECH
When asked about his favourite scene in the docufilm, Shirazdeen said that Siti's final speech before the Kuala Lumpur concert began was beautiful and inspirational.
"Siti was appreciative of all of us, and said that everybody gave 200 per cent to the concert tour. She apologised for expressing doubts, and vice-versa, and reminded everyone that every day was a learning process, which made us wiser and stronger," said Shirazdeen.
BEAUTIFUL ACCOUNT
Siti said: "Siti: Are You Ready? is a beautiful account of my journey as an artiste. My story for the world carries the message that anything is possible if you truly work hard, and stay cool and calm when facing life's challenges."
Besides focusing on Siti, the docufilm's main stars include her sister-in-law and manager Rozi Abdul Razak, her daughter Siti Aafiyah (whose birthday is celebrated in a pivotal scene), Indonesian singer Tulus who was Siti's guest artiste in Jakarta, Siti's vocal coach Stephanie Fisher, and fashion designers Rizman Ruzaini, Jovian Mandagie and Hatta Dolmat, the men behind her splendid dresses.
HELP FLOOD VICTIMS
The docufilm will premiere on Astro First tomorrow (Dec 30), and proceeds from Astro First subscribers will help flood victims around the country.
Shirazdeen said: "If all goes well, we hope to have this docufilm out on streaming services like Netflix next year."
Siti also launched the trailer of her docufilm via TikTok, having set up her account during the Movement Control Order (MCO) last year.
"I have chosen TikTok as it is a fast-growing social media platform for music discovery," said Siti.
TikTok Malaysia strategy operations manager Darren Quek said: "We are excited to have Siti sharing her docufilm on TikTok. Our mission is to always bring joy through unlimited creativity."