KUALA LUMPUR: The late director Mamat Khalid is sadly missed by all his fans, and his son Amen Khalid has "shed many tears" working hard to complete his TV projects.
"I have cried alone to myself every time I worked hard to complete my father's projects. Losing him was like seeing my whole world fall down," said Amen in an interview with Harian Metro Online yesterday.
"My father was my hero, best friend and role model in life. I always think of him till today and miss him every minute."
Aspiring director Amen, the fourth of five siblings has just completed work on his father's Hari Raya Aidilfitri comedy 19 Puasa: Playboys Of Plestik Hitam.
He has had many fond memories spending time with his father on film sets over the years.
"I literally grew up on his film sets. Along the way I gradually became his assistant who fetched his notes and scripts and also handed actors their lines," he said.
After Mamat's death at the age of 58 in 2021, Amen felt demoralised and struggled to complete his father's unfinished works.
It took him three years to "regain his spirit" and he is thankful to his mother Hasmah Hassan, his four siblings and his father's regular collaborators for motivating him.
"I am so glad that my father's old friend, director Yeop Hitler Zami has helped me a lot in coming up with fresh ideas for the new Hari Raya drama," he said.
"The ensemble cast gave us lots of useful feedback too."
19 Puasa: Playboys Of Plestik Hitam will be screened on Astro First later this month. It stars Bell Ngasri, Aziz M Osman, Joey Daud, Imuda, Sharwani NS, TJ Isa and Rashid Mohamad.