TO most fans of Malaysian entertainment, Elly Arifin, 35, is the chatty host of Astro entertainment magazine HLive who is well-versed in interviewing artistes.
What is seldom known is her love of acting.
Elly has in fact been appearing in various Astro dramas since 2010.
Elly is now the troubled protagonist of her first feature film 'Korsakoff', which zooms in on a less-known illness where patients suffer from memory loss.
CAR ACCIDENT
In the two-hour movie, which premiered on Astro First on March 14, Elly plays Jelita, a woman who wakes up in hospital and learns that she was involved in a car accident.
Her doctor, Indera, injects her with medicine, and introduces her to Ezra, who claims to be her husband.
"She has no recollection of what happened," said Elly at the press preview of 'Korsakoff' in TGV Cinema, Pavilion Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur recently.
"A few days later, Ezra takes her home to meet his disapproving mother Elvira."
TRUTH
Not long after this, Elly slowly discovers the truth of what happened to her.
She learns that Dr Indera, Ezra, Elvira and another relative of Ezra named Lily are not who they seem.
ROAST DUCK
"We filmed 'Korsakoff 'in December 2020, everything was done in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) as part of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb Covid-19," said Elly.
She described playing Jelita as a "baptism of fire" as she was thrown off her bed, hung by her limbs from the ceiling and pulled by her hair.
"The hanging experience was painful, it took 12 hours to complete the job," she said.
PHYSICAL PAIN
Elly felt "small" even though she was the main star of 'Korsakoff'. She was joined by an ensemble of A-list actors and actresses such as Erra Fazira who played Elvira, Ning Baizura (Lily), Azhan Rani (Dr Indera) and Iqram Dinzly (Ezra).
"Working with them was a dream come true as well as a great experience. Even though I had to endure quite a bit of physical pain, I'm quite a stoic person. Apart from that, everybody treated me kindly.
"Members of the production crew 'scolded' me to make me cry, and that brought out the best in me."
APOLOGIES
"Our director Opie Zami is brilliant. He always checked on me to see that I was all right and that I could handle the painful scenes."
Elly admitted that as a newbie she was bound to make mistakes on the set, and encouraged her fans to criticise her performance as Jelita so that she could improve.
MENTALLY PREPARED
Elly is delighted that her old friend Iqram said "yes" to playing Ezra, as he had finally felt mentally prepared to return to the big screen.
"Iqram took a long break to handle some personal problems, but I am glad that he has decided to come back."
Elly said that acting with her favourite actress Erra was a goal that was finally achieved.
"Even though she was mean to me in the story, she apologised for her 'meanness'. It was the same with Ning, who was as cruel as Erra.
"Azhan is very inspiring. He may appear 'garang' (fierce) but he is anything but that."
BIG SCREEN DEBUT
'Korsakoff' producer D'Alpha Legacy's founder Nur Aminahtul Mardiah Mohd Nor said that the movie marked her company's big screen debut.
"We've been winning awards since last year, namely Best Psychological Film at the Cannes World Film Festival and most recently the 33rd World Film Carnival in Singapore," she said.
Nur Aminahtul added that she chose Elly for the role of Jelita as the television host was passionate about playing "out of the ordinary" characters.
MISSED BY FANS
Nur Aminahtul said that Erra and Ning were highly-respected veteran actresses and household names, while Azhan was one of the country's most versatile actors.
"As for Iqram, his acting in television dramas has always impressed me. Many of his fans have missed him and now's just the right time for him to make a comeback."
Nur Aminahtul said that she came up with the idea of a film that highlighted Korsakoff Syndrome, because it was a disease that affected many Malaysians regardless of age.
GOOD COMEBACK
Iqram thanked Elly and Nur Aminahtul for inviting him to return to film. "When I learnt that 'Korsakoff' has A-listers such as Erra, Ning and Azhan, I was very happy and immediately said yes to playing a major character," he said.