Maya Karin and Rashidi Ishak tell Dennis Chua about their preparations for SuperMokh The Musical
THE story of football legend Datuk Mokhtar Dahari on stage, SuperMokh The Musical, is back for a two-week run (Sept 8-21) at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur.
While the spotlight is on rock legend, actor and comedian Ahmad Azhar Othman, (or Awie) who plays Mokhtar, supporting actors Maya Karin and Rashidi Ishak’s characters are important to the story too.
Maya, whose film credits include Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2, Duyung, Cun, Pisau Cukur, Ombak Rindu and Sejoli, plays Mokhtar’s wife Datin Tengku Zarina Tengku Ibrahim.
Rashidi, who starred in Mimpi Moon, Setem, Tolong Awek Aku Pontianak, Untuk Tiga Hari, Cinta and Husin, Mon Dan Jin Pakai Toncit, plays Mokhtar’s lifelong friend and fellow Selangor State and national football player, Reduan Abdullah.
Both Maya and Rashidi tell viewers that there will be more depth to their characters in this second staging of SuperMokh. The musical directed by Hans Isaac and Harith Iskander, first staged at the national theatre last year, was a hit with the audience.
MAYA GETS ROMANTIC
Maya was initially shy when it came to rehearsing her scenes with Awie.
“It was my first time acting with Awie, and I’ve always respected him as one of the country’s music and film legends. Also, I felt a little hesitant being paired with him as he has so much more experience than me,” she says.
Awie’s “serious” look also made her feel “afraid of getting on his nerves”.
“Thank goodness, my impression of him was wrong, and he proved to be such a sweetheart. Awie is so much fun, and we had wonderful conversations about our roles,” she says.
“He told me he may have had lots of on-screen ‘love interests’ but being cast opposite a new leading lady gives him the jitters too.”
Maya is also thankful to Hans for helping them “break the ice”. “Hans told us to ‘do as young lovers do’, and we both improvised our romantic scenes. And what remained of our initial awkwardness was slowly cast aside.”
On Tengku Zarina, Maya says she had a few tea sessions with her, and finds her a “most amazing woman”.
“I observed how she walks, talks and gestures. She’s calm, compassionate and always in love with her late, great husband. She told me that Mokhtar was a family man. He was loving and caring, and an old-school romantic, too,” she says.
Tengku Zarina, Maya says, encouraged her to do her best all the way, and she often came to rehearsals.
“She loved my portrayal of her, and told me to keep it up for the new season,” she says.
While SuperMokh is Maya’s first musical with Awie, Hans and Harith, she has had experience playing another historical figure — Maria Hertogh or Natrah, in the musical Natrah directed by Erma Fatima at the national theatre in 2010 and 2011.
“It was really challenging playing Natrah, a tragic figure who, as a teenager, became the subject of a child custody battle between her foster mother and her biological parents in 1950s Singapore.
“Playing Natrah truly prepared me for SuperMokh, despite its romantic challenge.”
She describes Hans and Harith as fun-loving directors who are always teeming with ideas, throwing in modifications to better it every week.
“They are open-minded and always seek feedback from all the actors on how to better their characters, and listen to suggestions on which scenes to omit and to add.”
She says the work environment during SuperMokh’s rehearsals is relaxed and they all feel like “one big, happy family”.
MAYA A TRAINER
Maya is also one of the two physical trainers for the brawny actors who play national footballers — Awie (Mokhtar), Phoon Chi Ho (Datuk Soh Chin Aun), Rashidi (Reduan), Clarence Kuna (Datuk Santokh Singh) and Oliver Johanan (Datuk R. Arumugam).
The other trainer, naturally, is Hans.
“We lead the boys for an hour of physical training — involving runs and exercises — six days a week at our rehearsal ground, the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPaC) in Jalan Ipoh,” says Maya, who enjoys horse-riding, rock-climbing and swimming.
She goes to the gym regularly, and has always enjoyed outdoor activities, since her schooldays in Bandung, Indonesia.
“It’s great to share training duties with Hans, because he too is a fan of outdoor sports. As for our trainees, they are pretty fit as they love sport but need to toughen up to look believable as footballers.”
Maya and Hans have seen dramatic progress in Awie’s physical appearance ever since he prepared for the role of Mokhtar last year.
“Awie has always been muscular, but this time, he’s much trimmer, looking very much like a footballer.”
The actors begin their physical training at 5.30pm in the spacious field of KLPaC. After that, they undergo rehearsals in the theatre until 10pm.
“While our ‘footballers’ are in need of beefing up, they easily play better football than me. Awie, in particular, is a superb footballer and amazes us with his skills in football.”
Maya says the storyline of SuperMokh has stayed the same as the first season, and the story only underwent minimal changes.
“It runs for two hours, with a 180-member cast and crew as it was the first time.
“Nevertheless, Hans and Harith have made each character deeper this time, thus there’ll be more emotions, and audiences will get to know more about Mokhtar’s family and friends.”
Tengku Zarina, Maya says, is the story’s narrator, being the wife and closest confidante of Mokhtar.
MEETING REDUAN
Rashidi is marking his second musical at Istana Budaya with SuperMokh. Five years ago, he received great acclaim for playing the country’s second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein in Muzikal Tun Abdul Razak, alongside award-winning singer Fauziah Latiff as his wife, Tun Rahah Mohamad Noah.
The former guitarist of pop and rock group Dead Mushroom says: “I’m delighted to have met Reduan, one of Mokhtar’s best friends and confidants.
“Mokhtar and Reduan were like brothers and the latter had 100 per cent faith in Mokhtar leading the Selangor and Malaysian football teams to glory.”
He found Reduan warm and down to earth.
“Reduan told me that he and Mokhtar shared a lot of joy, laughter and tears together. Their families were close, too, and of all the Malaysian footballers, Reduan was the one Mokhtar opened up to,” he says.
Reduan told Rashidi that while he missed Mokhtar every day of his life, his old friend had told him he had no regrets.
“From Reduan, I’ve learnt that Mokhtar represents what a true hero is made of — passion, devotion, honesty and humility. Mokhtar was truly a saint among soccer stars,” he says.
Reduan followed Rashidi’s portrayal of him throughout the rehearsals, and gave him useful tips on how he socialised with Mokhtar.
“He told me to be myself and to converse with Awie’s Mokhtar as if he were my childhood buddy, and that’s just what I did,” says Rashidi who admits that working with Awie is fun, because the rock legend is fun-loving, a sharp contrast to his serious self.
“Nevertheless, I can be fun-loving too. We shared great chemistry in Husin, Mon Dan Jin Pakai Toncit where he was the hero Husin and I was the villain (Jin Pakai Toncit).”
Rashidi enjoys working with Hans and Harith, too, as they are directors who engage their audiences and actors.
“They’re a formidable, creative and most of all, fun-loving team. They were so original in Cuci The Musical which ran for a few seasons, with each season bringing new surprises in terms of story and cast.”
Rashidi, who is married to actress Vanidah Imran, is a firm believer in keeping fit and is happy to work out with the main cast. “I love method actors who really prepare themselves physically for each role. Hugh Jackman is one of them.”
He thanks Hans and Harith for giving Reduan a prominent role in the story, because Reduan, like Tengku Zarina, acts as a window to Mokhtar’s personality, and conveys his messages to audiences as a narrator.
“While Mokhtar is the story’s heart, Reduan is its soul. He helps Mokhtar deal with self-doubt and convinces Mokhtar to rise again when his winning season takes a dive,” he says.
As one who loves stories of Malaysian heroes and legends, Mokhtar is a Malaysian icon he has always admired.
“I’m honoured to be part of Mokhtar’s first biopic and more honoured to have played Abdul Razak, a hero who gave himself for the nation,” he says.
“Playing Abdul Razak physically and mentally prepared me for playing Reduan, because I felt great pressure stepping into the shoes of a beloved leader who is also the father of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.”
An avid football player when he was a child growing up, Rashidi puts his skills to good use in this musical. As a Perakian, Rashidi supports his State’s team, but admits that it was best during his childhood, with players such as Azizul Abu Hanifah.
MORE SPECTACULAR
AWIE is ready to play Datuk Mokhtar Dahari or SuperMokh again this month in the production’s second staging at Istana Budaya.
Presented by Tall Order Productions and Jugra Publication, with the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, as its royal patron, it sees the return of the original cast — Maya Karin, Rashidi Ishak, Douglas Lim, Dina Nadzir, Radhi Khalid, Phoon Chi Ho, Oliver Johanan and Clarence Kuna.
Also returning are directors Hans Isaac and Harith Iskander, music director Michael Veerapen, lyricist Adlin Aman Ramlie and choreographer Adzwadi Saini. The rest of the production team are set designers Omar Ali and Yusman Mokhtar, set builder Mark Felix, sound designer Ivan D’Cruz, lighting designer Ee Chee Wei and costume designer Dominique Devereaux.
Awie says he is delighted to have become “lean and mean” to play SuperMokh this time.
“I’ve been jogging and going to the gym daily,” says Awie who won the Boh Cameronian Best Actor for Lat Kampung Boy Sebuah Muzikal in 2011. A year earlier, he won a similar award for Cuci The Musical.
Hans says: “The Tron-like dancers who play the footballers will be lifted in the air, for a more spectacular effect, and while we tweak SuperMokh, the basics that made it a compelling story stay the same.”
Harith says they cross-referenced Mokhtar’s family and friends at every point of the story and credit Awie for making the musical his own.
“Awie has always been dedicated to musicals and he tackled the role of Mokhtar beautifully. I’m confident he’ll do the same, if not better this time, as he’s now trimmer and firmer.”
Executive producer Zahir Kelvin Ong says the musical was the idea of Sultan Sharafuddin who was a lifelong friend and fan of Mokhtar.
Istana Budaya director-general Datuk Juhari Shaarani says the return of SuperMokh to the national theatre was specially set for Malaysia Day as Mokhtar was a great patriot and role model for the younger generation.
The musical is supported by the CIMB Group, UEM Group, Baskin Robbins, Berjaya Group, IOI Properties, the Selangor State Economic Development Corporation (PKNS), SP Setia, Yayasan Sime Darby, Escape By Celcom, Glomac, Brunsfield Foundation, Maju Holdings, Ronasutra, 100 Plus and Roland Malaysia.
The New Straits Times Press is official media partner.
Mokhtar, who was from Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, joined the national football team at 19, and shot to fame as the country’s best striker from the 1970s to early 1980s, earning the moniker SuperMokh.
During his time, the Malaysian team became a force to be reckoned with in the region, defeating Asian bigwigs South Korea and Japan.
Mokhtar succumbed to a motor neuron ailment in 1991 at 38.
Supermokh Sebuah Muzikal
When: Sept 8-21, 8.30pm and 3pm
Where: Istana Budaya
Tickets: RM46-236 and RM38-RM246 (3pm). Call 03-4147 8600.