The Rock! trilogy concludes and Dennis Chua learns what is in store from its main actor, actress and director
A DECADE has passed since award-winning filmmaker Mamat Khalid introduced cinema-goers to Alfonso “Jijo” Pereira and his bandmates who formed the struggling, yet resilient rock group Rimba Bara.
Fans fell in love with the colourful characters who made up this fictitious, yet realistic Ipoh-born band in Rock! (2005).
They continued to bond with the band in Rock Oo! (2013), which highlighted its members’ challenges in dealing with fame, and their struggles to keep rock relevant to changing times.
Rimba Bara’s story concludes in Rock Bro! Kembali Ke Pangkal Jalan which opens in cinemas on Oct 27.
Mamat promises viewers that despite the first movie’s revelation that Jijo died in a car accident, the third movie will not end with a whimper.
“It’s true Jijo dies, but I won’t let him go that easily. Rock Bro! is packed with exciting bits of rock history, and our hero even gets to fall in love with a real-life person, Ella!”
When asked why he decided to end Rimba Bara’s journey, Mamat says “all good things must pass”.
“Furthermore, the second movie Rock Oo! took viewers up to 1990, the end of the heydays of homegrown rock music. Rock Bro! sees how Rimba Bara copes with rock music’s era of ‘recession’ and it is the band’s final adventure that connects its glorious past with its realistic present,” he says.
As for Ella, Mamat has roped in the relatively new actress Amy Jueliet who made her TV debut two years ago in telemovie Menanti Awan, to play the rock queen.
Though she is more a fan of pop than rock, she sang three popular Ella songs, Sembilu, Kasih and Sekuntum Mawar Merah, and she has delivered them decently.
HONOURED TO PLAY A REAL STAR
Amy, or Roziana Ali, 28, is delighted to play Ella, and sees the legendary singer as a role model for Malaysian women. Ella worked hard to make her mark in rock, a male-dominated genre.
“I admire Ella because of her down-to-earth ways and good rapport with fans. While she excels in performing rock, a genre associated with the West, her songs are very Malaysian and talk about challenges, inspiring fans to stay strong,” she says.
Amy has always wanted to be an actress, and being cast as Ella is her biggest challenge.
“All this while I’ve been cast in supporting roles, usually the girl-next-door type. I’m glad that a meaty role has landed on my plate but at the same time I am worried Ella’s fans might not appreciate my portrayal of her.”
The youngest of four siblings is from Tanah Merah, Kelantan (but was born in Johor Baru) and spent hours watching Ella on TV, in concerts as well as in movies like Hanya Kawan.
On Mamat’s insistence, Amy met Ella’s ex-manager Bombbay, who guided her on how the rock queen communicated with friends and musicians.
“It was great to know Bombbay. He knew Ella well, and gave me useful tips on how to portray his friend. I’ll always be thankful to him,” she says.
Mamat assured Amy that he had spoken to Ella about her role as Jijo’s first love, and the legendary singer gave her thumbs up to the young actress selected to portray her.
“Ella does not have much dialogue in the story, but through her body language, facial expressions and occasional advice, it is clear that she loves and cares for Jijo, and views him as an honest man with a good future,” says Amy.
“While he falls deeply in love with her, she is more focused on her career, and deems him a good friend whose company she enjoys.”
“Ella” is also concerned about Jijo losing focus in his performances because of his infatuation with her.
She says: “She wants him to succeed as a rock star and maintain his popularity, but he begins to see her as more important than his career, and as a result, his standards begin to slide, and music producers get angry with him.”
Amy, who would love to play historical characters, or star in period dramas, says she enjoys exploring “stories for all ages” on TV and cinema.
“I’m fascinated with movies and dramas based on legends and historical events,” she says, adding that she also likes to try adventure and action movies.
Citing Khir and Que Haidar as her favourite actors, Amy says she is honoured to work with Mamat, describing him as a great storyteller, and would love to collaborate with him again.
ROCK HISTORY
Rock Bro! is co-produced by Grand Brilliance and Mamat’s company Enjit Semut. Like its predecessors, it talks about the difficulties local rockers faced in the 1990s and is thus a “bittersweet” story.
“While Rock Bro! has lots of laughs, and subtle references to contemporary pop culture, it is a dark comedy that talks about the decline of home-grown rock, and this decline is irreversible,” says Mamat, a longtime fan of rock.
While the last two movies focused on the triumphs and tribulations of Rimba Bara’s members, Rock Bro! takes viewers into the childhood of the band’s de facto leader Jijo.
“As this movie is Jijo’s swan song, I’ve decided to introduce fans to the man’s painful childhood which greatly shaped his will-never-fall-in-love attitude
in adulthood,” says Mamat.
Mamat depicts Jijo as a Eurasian boy whose father was a rock musician in Buntong, Ipoh.
“Jijo’s parents divorced when he was in primary school, largely because of his father’s womanising ways. His mother, who obtained custody of him, then had an affair with an abusive boyfriend and he stabbed her to death following a heated quarrel,” says Mamat.
As a result, Jijo was cared for by relatives, until he reached the age of 21 and could live on his own.
“Jijo shunned women because of the failure of his parents’ marriage and the death of his mother. When he formed Rimba Bara, he told new recruit Slash that band members have to avoid three vices: Dishonesty, arriving late for work and having girlfriends.”
However, Jijo soon realises that the “no girlfriend” rule has to be broken, because he is smitten by and falls in love with Ella.
“Since he is a late-comer to love, Jijo loses focus and discipline when the band rehearses for their concerts. He is fixated on Ella, and his obsession gets the better of his career.”
Mamat reveals that Rock Bro! also highlights various challenges that rockers of the 1990s faced, such as bans by state religious authorities, protests by student groups which deemed rock music as corrupting, stingy concert-goers who preferred to watch concerts from the top of trees, and jealous individuals who used black magic to harm rockers.
“All these factors helped cause the decline of Malaysian rock. But what gave rock the knock-out punch was the changing taste of fans who were influenced by music from the West,” he says.
“The teen pop and dance music genres gained immense popularity from that decade onwards.” Mamat believes that there should be space for all genres of music.
NO PLANS FOR SPIN-OFF
Now that the Rock! trilogy is over, Mamat says he has no plans to create spin-offs involving characters from these movies.
“In Rock Bro! viewers will get to see what happens to all of the main characters who appeared in the first movie.
“Que Haidar’s Amy Mat Piah, for instance, has left the band, because he suffered from depression, and now leads a quiet life in Taiping,” he says.
“We also get to see an older version of Zek, played by Hasnul Rahmat in the first movie. He was a promising rocker but pressure from his father made him quit the band, and work in a post office.”
As a tribute to them and the trilogy, Mamat says flashbacks from the first two movies will be featured in Rock Bro!
“The most notable is a scene where the Rimba Bara members take a dip in the lake of the Taiping Lake Gardens. I love that one, which is accompanied by Datuk Ramli Sarip’s popular tune, Teratai,” he says.
Another of his favourite scenes makes its appearance in Rock Bro! The director initially slotted it in Rock Oo! but had to remove it to keep the story at 90 minutes.
“In this scene, Que’s Amy sings Zaiton Sameon’s song Menaruh Harapan in the shower. He even moves his body like the real Zaiton in her heyday!”
The movie has cameo appearances by singers and musicians as Datuk Hattan, Man Kidal, Black of Wings, Ito of Blues Gang, Jihan Muse (as Ramlah Ram) and Esma Daniel (as an older Zek in the third movie).
Mamat has included 20 rock songs in the film, including songs by Sweet Charity, Ella, Lefthanded and Wings.
ALL ABOUT M. OSMAN
Mamat, who sees his movies as “modern day folk tales”, plans to make a film about legendary singer M. Osman. He has yet to come up with a title, but has roped in Osman’s director son Zulkifli to star in it.
“This movie will focus on another music genre I like very much, pop yeh yeh. We get to learn lots of interesting facts about the masters of the genre, and besides Osman, Datuk Jeffrydin will also be featured in character,” he says.
SAD TO SEE HIS CHARACTER GO
Khir is happy to return as Jijo, but Rock Bro! also saddens him because it is the character meets a tragic end.
“In the last 10 years, I’ve grown with my character, and in many ways I’ve fallen in love with him.
“He is an honest man who is true to his vision and craft, and Rock Bro! further depicts him as a man with an unhappy, in fact traumatic childhood who faces the world and becomes a star through perseverance and discipline,” says Khir.
“Jijo is loyal to his band mates Amy, Slash, Black, Zek and Zul, and is the most honest to the genre of rock amongst the six of them.
“His willingness to stay a rocker till the very end sharply contrasts with Zul’s tendency to jump ship whenever new trends arrive in town, such as black metal and hip-hop.
“While he loses focus because of his infatuation with Ella, this shows he is human just like all of us. He is a man who has the human touch, and handles all crises with tact.”
Thanking Mamat for creating a beautiful movie trilogy, he hopes fans will enjoy its grand finale.
“While Rock! movies are largely about the dreams, hopes and decline of local rockers, they actually tell the story of the determination of all visionary Malaysians who want to do their best for their country and the challenges they face,” says Khir.
“The Rock! movies tell the gritty story of reality — that every good thing eventually has to come to an end — but the honesty and integrity of its pioneers must be told and cherished by the younger generation.”