#SHOWBIZ: Tony revels in portraying P. Ramlee
Tony, whose full name is Anthony Joseph Hermas Rajiman, shared that he never tires of portraying the legendary artiste.
"I've acted in the 'P. Ramlee The Musical' theatre production and the 'Saloma' TV mini series, which is based on the life story of the late Puan Sri Saloma and previously starred Nabila Huda.
"If it's Saloma's story, there must be a P. Ramlee character in it. I never get tired of playing P. Ramlee because he's a legend, an icon of our arts and culture," he said recently at the premiere of his film, 'Mencari Ramlee'.
Tony also revealed he had previously dreamt of acting in a P. Ramlee film.
"The first time I played P. Ramlee was in the 'Saloma' biopic. I watched many films which starred him and thoroughly studied his character — his movements, his speech, and so on.
"Perhaps because I often watched P. Ramlee's films every night, I even dreamt of acting in one of them.
"But I didn't meet him in my dreams. I only dreamt of acting as P. Ramlee, but it wasn't clear, and the dreams were in black and white," he said.
Speaking about his role in 'Mencari Ramlee', Tony admitted that he initially felt unqualified to play the lead character.
"I see many other actors who could play P. Ramlee and sing better, like Musly Ramlee, but the director had his vision.
"I asked Megat Sharizal, the director of 'Mencari Ramlee', and he told me he chose me for the main role because he believed in my talent to give the best performance for the character.
"Perhaps it's because we've been friends for a long time, and directors often cast actors from among their friends to collaborate on films," he said.
'Mencari Ramlee' also stars Sofia Jane and Mimi Lana, and began screening in cinemas yesterday.
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