Latest news with #Suriram
New Straits Times
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Chilling tale proves another tear-jerker from Osman Ali
MENTION the name Osman Ali, and viewers will get to see images of rustic Kedah, his beloved home state, plus tragic stories set in villages with picturesque rice fields. His latest movie Telaga Suriram is no different, but while we get to shed a lot of tears, we also get to despise some monstrous people along the way. Telaga Suriram is about a 9-year-old girl named Suriram (Puteri Rafasya) whose disappearance becomes a ghost story to her fellow villagers. Her mother Rohaya (Maya Karin) and father Sopiyan (Indonesian actor Fauzi Baadilla) frantically search for her, and with the help of their headman's son Zakir (Farid Kamil) and the no-nonsense district police chief ASP Karmila (Scha Alyahya), they finally discover that she drowned in an isolated well. Rohaya falls into deep depression, and suspects that her late daughter's mute babysitter Maimon (Nabila Huda Suhaimi) killed her. Meanwhile, Maimon's mother and village midwife Khadijah (Ellie Suriaty Omar) strongly protests her daughter's innocence and tries to convince the villagers that Suriram's tragic death could have been the work of people close to her as well as those "in high places". The film, which was produced in 2022, underwent a meticulous process from script to post-production, and the end result clearly shows. As a prolific director, Osman crafted Telaga Suriram around the topic of missing children who often become the focus of the community. Osman thought it would be interesting to produce a story that combines mystical elements with beliefs that have been passed down. An adorable girl next door, Puteri Rafasya is marking her first major big screen role as the titular Suriram. The Kelantanese-Penangite beauty is brilliant, both as the living Suriram and the dead one. As the living Suriram she really looks like a sweet, innocent village girl and her interactions with the main stars, especially Nabila Huda and Maya Karin, are very real. As the ghost she is very creepy, and the makeup artist did a splendid job. Nabila Huda, as predicted, is the heart and soul of the movie, the emotional powerhouse all the way. It is one of her most taxing movies and her character Maimon suffered a lot. We can all sympathise and root for Maimon, as we know from the word go that she is a victim of bigotry in the village. The same can be said of her mother, brilliantly played by Ellie who excels in long-suffering single mother roles. Ellie's character is that of a midwife who is ostracised by the villagers for allegedly practising black magic, and while she is often physically and verbally abused by the villagers, she is a protective mother who takes the blows that are meant for her daughter. Of the boys, Fauzi is great, and plays his character to perfection. His "distraught daddy" is also the only good man in the story. Maya, who reunites with Osman and Farid, both of whom she worked with in Anak Halal, is believable as the distressed mother of Suriram. Initially she appears to be innocent, but as the story gradually unfolds, viewers learn that she is not the "angel" she is made out to be, and perhaps she indirectly caused her daughter's tragic death. Farid is playing a crooked leader for the first time, and it is a stark contrast from playing an upright one in a prominent Malaysian leader's biopic two years ago. His character Zakir looks pretty much a narcissist, yet he is hero-worshipped by the villagers, and viewers can sense that he is not the charitable headman that he appears to be. Scha Alyahya marks her first collaboration with Osman. Her character Karmila is the most stoical throughout the story and is admirable for her determination to uncover the truth behind the innocent girl's death, even if it means taking the headman and Suriram's parents to jail. While the film is a masterpiece, with lots of important messages, some minor mistakes occur though, such as the uniforms worn by the police officers including Scha's character. The movie is set in 1985, but the pale blue police uniforms seem to be from an earlier era. At the end of the day, it is great to have an award-winning ensemble cast, which includes prominent award-winning actors and actresses. The movie carries important lessons about family values, true friendship, betrayal, discrimination, vengeance, bigotry and honesty. It can serve as a cautionary tale about the never-ending evils of child abuse and abuse of power. Syabas to Osman and his brilliant ensemble cast for yet another job well done! TELAGA SURIRAM DIRECTOR Osman Ali RATING 16
New Straits Times
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Osman's tragic tale of 'girl in the well' finally hits cinemas
ACCLAIMED director Osman Ali took three years to complete 'Telaga Suriram', largely because of the Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed by the government between 2020 and 2022. At the recent preview of 'Telaga Suriram' in Dadi Cinema, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in Jalan Bukit Bintang, Osman said that his cast and crew took a six-month break, so filming was only wrapped up in a year. "It was very tricky; the actors and actresses could not alter their appearances too much, so everybody watched their weight and looks. "And as for the titular character Suriram, I had a substitute for her in certain scenes where she appears as a ghost. "The brilliant young star, Puteri Rafasya, grew considerably over the months so she could not be Suriram in all her appearances, alive or as a ghost." GOPENG Osman also said that the characters of Maimon played by Nabila Huda Suhaimi and Rohaya played by Maya Karin were multi-faceted and "deep", and their emotional scenes underwent many takes. The film's rating is 16, and Osman avoided sensitive scenes all the way. "I did a lot of self-censorship, I minimised violence and did not show any suggestive scenes, only suggestive dialogue." Osman filmed the RM3 million 'Telaga Suriram' in three locations namely Kodiang in Kedah, Kangar in Perlis and Gopeng in Perak. He said: "I chose to have missing children as the theme of the movie because they often become the focus of the community, and this has been going on for ages. "Although most cases are solved by the authorities, there are also a few that remain mysteries." Osman added that according to folklore, many old wells are haunted and are believed to take human lives especially children who wander away from their homes and get lost. "So, I thought it would be very interesting to produce a story that combines mystical elements with beliefs that have been passed down." MYSTERY Produced by Odissi Creative Sdn Bhd, 'Telaga Suriram' is about 9-year-old Suriram whose disappearance becomes a ghost story to her fellow villagers. Her mother Rohaya (Maya) and father Sopiyan (Indonesian actor Fauzi Baadilla) frantically search for her, and with the help of their headman's son Zakir (Farid Kamil) and the no-nonsense district police chief ASP Karmila (Scha Alyahya), they finally discover that she drowned in an isolated well. Rohaya falls into deep depression, and suspects that her late daughter's mute babysitter Maimon (Nabila Huda) killed her. Meanwhile, Maimon's mother and village midwife Khadijah (Ellie Suriaty Omar) strongly protests her daughter's innocence and tries to convince the villagers that Suriram's tragic death could have been the work of people close to her as well as those "in high places". The film's producer Yus Yusop said: "The film, which we produced in 2022, underwent a meticulous process from script to post-production. That is why it took three years to complete, and I'm happy with the end result." EMOTIONAL POWERHOUSE Scha said that 'Telaga Suriram' was her first collaboration with Osman. "Ellie was our acting coach and I thank her for helping me play the tough, no-nonsense Karmila," she said. Puteri Rafasya, who plays Suriram, is excited to be a major character for the first time. "I love this movie because it carries important lessons about family, friendship and vengeance," she said. Nabila Huda said that the movie was an emotional powerhouse all the way. "It is one of my most taxing movies and my character Maimon suffered a lot. "She was literally thrown into the lake, trapped in a crashed car, caged and pelted with mud and rocks, pushed into the mud, beaten with sticks and kicked to the ground." Maya said that the biggest challenge everyone had was to go in and out of their characters. "No thanks to the pandemic and the MCO, filming started and stopped before resuming, and it was a tricky process for everyone. "As for Fauzi, he is a great actor and played his character to perfection, the only good guy amongst the men in the story." Farid said that he was playing a crooked politician for the first time, and it is a stark contrast from playing an upright one in a prominent Malaysian leader's biopic two years ago. "The most unusual thing we encountered during filming was the presence of fearsome tigers! "A couple of them were spotted in the jungle close to our filming location, and everyone had to keep quiet and not go near them," he said. Ellie said that 'Telaga Suriram' marked her first starring role in an Osman movie.
