Psiko Pencuri Hati

Today Psiko Pencuri Hati Hits the cinemas. I have interview the director of the film Nam Ron and the story appeared in the Sun newspaper on Tuesday September 3.  I am reproducing what was written in the article    One of my favourite quote in the article when the director said : "I think there is a little madness in everyone. But some people are good at hiding it."

Suggested Headline : Going Psychotic 
By Bissme S

DIRECTOR Shahili Abdan,who is better known as Nam Ron, started his career in theatre as anactor, writer and director before switching to helm independent films such as Gedebe, Gadoh and Jalan Pintas.The 45-year-old director has now gone mainstream with his first feature film, Psiko, Pencuri Hati – a thriller which exploresthe theme of murder and madness. It opens in cinemas nationwide on Thursday.
When asked why he is moving in this direction, Nam Ron says: “Like all storytellers, I want to share my story with as many people as possible.”
He is rather excited to be reaching out to a different kind of audience who may not have seen his theatre productions or independent films.
He says: “When I was directing plays, I found it difficult to bring my plays out of Kuala Lumpur ... I  felt I was catering to a niche audience only. If I want to get my stories to a wider audience, I believe only going mainstream will allow me to do that.”
When asked why he waited until now to make the transition, he says: “Nobody offered me a chance to  direct a mainstream film until now.
“But I believe everything in life is fated. If I was given a chance to direct a mainstream movie in my  20s or 30s, I probably would have rejected it as I was not ready.
“Now, I am at the age where I am more comfortable to take up this challenge.”
Psiko, Pencuri Hati centres on a crime-fiction novelist, Sidi (Bront Palarae), who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). For his latest novel, Sidi is doing research on a serial killer dubbed the ‘Thief of Hearts’,who is still at large.But he hits a wall trying to find out more about this murderer who cut up his victims to remove their hearts.In trying to get into the head of the murderer, he begins to suffer from violent nightmares and hear voices urging him to kill.
His best friend, Man (Amerul Affendi), suggests that they take a break, and so they head off to a resort run by Pak Abu (Suhaimi Yusof) and his young wife, Siti (Shera Aiyob), in Pulau
Pemanggil, off the coast of Mersing.
There, Sidi meets a depressed housewife, Wani (Sharifah Amani), who had suffered three miscarriages and is holidaying with husband Khai (Syed Hussein). As it turns out, Wani is a big fan of Sidi’s novels and she is immediately attracted to the writer, much to Khai’s disgust. Things become complicated when Siti, who has developed feelings for Khai, is found dead on the beach.
Nam Ron is confident that the strength of the screenplay will carry the movie through. 
“Thefilm is very performance driven. Everyone has given a great performance.”
Both the lead actors, Bront and Sharifah Amani, are award winning artistes. Sharifah Amani was named best actress for her performance in Gubra at the 19th Malaysian Film Festival in 2006 while Bront took the best actor award for his performances in Belukar at the 23rd Malaysia Film Festival in 2010.
As for the theme of the film,Nam Ron says: “I think there is a little madness in everyone. But some people are good at hiding it.”
The director himself admits to suffering from extreme depression at a young age but was stopped by a prominent local theatre director from seeking psychological help.
“He told me that I should put my energy into the arts,” recalls Nam Ron, who took that advice  seriously and started dabbling in the acting and writing for the theatre. The rest, as they say, is history.
“The performing arts has given me a purpose in life ... It has cured me from my ‘madness."When I [am involved in] the arts, I feel I exist. I think God has saved  me through this.”