Nadiya Nisaa & Interchange

 Award winning actress Nadiya Nisaa talks to theSun about her role in the much anticipated movie Interchange.

 Headline: Roles For The Times
By Bissme S

Actress Nadiya Nissa’s character in Interchange, Sani, is more than 100 years old, but seems to have the power of eternal youth.
“Everyone lives and dies,” said the 31-year-old actress.
“But Sani has defied this life’s cycle. She is willing to go to any length to hide her secret. She cheats life, death and everyone around her. She is a manipulator.Roles like hers are rarely found in Malaysian films and I’m very lucky to play her.” 
Nadiya was not the first choice  to play Sani. The talented Sofia Jane had been cast in the role first, and had already undergone rehearsals with the production team.
But at the last minute, things did not work out, and Nadiya was pulled in to replace the veteran actress.
“I have fears that I will do not justice to the character because I had a limited time to prepare,” Nadiya said. 
“Initially, I wanted to reject the role.”
But Nadiya listened to her gut feeling, and changed her mind.
“I know Dain Said (the director of Interchange) will [do a good] job,” said Nadiya.  
“Dain is a director who loves his actors and he wants them to be happy with the end product.”
Dain conducted several intense rehearsals with Nadiya for her to understand her character. This is not the first time the two have worked together. Nadiya had worked on his previous film Dukun (completed in 2007, but never released) and enjoyed the experience. 
“I was only 18 when I first worked with Dain,” Nadiya said.
During post-production, Nadiya was happy to see that her scenes turned out well. She is aware that when Interchange opens in cinemas on Dec 1, people may compare her performance to how the role could have been performed by Sofia.
“I adore Sofia very much,” she says.
“Sofia is one of the best actresses in our industry. If people said Sofia could have done the role better than me, then it is good for her. I will push myself to do better next time. I will not have any resentment.
“But one must remember that Sofia and I are two different individuals andthe way I interpret Sani will be different from the way Sofia interprets it.”
Interestingly, in 2014, Nadiya played a young upcoming actress who called herself Sofia Jane in the movie Terbaik Dari LangitShe even imitated the famous coffee-drinking scene from Perempuan, Isteri Dan ... ? (1993) that shot the real-life Sofia to stardom.
The role got Nadiya the award for best supporting actress at the Malaysian Film Festival last year.
Her role in Interchange has her going toe-to-toe with award-winning Indonesian actor Nicholas Saputra.
“I am a fan [of his],” she says. 
“I loved him since his first film Ada Apa Dengan Cinta.I had to remind myself during the shoot that I am [his] co-star.”
Nadiya added that Nicholas was kind enough to help her to get into her character once he learned she joined the project late. 
“He is not a selfish person but helpful and kind,” she said. 
“He is willing to share his knowledge with me.”
Nadiya said she has always loved acting, since she was a young girl. Her mother encouraged her ambition, and Nadiya confessed she would love to act “till my hair turns white”.
“This is not an easy dream to achieve,” she explains. 
“Sometimes the industry can kill your spirit, and you just feel like
quitting.”
When asked to cite an example, she says:
“Some production managers will call you and just ask you if you are free on certain dates to act in their projects. Then, they will ask you about your [fees]. But they will not tell you about the script and your role.
“The script will be given to you just three days before the shoot. In some cases, you only get the script on the set. These people just want you to come on the set, and [say] the dialogue. They do not care if you fit in the role or not. They do not care if you can give a good performance or not.It just goes to show the industry does not respect actors. This can be very demoralising.
“You begin to question why should you put your heart and soul in your role, when such attitudes exist. All I can do for now is to develop a thick skin, ignore such attitudes and only hope the industry will change for the better."

Scenes of Nadiya Nisaa in Interchange