Gantung

Today I am featuring a story where a best seller novel Gantung has made into eight part series for Television. Read the full interview 

Headline: Hung Up On Horror 
By Bissme S

The  New upcoming TV series Gantung tackles the topic of sexual promiscuity among teenagers set in a haunted hostel. The show’s eight episodes will raise some eyebrows, while trying to make your skin crawl with fear. 
The TV series is based on the popular indie book by local author Nadia Khan, which was published in 2013. To date, the novel has sold nearly 40,000 copies, and was even translated into Bahasa Indonesia, where it has become a literary hit.  
Besides Gantung, Nadia has written three other novels – Kelabu, Pakar and Cerpen, which is a collection of her short stories. Gantung is about four boys who meet and become best friends while studying in an elite boarding school. Calling themselves The Four Musketeers, the four boys abide by their own special Musketeer Code. Girls are always chasing after them and trying to win their hearts.  
However, a main part of their Code is that they are not allowed to have a steady girlfriend and any girl who goes out with one of them must be shared by all four. Things get complicated when a ghostly spirit starts disturbing and haunting the boys. 
Lina Tan, the producer of Gantung and founder of Red Comms, the production house behind the series, said: “I like Nadia’s writing style. I’m a big fan of her work.” 
Tan felt the themes that Nadia tackles in Gantung will appeal to Malaysians, as well as regional audiences. With that in mind, Tan decided to feature a mixed cast, with rising talents from both Malaysia and Indonesia. Among the young Malaysian actors involved in Gantung are Hafreez Adam, Ikmal Ary and Taufiq Hanafi, while actors from Indonesia include Randy Panglila, Brandon Salim, Gita Sucia and Mentari De Marelle.  
Gantung will first be shown on Indonesian television early next year, before premiering on Astro’s new channel Boo (Astro channel 404), in the later part of 2017. 
“This is my first attempt at adapting a novel [for the small] screen,” says Shamyl Othman, the director of Gantung. 
“[But] the best thing about turning a successful novel into a TV series is that you [have] a safety net. The novel already has a dedicated readership, and you can be assured that they will be curious, and [will] want to watch [a live-action] adaptation.”  Shamyl is also aware that diehard fans of the novel will be judging if he has done justice to the book. 
“It was simply impossible for me to condense everything from 
the novel into the [series],” explained Shamyl. 
“There were things I had to leave out. But I made sure I did not lose the essence of the novel.” 
The novel itself was not without controversy, as certain sexual encounters between characters in the novel were described in rather graphic terms. But this might not apply to a live-action adaptation, because of far stricter censorship. 
Shamyl said he and his production team cleverly used hints and innuendos to portray the more risque scenes but admitted: 
“You could say we have pushed the envelope in that department.”  Nadia was selected by Tan to be the head scriptwriter for the TV series to translate the essence of the novel to the small screen. 
The author personally picked three other writers – Adib Zaini, Alfie Palermo and Mamu Vies – to help her with the script.      
“Shamyl has read my novel many times that his copy of Gantung looks more tattered than mine,” Nadia confessed.  
She added that the director and production team were in constant discussions with her, so that they would not stray too far from the novel. Still, she admitted a few changes had to be made. 
“In the novel, the horror element sits in the passenger seat, while in the screen adaptation, the horror element [is at] the driver’s seat.” She added: “It is like KFC. The novel is the original recipe while the television series is the hot and spicy [version]. [But] both are still chicken.”

Nadia Khan

Today theSun published an interview I did with Nadia Khan, the best selling author who is directing her first stage production. The full article is here

Headline: On Other Side
By Bissme S

Nadia Khan  is the author of four bestselling novels and has also directed  four short films. Now, she is inspired to go into directing her first stage play, one which she penned herself.
Kedai DVD Paralel is a 90-minute theatre production that attempts to bring the world of cinema into the world of theatre. It centres on Mat, a jaded entertainment journalist and movie critic who is cynical about his career and the world he lives in.
One day, Mat stumbles into a DVD store in a parallel world. He discovers that the store sells movies with the same titles as those found in his world, but with the storylines turned topsy-turvy, creating some hilarious moments.
For example, the award-winning drama Bunohan in his world has become a comedy  in the parallel world, while the slapstick comedy Hantu Bonceng has been transformed into a serious, meaningful movie.
Nadia explains that she was inspired to explore what it would be like if the stories that we know turn out completely different.
She says: “I watch all kinds of films. There had been several instances when the movie I was watching was not to my liking, and my thoughts would drift to another plane where I would recreate a totally different storyline for the movie.”
She adds her play also explores how we always perceive the grass to be greener on the other side. “We are always dissatisfied with what is going on in our world and we are always dreaming about living in a place where things are supposed to be perfect.
“The play offers you the option of running away from your world and creating a whole new world.
So would you [run], or would you stay put in your world? “[If you stay put], you have a chance to fix the things that are broken and make your world a better place. [But] abandoning ship is always easier than fixing a sinking  ship.”
Kedai DVD Paralel is played out with just two actors – Fathi Shafie as Mat and  Safia Hanifa as Maya, the owner of the DVD store in the parallel world. Fathi  is a veteran of more than 20 theatre performances.
He has also participated in the 17th World Championship of Performing Arts in Hollywood, California, in 2013. The actor only has praises for Nadia. “Even though this is her first play, Nadia knows what she is doing.”
He adds that the moment he read her script, he was immediately attracted to the content and to the many similarities he shared with the character such as their passion for their job and their striving after perfection.
Kedai DVD Paralel will open at Blackbox at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre tomorrow until Sunday. One wonders if Nadia is feeling any jitters  regarding her stage debut.
“So far, no – and that is making me nervous. I do not want to have a panic attack at the last minute,” she says, laughing.
Asked to describe the experience so far, she says: “When I am directing short films,  one of my shortcomings is that I am not good with visuals.
“I focus more on directing the actors and getting them to give the emotions I need for my characters.”
She feels that in theatre, as the visuals are not as vital as the performance of the actors, so basically, doing a stage play is more her cup of tea.
“I have been in love with the theatre since I was young, and directing a stage play is something I had wanted to do for the longest time,” she adds.
Nadia says she is prepared to hear any comments or criticisms about her play.
“I am willing to listen when people criticise me constructively. If I fail, then it is part of my learning curve.I really believe it is better to do something and experience failures than to not start anything at all.”

Nadia Khan ... the director

Fathi... the actor playing the jaded man

The actors during rehearsals.

Mamu Vies & Dog Pound

Today theSun published my interview with Mamu Vies who spoke about his debut Dog Pound that has hit the book shelves recently. The interview took place in Chawan Bangsar and his fiancee, the famous novelist Nadia Khan was also present at the interview and she  contributed a few words to the interview. Here is the full article.   

Headline: A Tale Worth Telling  
By Bissme S 

The Violent world of underground boxing formed the main plot for Muhammad Fahmi’s Dog Pound, his English fiction that recently hit the bookshelves. The author, who writes under the pen-name of Mamu Vies, explains that the boxing element in his debut novel is an allegory of how all of us are fighting for survival in life.
On his personal battles in his own life, Mamu says: “I am constantly fighting to make a living as an artiste. I have failed in so many things. But I always find myself coming back and doing artistic stuff. I feel alive when I am doing artistic stuff.”
Published by Fixi Novo, Dog Pound centres on Azroy, a risingstar in the underground boxing circuit, who finds himself in hot soup after he kills his opponent in the boxing ring. On the run from the law, he soon learns that he has been framed and that there are powerful forces involved.
Mamu himself has taken some lessons in kickboxing in the past and his experience proves invaluable in writing this novel.
“Some of my friends and I had sparring sessions after our kickboxing lessons,” recalls the 27-year-old full-time writer.
“But, honestly speaking, the sparring sessions I have watched and participated in are not as violent and gory as I have portrayed in my book. I have magnified my experiences some 200%!”
Mamu believes it is essential that writers today write books that are fast-paced and can be read in a few sittings to rival what the internet or smartphones and Facebook have to offer.
“People are spending more time online than on books,” he says. 
“Today, there are many more things out there that can distract you from books. I like to be a part of the movement that brings people back to reading.”
Writing this novel has been a personal achievement of sorts for this writer.
“I am one of those people who will start something and if I cannot make sense of the thing I am doing, I will not complete the task,” says Mamu who was born and raised in the Klang Valley.
“It took me three years to complete the novel. I really believe this novel is something that I really care about because I have completed it.”
Currently, writing any more novels has to take a back seat as he is busy writing three film scripts with his fiancée, Nadia Khan, who is also a novelist and writes in both the national language and English.
Some couples do not like the idea of working together. But not these two creative minds.
Nadia says Mamu is more attracted to the way a writer writes his prose while she goes for the way a writer writes the dialogue. 
“I think we complement each other [in this way].”
Is Mamu jealous of his more famous, and popular, girlfriend who has two bestselling Malay novels under her name – her debut novel Kelabu and second novel Gantung?
“If I’m successful, I want her to be happy for me and the same goes with me. I am really proud of her achievements,” says Mamu who reveals that they hope to get married next year.
“Nothing much intimidates him,” adds Nadia who states that they are very open when it comes to making criticisms or giving compliments to each other’s work.
“I will always encourage Nadia to be fiercer with her criticism on my work. I will keep asking her where are her claws,” says Mamu with a laugh.
Asked which he likes better – writing scripts or novels, Mamu admits to preferring the latter. He says with a smile: “I am a control freak. In [publisher] Amir Muhammad’s words: with a book, you deal with lesser idiots; it is only between you, your publisher and your readers.”
In some ways, he admits writing allows a writer to play god to his/her characters. 
“I like playing god,” he says. “But I would not be an intrusive god who throws out lightning or swallows up my characters.”
He also adds that whenever he writes, he makes it a point to never judge his characters.
“I believe that if you judge your characters right away, there will be a lot of self censoring and your characters will be bland and you will not get the full story.
“When your characters are bland, then it will not be a story worth telling.”
Interestingly, Mamu had wanted to be a cartoonist.
“Creating worlds and telling stories have always appealed to me,” he says. “[But now] instead of drawing, I am creating my worlds and stories with words.”
He hints that, one day, he might still be able to fulfil that dream where he gets to tell his stories through pictures.

Mamu Vies with his fiancee Nadia Khan

Mamu with his book Dog Pound