Ever since Anuar Zain told the audience of a failed relationship during his “An Evening With Anuar Zain” concert last Saturday night, people have been speculating who is that “lucky / unlucky / smart / stupid” lady. Inquisitive to know what people thought of his concert the other night, I went round surfing the Net and bloghopping here and there. Besides the usual can’t-get-enough-of-him and close-to-orgasmic feelings mostly from the lady bloggers, the debate and speculations that’s been raging on in Internet forums and even in blogs are, who is this lady who broke Anuar Zain’s heart???

Somehow I wonder, what difference does it make whether you know the identity of this lady or not??? It’s not that you’re gonna hound her or pray that she begets misfortune for the rest of her life right??? She’s fine, living her own life now and he is doing well in his life as well. Whatever happened between them was meant to be. Who are we to act as judges and say she’s dumb or stupid for dumping him??? Or saying that she’s smart for dumping him just because he is gay??? Speaking about being gay, now that’s another serious allegation which could land someone in court. As far as I know, this guy is straight as an arrow, his gentle demeanour perhaps giving others the wrong impression about his sexual orientation. But at least he dispelled all those negative notions when he revealed that he was in a relationship before and looking to be in one soon. Whether it was Amy Mastura, Liza Hanim, Siti Nurhaliza, Dayang Nurfaizah or even Ning Baizura as widely speculated, just drop the subject and move on. Don’t be nosey parkers!!!

Anyway, I would like to thank forummer “gucci_advocate” from Cari Forum for promoting my blog as the place to go to for more concert pics and a detailed review, in one of their gossip threads. No wonder my blog stats jumped yesterday. And to any Malaysian media who made it to the Esplanade after all last Saturday night, but was drowned out by the over-enthusiastic local audience, I apologise for making you guys look bad in my previous entry where I reviewed the concert. Especially the good people at Cosmopolitan Malaysia, whom upon reading their entry on the concert, were actually in attendance. Hoped that their stay here on our shores had been an enjoyable experience…

© 1997 – SRC (Suria Records Sdn. Bhd.)

Senarai Lagu :

1. Getaran Cinta Di Jiwa
2. Cintailah Aku Sepenuh Jiwa
3. Dunia Cinta
4. Siapa Sangka Siapa Menduga
5. Temanku Tersayang
6. Nilai Cintamu
7. Menanti Kehadiran
8. Menjunjung Asmara
9. Jeritan Batinku
10. Mimpi Berulang Kembali

Watch Suria channel lately? If yes, maybe you have spotted me during Suria’s review of P. Ramlee the Musical. The play was staged at the Esplanade on 17 through 19 May this year. We were there on the opening night. Read my review and comment from Mr. Chedd Eddie Yusoff here.
My mum, Adek, Kak Zahara and I managed to be the first few to get in line for the autograph session with the main casts after the play.

Although neither of us got interviewed by any journalist or TV host, you can spot mum, Adek and me three times (If you’re fast) throughout that three minutes commercial.

Of course the scene that made me slightly famous was my pose with Atilia. I was waiting for Adek to snap the picture of me with Atilia unknowingly the Suria’s cameraman was shooting in my direction.

I was posing for this picture!

So, here it this. Please pardon me for the quality of the video, it was captioned directly off the telly!

As you can see from the title of this entry, this is not one of those regular lengthy reviews that I’m notoriously known for. Truth be told, I am not a theatre person, neither do I have any expert knowledge on the technical aspects of it. As it is, this entry is more like a reminiscing episode of the highly-acclaimed, multiple award-winning play that I attended last Saturday 17th May 2008 at the Esplanade Theatre. I had mentioned about this play during the Siti Nurhaliza Diari Hati Concert review. And when the tickets went on sale a few days after the concert, I believe I was one of the first to call in and grab my tickets. Nope I did not get front row seats again this time, but my seats were about 5 rows from the front, which were still near enough.

What can I say about this play / musical / performance or whatever you might call it??? All I can say is that it left such an indelible mark on me, to the point that I toyed at the idea of watching it again, just to relive the olden days of yore. It was easily an eye-catching show, complete with props that you think you would never be able to see again and topped off by equally excellent performances by the whole cast, main and supporting. Oh and not forgetting the soundtrack and songs performed. They were oh-so-beautiful to the ears. I was blown away by Musly Ramlee’s impersonation of the great man himself, his facial expressions, voice, moves, nuances. He really revived the soul of P. Ramlee once again. Maybe the only flaw he has is that his voice is not deep enough, but what the heck, I think the production team pulled off a masterstroke by casting him in place of Sean Ghazi. Ok it is unfair to compare them both, especially since I did not watch the first season of the play, but I strongly believe Musly wins hands down when it comes to reviving that soul and everything the great man had.

Aida with Melissa Saila who played Noorizan. We did not get to take a photograph with Liza herself as the queue was long and we had to rush along. We only managed to say our His and Byes and Liza afforded her congratulations to us on the birth of Syadiyah. She has been keeping tabs on us through this blog. Kinda embarrassing to know that but at least we are still keeping tabs on each other’s lives. That’s her fingers by the way holding the marker to the right. If only we had the time to hang out like in the past…

As for the other casts, of course my old friend Liza Hanim did a stellar job as Saloma, not to forget the others as well. Didn’t expect Melissa Saila and Emelda to sing so well. Judging by the reactions of the audience and their roar of approval during the finale, Liza did a convincing job. Even my mum who went to watch the show on Sunday night said she was highly impressed by Liza’s performance with the only possible flaw being that she did not shake her body and hand gestures a little bit more than the grand dame herself. The props deserved a mention as well, especially the train. When it first rolled onto the stage, gasps could be heard from the audience. Yes, it was a masterpiece having it on stage and the best of all the props they had, complete with smoke and all. The production team’s eye on detail for history was not lost on me. God knows how impressed I was when I saw how they managed to recreate the old P. Ramlee movie posters of yesteryears and how exact the fonts of the word “LIDO” were during the cinema scene.

For someone who only appreciates the man through his movies, I was not aware of what happened in the history of his life, his rise, his luck (or lack thereof) in love and his spectacular fall from grace. From what was being portrayed, I believe he died a lonely and sad person, seeing how his works had failed him in the end, such is the short span of the life of an artiste. It was a great lesson in history for me, especially since I was born a few years after he left this world. One interesting fact that my mum told me is that where P. Ramlee and Saloma got married, at a secret location in Katong, actually belonged to my father’s late uncle’s home in Tembeling Road. His late uncle was the famous 50s / 60s playback singer Kamsani and his late wife was Musalmah, an actress in the Jalan Ampas era. It made sense now when I recall my father telling me in the past how he spent a lot of time watching the great man filming his films, sometimes at the home of his late uncle, and how we bumped into Aziz Sattar when we did our Hari Raya visits in the late 80s.

Me and Musly Ramlee – I swear I was looking at the real McCoy…

The show I believe had a few flaws which was not enough to spoil it overall, most notably how he met Noorizan and how their love blossomed. Cos during the play, she just appeared out of nowhere before we went for intermission and when the play resumed, they were already married. It was also interesting to note the hugging parts P. Ramlee shared with Azizah as I really can’t imagine Sean Ghazi and Siti Nurhaliza doing that in the first season of the play, knowing the latter’s personality. But all in all, I dare give it a 5-star performance for taking the audience back in time and feeling very much nostalgic. I know it hit some raw nerves that night as I heard a few sniffs around me. I think I would have teared as well if I was my father’s age and had lived through the great man’s time. They said that it was a big challenge to convince the Singapore audience since the play is afterall based mostly on what happened during the Jalan Ampas era. I say that not only have they convinced us all, but they have captured our imagination with their solid, all-round take. Now if only they would release it on DVD or at least have the soundtrack sold in stores. No wonder they won 6 awards at the recent Boh Cameronian Awards the weekend before last. Cos this show really deserves all the accolades and hype that came along with it.

The musical was about his life, fortune, hurdles and women. An actor, singer, songwriter, musician, screenwriter, film director and all-round Malay film icon P. Ramlee is known throughout Malaysia and Singapore for having made music and movies in the 50s and 60s that people could relate to.
The executive director of award winning musical – Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical returned to the Esplanade with a grander masterpiece. Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina did not join the cast this time compared to her earlier work.

That’s the executive director, Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina in red jacket.

Musly Ramlee was worth mentioning. I thought he was a great actor to play the Seniman Agong P. Ramlee. Although I thought he sounded nasally at times but the rest and his acting is noteworthy.

Liza Hanim was stupendous. I love how she portrayed the role of Saloma so beautifully and managed to sing so heavenly. Her voice was melodious and stunning. I have to admit, I have never seen her earlier acting in films but this could just make me her fan.

Norizan was played by Melissa Saila. Oh, how I love her acting. When P. Ramlee returned home to confront her about some rumours that have been spreading around, she came home tipsy and bragged her anger and deep feelings about their relationship. No surprise she won a Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the Boh Cameronian Art Awards 2007.

Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza played Azizah in the first season of P. Ramlee the Musical in Malaysia. This second season version is slightly difference in cast and storyline. Emelda, who played Manja on TV’s Manjalara, replaced Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza. She even sang Siti’s Mulanya Cinta. That girl could sing.

That’s Atilia. She played P. Ramlee’s first wife, Junaidah. Atilia is a recording artiste but although her name isn’t that recognized here in Singapore, she got a role good enough to leave a mark. (This picture is going to be my iPod Touch wallpaper for a moment.)

Amoung the supporting actors, I like Chedd’s character. He played P. Ramlee’s good hearted, stick-to-friend-no-matter-what-happen and happy-go-lucky good friend Sukardi who followed him from Penang to Singapore. But Sukardi returned to his hometown and his character ended there.

Comparing PRtM and PGLtM, in my honest opinion, I favour PGLtM. My reason being that the costumes are more extravagant and colourful. But don’t take my words for it. The musical will end its run on Monday. If you have not bought any ticket, why not go get if there is any.

We met with Abang Man and his wife before the show and after that, Mum took a picture with local celebrities Mastura Ahamad and Onitta Effendi.

Foto-foto dari majlis Red Carpet untuk Anugerah Juara Lagu 2007, bertempat di stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil.

Kepada Customer yang dihormati.

Untuk pengetahuan semua, sekarang terlalu banyak kain yang perlu saya jahit.

Jadi, buat sementara waktu saya tidak terima tempahan mulai 8th January 2008 hingga 31st January 2008.

Saya hendak menyiapkan dahulu tempahan yang sedia ada.

Kepada customers yang dah 2, 3 kali datang buat tempahan, saya ucapkan ribuan terima kasih.

Namun begitu customers baru pun dialu-alukan.

Tempahan akan dibuka semula pada 1st February 2008 dan akan dimaklumkan di dalam website ini.

Sekali lagi jutaan terima kasih.