Hidup, Cinta & Inspirasi

Quick question: what is currently the hottest show in town? If you’ve guessed P. Ramlee The Musical then you’ve got it right. Its final show is scheduled tomorrow, November 3rd. If it’s unlikely for you to catch the show, then, I’m sorry. But it is with delight to say I am one of the few lucky ones who have managed to do so.

‘How was it?’ , you may ask as that is the first question I usually get every time I tell people I saw it last Saturday. And that , to me, is the quintessential question of all.

The truth is it all depends on your expectations. Not in terms of quality but in terms of content. The full title is P. Ramlee The Musical…The Life, The Loves and the Inspiration. And what it is about is it tells the story of the actual man. His trials and tribulations that he had to endure throughout his career set against a musical backdrop. In other words, most of the songs performed were written by the songwriters of the show to accommodate the life’s journey of P.Ramlee. If you had expected to see another virtuoso performance by Datuk Siti Nurhaliza then you will be disappointed, like my grandmother, because the songstress was only allotted one song. And if you expected a continuous flow of P. Ramlee’s classic ballads such as Getaran Jiwa, Tunggu Sekejap or Engkau Laksana Bulan, then you too will be disappointed, like my mother, because none of them were existent. Well, except for Engkau Laksana Bulan which did manage a small preview. If you are like me, then chances are you’ll enjoy it. Because, well, I’ll admit one of the main factors I went to see the show because I wanted to see Siti perform live as I never had the opportunity before. And in that sense, I wasn’t disappointed. We all hear lots of gossips and hearsays about her private life which may or may not be true but in the end, the sole reason why she is still considered Malaysia’s most popular celebrity is that when it matters, she delivers. And that matter is singing on stage - live. And it’s true when people say that she sounds exactly as she is on her CDs. That woman’s voice is phenomenal. And you can hear that quality by the slight tingle at the end of her every pitch. One song it was but I can fully understand why my grandmother was very displeased by that fact. The other reason on why I rather enjoyed myself that night was that in terms of content, I wasn’t really expecting anything apart from a good show. I just opened my heart and views to be mesmerized. And I tell you what, I should do that more often.

One thing I love about the show is that as part of the younger generation, I learnt a lot about P. Ramlee the man. We all know about the movies and the songs, and P. Ramlee the celebrity, you might say. But the only love life I knew he had, before this, was with Saloma. But as it turns out, Saloma was already his third wife. Through the show I got to know that Azizah was his first love and although they never got married, the song ‘Azizah’ he wrote became his breakthrough hit. And there’s his first wife, Junaidah. The second, Norizan, and finally his third Saloma. He had to endure three heartbreaks and two divorces on order to gain what he had achieved. It was a story of a man who sacrificed a lot in order to devote his life to the art he cherishes and loves. It was pretty sentimental. And along the way (although I’m not sure whether these are true or not) it showed when the inspiration behind some his most popular songs came from. ‘Engkau Laksana Bulan’ was written during his happier times with Norizan (this is what I meant by ‘small preview’ as a sketch was shown him writing the song at his piano) and ‘Di Mana Kan Ku Chari Ganti’ was after he and Norizan decided to call it quits. Actually lots of his success came during his time with Norizan. At the peak of his career, Penarik Becha, Nujum Pak Belalang, Sarjan Hassan were all made during that period. Sadly, it also spelt his demise when it comes to his personal life. It was the classic case of neglect and loneliness for Norizan. She had no choice but to leave.

As for the casting, well, Siti’s performance as Azizah was satisfactory, I guess. As I mentioned, her singing is her piece de resistance. And it was good to see Melissa Saila back in the limelight. And I couldn’t believe how absolutely gorgeous she looks despite being married with two kids. But somehow the bitchy Norizan character doesn’t really fit her well. As for both Liza Hanim and Sean Ghazi, well, for them I reserve my best compliments. Liza Hanim was absolutely spot on as Saloma. The baju kebaya with the big sunglasses pose was hauntingly accurate. As for Sean Ghazi, first of all I do feel sorry for him because P. Ramlee is a subject nearly all Malaysians are familiar with. The way he speaks, the way he moves, the way he sings, his voice, his jokes, everyone has his or her own view of it. For that, it is nearly impossible to ask someone to play him on stage. It’s a huge undertaking. But at the same time, I don’t think there’s anyone out there right now who could portray the man as well as Sean Ghazi. And that is that best compliment I could give the man. It was largely evident during the re-enactment of the dancing in the park scene taken from Seniman Bujang Lapuk where Ramlee and Saloma sang Gelora. The scene where Ramlee got beaten up by Sharif Dol in the end.

P.Ramlee : Ini Ramlee. Samseng kampung…kampung…kampung apa ni?
Saloma : Entah.
P.Ramlee : Ha Kampung Entah, tapi samseng macam kau jugak.

And Sudin and Aziz came to his rescue after he lay there unconscious afterwards and had dinner then and there with some bread and curry as a group of friends. Okay I’m straying here, point is Sean and Liza did brilliantly well in recreating that scene. It was like taken straight from the movie, only it was in real life. And the singing was an uncanny resemblance. Ooooo bahagia~ Ooooo kakanda~ Ooooo adinda~. It was a performance to behold.

Overall, I think, when considering the message the producers of the show are trying to deliver, the show is best intended for the younger audience. The older generation already lived through his era and know everything there is to know about P Ramlee, and just came to the show for some good entertainment. But as a young adult, I was quite inspired by the life of P. Ramlee. Not the singer, not the actor or the director, but the man. The struggling young artist from Penang, the husband and as the artist who would give everything to better the art of film-making in the country. In a way, his life story reminds me of Charlie Chaplin’s. Both are geniuses on the silver screen and yet so much hardship they had to overcome to become the icons they are today. I am not involved in the entertainment business but even I am inspired by the story of the man. And it should bode well for the current young and aspiring film-makers. Unfortunately though, when I first arrived at the lobby area of Istana Budaya that night, it was like scene from Datin Diaries (for this, I would like to thank Watai for introducing that sappy TV show to me for if not, I don’t know what to compare the scene to). All the mak datins were there. With their oversized jewelries, coloured hair and the occasional pretty boys. It was pity the ticket price is little on the expensive side and isn’t actually affordable for the people that would most benefit from. But, to be fair, the show was made on a grand scale. I imagine to get Datuk Siti on stage alone cost a significant amount of the budget. And it isn’t as if they could run the show concurrently on 4 other different venues like movies do. On a side note, I did share the floor that night with the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, among the audience. Again, I reiterate my comment that this show wasn’t exactly meant for the masses although it is unfair to associate such a view with regards to his Royal Highness.

As a closing story, funny thing happened when I came to pick up the tickets for the show, which was right before I went to Cameron. Parking space were very limited as usual as I guess the cast and crew were still having practices during the day time. But somehow, I managed to get this nice recently vacated spot near the entrance. After getting the tickets and came back a few minutes later, I saw an E46 estate hovering around, like I was earlier, looking for a parking spot too. He saw me walking towards the car so I guess he figured out I was leaving and decided to wait me out. As I walked by his car, even though he was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses, I could swore I recognized the face and in particular that jaw line. I maybe wrong but I was willing to bet that the man behind that wheel that day was none other than Sean Ghazi himself.

And with that bombshell, I bid you goodbye for now and join me again, next time. Cheers.