FOR anyone with no background knowledge of Oscar Wilde’s enduring 1895 farcical comedy, 'The Importance of Being Earnest', they may wonder about the highly preposterous plot of 'Mencari Rahmat'.
It took film director Al Jafree Mohd Yusop about 37 years from the time he first read the Oscar Wilde play as a teenager to turn this into a wonderfully ridiculous romp of lies gone awry, mistaken identity and high drama that only televised Malay family sagas can deliver.
'Mencari Rahmat' centres around Razak (played by seasoned actor Namrom), the adopted son of a rich couple in Penang who died in a car accident some years previously.
In Penang, Razak is a sturdy member of high society – a successful businessman and guardian to a young ward, Ratna (Sharifah Amani), who is the orphaned grandchild of the couple who adopted him.
He maintains this persona in Penang but devises a fictional ‘problematic’ brother in Kuala Lumpur whom he needs to constantly bail out of trouble. Enter Rahmat.
In Kuala Lumpur, Razak takes on the persona of Rahmat with full abandon: partying hard and seducing socialite Rose (Nadia Aqilah), the daughter of the ostentatious and class conscious Datin Azizah, played on point by the marvellous Adibah Noor.
Things become complicated when Datin Azizah’s wastrel of a nephew, Azman (Amerul Affendi), discovers Razak’s modus operandi and becomes determined to create mischief by taking on the role of the wayward brother, and shows up in Penang to seduce the young Ratna as ‘Rahmat’.
What ensues is a comedy of errors made even more absurd with the great acting, pointed dialogue, and film devices that director Al Jafree utilises for effect.
'Mencari Rahmat' marks Al Jafree’s first foray as a film director. He has previously directed TV dramas and is an award-winning scriptwriter for both television and the stage. The film was screened to an exclusive audience throughout Malaysia in 2018 to rave reviews and won the award for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Adibah Noor) at the Anugerah Majlis Pengkritik Filem KL the same year.
The Vibes caught up with Al Jafree to discover his thoughts on this long journey of getting 'Mencari Rahmat' to the masses.
TV: What was it about 'The Importance of Being Earnest' that appealed to you as a 15-year-old that made you want to one day write a screenplay based on a Malay context?
AJ: I read an essay titled 'The Soul of a Man Under Socialism' written by Oscar Wilde. Thus began my fascination with his writings. Then I discovered 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. 'Earnest' made me realise no human being will ever have the pleasure of being their true self. Society is man’s worst prison. We are all bound to society’s judgment and perception. I feel this needs to be shared. And the best way is to have it adapted to Bahasa Melayu. I started writing the stage version in 1991 and finished it in 2001 where it was staged at The Actors Studio Dataran Merdeka.
TV: Did you find it particularly challenging to express the witticism of Oscar Wilde in Bahasa Malaysia? Why did it take 10 years to write for the stage – and another 16 years to turn that into a screenplay? What were the challenges?
AJ: It was said to be impossible by most of my friends. And it was. It took three months to write the first draft. It was terrible. Probably the worst Wilde adaptation ever. Amateurish. I stopped for a year until I was ready to continue. To adapt and translate Wilde’s wit was extremely challenging. Plus to adapt the dialogues took years to be perfected. I made sure that I was satisfied with the plot then I worked on the dialogue. This process took me 10 years.
TV: The film was screened in 2018 and was very well received, but never made it to actual cinemas. What happened?
AJ: 'Mencari Rahmat' is an independent production. We had just enough money to cover pre-production, production and post-production. We didn't have money for marketing, promotional and distribution. We decided to organise exclusive screenings around the country as we were still not sure how the audience would react to it. The screenings were a hit. Sold out at most venues. And for the laughter and the feedback that we received, we finally were confident enough to find enough money for a cinema release. Unfortunately, Covid-19 arrived and the cinema releases were postponed three times. That’s when we decided to have it released on a digital platform.
TV: You take the mickey out of the over-the-top acting style usually depicted in local Malay dramas, and it worked! But do you think everyone will get it - or the purpose for it?
AJ: Mencari Rahmat used ‘Bahasa Melayu Baku’. It was written that way. I believed for satire and sarcasm to be highly effective it needs a certain style of delivery. It wouldn’t be funny and effective if the dialogue was written in ‘Bahasa Pasar’. The dialogue was also written in a way that the actors would have to deliver it at ‘machine gun’ speed. I believe that it made it even funnier.
TV: Do you think that viewers without any prior knowledge of The Importance of Being Earnest will understand the satire and high farce of Mencari Rahmat?
AJ: At first I was not so sure. But the screenings in 2018 proved to us that the audience had no problem enjoying it. I guess we have been underestimating the Malaysian audience. That aside, when I decided to adapt the play, I believed the subject is very close to our society.
TV: You use some devices within the film with Reza (Eric Fuzi), and you occasionally ‘break the fourth wall’ with the female characters. Can you tell us how that enhanced the story-telling in 'Mencari Rahmat'?
AJ: Reza was kind of a device or a ‘hint’ about the relationship between Razak and Azman. Oscar Wilde once said that women actually rule society. That’s the reason for me to have them break the fourth wall – by speaking to you, the viewer, directly on camera. They knew ahead (of the men) what was going to happen. The men (for example, Azman) act as if they knew what they were doing, but in the end, both Rose and Ratna took control of the situation. So by breaking the fourth wall, Rose and Ratna are signalling to the audience that they’re actually taking control of the situation.
TV: There were some truly comic moments, particularly the garden scene where secondary character Uncle Mohktar (Azman Hassan) was attempting to propose to Makcik Normah (Fauziah Nawi). But what struck me as truly bold where Malay cinema is concerned is the overtly physical interaction amongst the characters. How do you, as a director, overcome the prevailing cultural sensitivities to portray something that would undoubtedly leave some viewers clutching their pearls? There is a lot of touchy-feely between the young lovers, and even a shocking saliva-swapping scene involving a lollipop – what were you going for here?
AJ: Hahahahahahaha! I always believed that Malays are very sensual people. The evidence for that is written in our old literature. We are very sensual. That’s the keyword that I gave to the actors. They need to feel and be sexy without being pornographic. It’s the sensuality that I wanted to portray, and if you clutched your pearls, well...
TV: What was the most fun you got out of directing 'Mencari Rahmat'?
AJ: It was both fun and challenging. We went through one and a half months of extensive rehearsals. Then there were four days of onset full dressed rehearsals. It was a huge challenge for the actors and me, but there were a lot of laughs, too.
TV: How do you feel about it going straight to a streaming site (Mubi) as opposed to the cinema?
AJ: It is inevitable. The cinemas are closed until we don’t know when. From 2017, it’s been four years since the film was completed. And the cinema release has been postponed three times. I guess having it screened through a digital platform is the right move. And more audiences will have access to it, so I’m happy.
TV: What are you working on now, and can we expect more film adaptations from you soon?
AJ: I’m working on a few scripts, particularly another dark comedy. More like a supernatural black comedy. Then there’s another adaptation from George Bernard Shaw’s 'Man and Superman'. But that’s extremely controversial. Even more controversial than 'Mencari Rahmat'. It will have to wait. And finally an adaptation of Beaumarchais' 'The Barber of Seville'. I’m planning to adapt 'The Figaro Trilogy' into a film trilogy. In Bahasa Melayu, of course.
'Mencari Rahmat' is a breath of fresh air – it is not just an intelligent adaptation, but through earnest eyes, a story that can stand alone and reach cult status in Malaysia due to its wit, the great cast and the fact that it is brave and irreverent.
You can now watch 'Mencari Rahmat' exclusively on Mubi starting August 31 for only RM3 for 3 months as a limited-time promotion. – The Vibes, August 31, 2021
