Jamil Sulong - Kaca Permata

With much time at hand these holiday season between Christmas and New Year, and the cold snowy weather keeping me indoor, I have been going through many hard-cover books in my possession. One that rather sustained my interest was an encyclopedic coffee-table book titled KACA PERMATA - Memoir Saorang Pengarah (GLASS JEWEL - A Director's Memoir) by a veteran and respected Malay film director Jamil Sulong. It was published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in 1990.

Befitting its title, which actually a title of one of the films he directed, the book is a gem of reference materials for Malay movie buffs and can be inspirational to today's local movie makers. Jamil traced the history of Malay films right up to the 80s. All you want to know about Malay films till then and the stars are there. I particularly like the quaint black and white and sepia stills of the old movies and of the stars of the era. There was so much glamour and excitement in those Malay films of old, compared to today's mostly 'syok-sendiri' Malay films, some of which are down right pathetic.

I wonder what happened to Jamil Sulong these days. He had long stopped making films; age must be catching up with him. His wife Rosnani and son Anwardi were also active in the industry but you do not hear of them these days. Jamil Sulong was a prolific director during his Shaw Brothers day and his films were popular and had a great appeal. I particularly like his 1985 interpretation of Shahnon Ahmad 'RANJAU SEPANGANG JALAN' (No Harvest But A Thorn - Adibah Amin's very apt translation). The film was a critical but not a commercial success. I believe it has till today a wide international appeal and shown as an art/classic film. It is even listed in today's 1 January 2009 New York Times movie guide ( I just clicked on it - everything you want to know about the movie is there, great!)! Now why can't we in Malaysia even get a DVD copy of it....

I believe Jamil's last directorial effort was a remake of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman's MAHSURI, the original of which was made by Cathay Kris in the late 1950s. But for some reason it was a total flop and one never sees or hears of it anymore. Some people says it was sabotage; I for one had never seen the film.

I once met Jamil Sulong during my short stint at Angkasapuri when he was casting for his new film 'Permintaan Terakhir' (which was actually a remake of Hong Kong successful ' Suzanna' - see how Jamil had to succumb to Shaw Brother's dictate, just because they wre making a wide-screen Malay movie in COLOUR for the first time!). I was sent to see him by my then boss Kassim Aris and I remember Jamil sizing me up, looking me up and down and then inviting me to see him in his studio the next day. I did not go! Heavens forbid if I get casted! Anyway the film was a big success and launched the careers of Uji Rashid and Yusuf Haslam (coincidentally, when I was working in Angkasapuri, to get there daily I would take a Sri Jaya bus from Benteng in KL to Pantai Dalam, and who would be the bus conductor who collected the 25 sen fare from me everyday - Yusuf Haslam! Well done Datuk, you've gone a long way!).

Pak Jamil, I hope you are well and fine, Insha Allah. Rest-assured your great contribution will forever be remembered in the annals of Malay films. God bless you.

So how did I spend my cold, snowy new year's eve alone at home? I could not resist all those quaint photos of P. Ramlee throughout the ages in the book and I cropped, edited and assembled them to make a video tribute, herewith attached. Enjoy it and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009.