Mukhsin's the name

There was a press screening of the award-winning film on Tuesday at GSC Mid Valley and after hinting several times at the organizers, I received an invitation eventually (Thanks Iesta! I’ve got the ‘stuff’ you requested, come over when you’re free).

The who’s who of the local entertainment industry was there: David Teo, Osman Ali, Fatimah Abu Bakar’s entire clan (73 pax), Habsah Hassan, Ning Baizura and of course, Yasmin and her cast and crew.

Anyway, in return for that last minute invite, I am obligated to blog about the movie. But since there were other qualified bloggers in attendance, I have no doubt they’ll come up with much better reviews that contain fancy words such as keanggunan sinematografi, kebobrokan politik and fatamorgana (maybe not the last one).

I’ll stick to the simple stuff.

Mukhsin’s a story bout this boy, Mukhsin (duh), who hooks up with cutie Orked after first laying eyes on her at a kampong playground. He’s 12, she’s 10. They then climb some trees, fly some kites and basically bum around during the school holidays.

Things then get a little touchy then (literally and figuratively) and soon they were no longer climbing trees and flying kites because it's kinda complicated emotionally. Oh yeah, there’s also a cool Vespa somewhere in there.

So if you’ve always liked Yasmin’s stories and the way her movies look, make sure you buy a ticket when Mukshin opens on March 8th.

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Meeting Mr. Wright

My first encounter with the world's most famours traveller, Ian Wright actually took place in the loo of the Sheraton Imperial Hotel back in 2001. I was taking a piss when the guy walked in, mumbled something with a cigarette in his mouth, and took up the stall next to mine. Definitely wasn’t the kind of first meeting I had imagined. But it quickly got ‘normal’ as Wright and us press people were ushered into a seminar room for a group interview.

Scruffy and bubbly, what you see of him on TV is what you get in person, which made the interview pretty easy ‘cos he gave good and long quotes. The dream interviewee. He was as sporting when it came to the photo-shoot. Wright chomped on a rambutan skin and snaked his way through some plants, just for the benefit of our cameras.

A couple of years later Wright returned to Malaysia and I got a one-on-one with him, this time at the magnificent Mandarin Oriental Hotel. His energy was endless, and the interview was another easy one to do. Again, he was quite the sport when it came to the photo-shoot. Although our time was up, Wright was more than willing to find the perfect bush for us to snap this particular shot…




Excerpts of my interview first published in the Sept 2003 of issue NewMan magazine

Your show used to be called Lonely Planet. Do you think we’re the only planet in the galaxy with intelligent beings?We’re intelligent? My God! Ha ha! I don’t think about it too much but I do believe there are loads of planets and galaxies with beings like us out there.

So you’re a believer?
Well everyone loves UFOs and aliens but I’ve never seen anything myself.

Now you can go to the moon as a tourist. What do you think of that?Yeah, it’s great for people with shitloads of money. Just to be in space and look back at the earth through a hole is just amazing.

What’s the biggest myth in the world?
That we live in a classless society. Absolute rubbish. On the lighter side, there’s this myth that the Japanese go to Canada to shag under the northern lights for better fertility. If you go to Canada, everyone tells you the same thing. We went up there with 40 Japanese people and we were like, “So, is it really true?” And they had no idea. It’s all rubbish! And it’s even in the Lonely Planet guidebook. There’s loads of myths like that actually. I love it.

Have you been somewhere you just thought: “Screw everything else, I just wanna stay here forever and ever”?Yeah, but it never really worked that way. Ha ha! I love cold countries like Greenland and Alaska. I could live there for quite a while. But I love England. I love the change in seasons and I’ve got all my mates and family there. It’d be hard to live anywhere else. And because I travel a lot, I need something solid to come back to.

Ever been treated like a king?Yeah, every country I go to! Look at me now; people serving me drinks and food at this fine hotel. It’s outrageous.

What’s the longest you’ve gone without changing underwear?I’m not sure, but when I was a kid I was worse! I went weeks without changing.

Claim To Fame : Got Choked by The Big Show

Me: Can we take a picture?
Big Show: Sure.
Me: Can you choke me?
Big Show: What? You sure?
Me: Yeah, it’s gonna be coo…errrkkkkkkkkk
Big Show: Ha ha! I hope I didn’t hurt you.
Me: Er… no. Thanks du… eeeeerkkkkk (snap!)

Standing at 7’1” and weighing 500lbs, WWE superstar The Big Show looks even more monstrous in person. I got the opportunity to meet up with the man when he was in town for a promo tour back in 2001.

The interview location was at the old KL Hilton and as I entered the presidential suite, I saw this mountain of a man sitting at the dining table devouring a spread big enough to feed the entire population of SS2. He had burgers, fries, pizzas, pastas, drinks as well as some local food on the table.

When I asked him what his diet was, Mr. Show replied: “I’m on a seafood diet. I see food and eat.” Ha ha.

Excerpts of the interview first published in the Sept. 2001 issue of Men’s Review:

What’s the most inconvenient part about being such a big man?
Small cars and small chicks! My fiance’s got a 2001 corvette convertible and I have to squeeze into it like hell. My head will be sticking out on the side like a gangster… I love her car but there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to go farther than 10 miles without cramping.

How do you remain friends with people who whack you on the head with chairs?
Well, it depends. If somebody splits my head open, I’m not going to be too happy about it! But seriously, it’s business. Trust me, you want a friend to whack you on the head with a chair, rather than have an enemy do it. It’s a business and it’s part of what we do. We’re paid to do it and nothing in that ring is about anger. I pretend to be bad and angry but there was never ever an instance when I really wanted to hurt a guy or something,

The hardest manuever you have to perform?
Lacing up my boots! There are a lot of laces for me to tie up.

Would you trade this for anything else?
No way. I wanted to play pro basketball but I never had the ability. And I had doubts about if I really wanted to do that all my life. But since I’m in this business, I always say to myself, “I’m thankful that I’m here and I love this.” Sometimes I feel like I’m the luckiest man on the planet since I’m being paid to do what I love.

Claim To Fame : Rocked Out at the HRC!

It was the ‘alternative period’ and the gig scene was pretty raw and roaring. And nowhere was it more happening than the Hard Rock Café in the heart of KL. Naturally, that was where my buds and I hung out almost every single night.

One of our favourite bands then was an outfit from the Philippines called Braun Awt. And thanks to them, I got to get up on stage and rock out Green Day and Offspring stuff to full-house crowds on almost every weekend during their 2-month stint.

In fact, I actually made a promise to myself that whatever it was I’d be doing in the future, I’d take one month off in my life to play a proper gig at the HRC someday. I just need to learn some new chords, though…