Jamal...Kembara Seniman

Dates : 5 - 9 August 2009

Time : 8 pm

Venue : Istana Budaya

(I have been quite tight up this last few days/weeks, so I apologise for this late entry.)

Sypnosis:
The show was divided into two segments. The first segment was a theatre musical depicting Jamal's life from childhood to his present days. Whilst the second segment was him singing all of his hit songs ie mini concert. I did not count how many songs he sang but from what I read in the papers (Utusan Malaysia - which happened to be one of the sponsors), it was about 33 POWERFUL songs.

The show started by showing 4 persons who seemed to just trying their bestest to quiten a 'baby Jamal' from crying helplessly including his late father. It was here that it was explained that the name Jamal Ubaidillah means that he would be someone famous one day (if my memory serves me right).

Then it was his teenage days in Teluk Anson or now known as Teluk Intan in Perak. Singing by the roadside with his guitar and friends. There was also a scene where Jamal had to pay the musicians (at a fun fair, was it?) to allow him to sing a song to impress a girl.

The nostalgic part was when he re-lived the time when he sang and won Bintang RTM 1979 with 'Senandung Semalam' which was the beginning of his stardom. His 'argument' with Ahmad Nawab (Datuk) in the studio for not being able to deliver a song with enough 'feel' and 'emotion'. There was also the part where he 'argued' with himself in front of the mirror..which showed how confused and lonely he actually was..or still is (despite just being surrounded with fans cheering him on)? It was here he revealed that the reason he uses ABDIllah instead of UBAIDIllah as his stage name was because he wanted to devote ('mengABDIkan') himself to the music industry.

Then came the second segment..the concert.
Here, he sang and sang and sang nearly all of his famous and well-known songs. On the night that I watched his show, his duet partner was Fatin Nabila Noor Sazley, one of the recent Bintang RTM 2009 winners. They sang 'Kehebatan Cinta' (original partner was Francesca Peters) and 'Sandarkan Pada Kenangan' (original partner was Fauziah Ahmad Daud aka Ogy in the boxoffice film 'Azura'). - Fatin did well and should be proud of herself.

My personal comments:
As compared to my earlier entry on Merchants of Bollywood on the difference of theatre musicals and concerts..in Jamal...Kembara Seniman, I have no complaints about that. Simply beacuse..I knew from the start what I was paying for. It was already publicised that the show WOULD BE DIVIDED into a theatre musical AND concert.

Oh well..with that aside, let me start with the first segment..the theatre musical.

i. Even though I am a strong believer that everyone regardless who they are, have a right to their private lives and do not agree with the saying 'when one becomes an artist, he/she belongs to the public'...I got to admit that the main reason I bought a ticket to watch Jamal's show was to see...his private life. Did I get what I paid for? My answer is....YES. Sure..he did not potray his troubled married life, his problem with drug addiction (which he had seeked help to put it in his past) etc..but...that was not what I wanted to see. The 'private life' that I was interested in was his upbringing, his struggle to be a star etc...and THAT WAS EXACTLY what Jamal...Kembara Seniman showed! I am happy...I am satisfied..:)

ii. I got to admit, his acting skills in Azura was much better than what he showed here but hey...I don't blame him..as far as I am concerned, Jamal is a singer..not an actor. Yet, I applaude his attempt.

iii. Okay...this is one part which irritated and annoyed me the most!! TOO MUCH and TOO LONG video/interview clips !!! It definitely KILLED the mood and the momentum of the show during the first segment. I think, the interview clips was better off not shown at all and it would be much nicer if the movie scenes he did was acted out instead of being shown on the white screen. For an example, if it were a scene from the film 'Azura', the spotlight can focus on an actor and actress acting it out ad-lib with Jamal's and Ogy's voice from the film, then the spotlight would focus on another actor and actress acting out Jamal's and Sofea Jane's scene in 'Kekasih Awal dan Akhir' ad-lib again and so on and so forth..just like how he did it at the beginning of the show when the elders were trying to quiten 'baby Jamal' as I stated above. - Just giving my two penny's worth of idea/comment/thought.

(Hmm...can't help but wonder if the theatre musical above would be orchestrated differently if Ogy were a part of it...hmm...)

Now..let's carry on to the second segment..the concert:

Oh wow....what can I say? Jamal's vocal was (and still is) totally...SUPERB !! I just have no words to describe it..definitely no comments from me on this issue. Just INCREDIBLY AWESOME !! One thing for sure....if you think hearing Jamal sing on cassettes/cds/radio/television is great....you should try hearing him sing LIVE !!! I sure am glad I did!!

As for the songs...he most definitely chose them well. All were very entertaining and his hits. Again....I am happy....I am satisfied !

Oh....I am also thrilled to be able to get his autograph..hehehe..as you can see in the picture above!

-Nena-

Merchants of Bollywood

Synopsis: The story began in a temple named Shiva, in Rajasthan.

Shantilal came from a merchant family who held the responsibility of upholding the ancient Kathak dance, the dance of their Gods. He was also formerly a famous choreographer in Bollywood but left the the industry when western trends started to have influence in it. He then formed his own dance school back home.

His beautiful grandaughter - Ayesha, a very talented dancer, left Rajasthan to make it big in Bollywood. She too dreamt of being a well-known choreographer, just like her grandfather. However, being of different generations, both viewed the dance choreographing differently. Ayesha was more inclined for modern dance styles whilst Shantilal being of the older generation, classical.

After years of making a name for herself in Bollywood, she learnt that her grandfather was ill. She rushed back to Rajasthan but was not welcomed by her grandfather. Upon his death, there were no one else to continue his legacy of performing the dance of their Gods. Ayesha, who by then had married her childhood sweetheart- Uday, understanding her responsibility, continued the dance school and maintained her family legacy.

Yet, she did it her way..teaching classical dance and balanced it with modern styles.

Personal comments: From a layman view of a theatre fan, this musical theatre was a let down for me.

Sure, the dances performed were extremely entertaining and brilliantly choreographed. The stamina of the dancers were (i admit) unbelievable..dancing fast numbers without breaking a sweat. The choice of colours for their clothing were very beautiful and not one were a sore in the eyes. There were funny moments especially when Mr Tony and is assistant (sorry, forgot his name) made their entrance every time throughout the show. The lighting were fantastic (if all the lights were from Istana Budaya itself..then..I am very proud of my country - as always!)

Yet....why the let down? It was not enough 'theatre' for me. It was more like a mini concert.

1. The dance and the songs did not really 'play along' with the 'script'..for an example, when it was supposed to be a sad scene, the song that came after it, did not 'sing' a sad tune..but a fast paced dance tune - or was it me who did not pay much attention?

2. Instead of singing live (as all theatre shows I have been to), here, they mimed - Bollywood or not, should not all theatres regardless where they are originally from, be sang live? I mean..isn't this what distinguishes concerts and movies from theatres???

3. At the start of the show, there were a few guys dancing the classical moves but..wearing very obvious black sneakers! Honestly, barefooted would have suited them better in their clothing at that time - oh well, I thought at first..maybe they wanted to save time in costume changing but...as the show went on, the women changed from one shoes to another! Not wanting to sound feminine, but.... Heck! It just proved that this is just another thing that we women are capable of doing and men not! Haha!!

In a nutshell, not being bias....I would say Tiara Jacquelina's Puteri Gunung Ledang and P.Ramlee the Musical were much better. There were more props in Tiara's but..okay...maybe Merchants of Bollywood had 'covered' this shortcoming with their brilliantly play of the lights.

In conclusion, would I have bought another ticket to watch Merchants of Bollywood again? Hmmm..maybe once is enough...unless...I was handed a free ticket and then to remind myself to just relax, enjoy the songs and dances, and not expect a theatre show.

-Nena-

Drag Me To Hell (2009)

Director : Sam Raimi

Writer/s : Sam Raimi & Ivan Raimi

Genre : Horror / Thriller

Viewed at : TGV, Sunway Pyramid

Running time : 1 hr 39 mins


Synopsis : Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) was a loan officer eyeing for the Assistant Manager's position that was vacant in her workplace. One day an old gypsy lady, Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) came to see her to request for an extension for the 3rd time of her loan to avoid being evicted from her own home which she had lived for many years. Trying to impress her boss, Mr Jacks (David Paymer) and not wanting the Assistant Manager's position to be given to her sneeky rival, Stu Rubin (Reggie Lee), against her better judgement, she declined Mrs. Ganush plea.

In retaliation, that night Christine was violently attacked by Mrs. Ganush. After much struggle, Mrs. Ganush had removed a button from Christine's jacket and placed a powerful Lamia curse on it before returning it to Christine and disappeared. After which, Christine's life started to turn into a living hell and she turned to her sceptic boyfriend, Clay Dalton (Justin Long); a fortune teller, Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) and a seer, Shaun San Dena (Adriana Barraza) for help.

Christine tried to do the next best thing which was to apologise to Mrs Ganush and give her the loan extension, only to find that the gypsy lady had just passed away.


SHE HAS 3 DAYS TO SAVE HERSELF OR HER SOUL WILL BE DRAGGED TO HELL !!



Personal comments: Unlike any other horror/thrillers which tend to drag the storyline just to make up for time, this movie was shot and shown with every minute has its own horrific climacs. The best part was the dark humours in this movie did nothing to spoil the suspense momentums that it had going in you throughout from the beginning till the end. Even the goofy character of the sceptic yet loving boyfriend, Clay Dalton, too was not written overboard and make you love him for his supportive and understanding role.


**A recommended and must see movie for those who loves horror and thriller movies! **


-Nena-