Ummi Nazeera might not have a long list of filmography but the petite young actress is already a household name in Malaysia, all thanks to her performance in local television series, "Nur Kasih". Her talents are even more recognised after she was cast in director Mamat Khalid's smash hit horror comedy, "Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah". However, her recent portrayal as Embok, Merong Mahawangsa's wife in the KRU Studios Production epic has proven that this aspiring starlet has a lot of potential in the filming scene. We recently managed to catch the lovely actress in town for the promo and gala premiere of the movie.
Interview conducted recently at Robot Sushi Restaurant, 1Utama Damansara.
Q: Firstly Ummi, could you briefly explain to us the role that you're playing in Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (HMM)? A: My role is Embok, the wife of Merong Mahawangsa. She is a soft-spoken village girl with a vengeance especially towards men. She is full of hatred ever since a tragedy happened when an outsider raped her when she was younger. And with Merong as an outsider who had just moved into her community, she develops resentment towards him. Everything gets more intense especially when she eventually realises that she has feelings for him.
Q: Where were the scenes of your character filmed and how many days did the shooting go on for? A: It's mostly shot in Terengganu. I travelled back and forth from Kuala Lumpur often, so roughly it was a week of shooting spread out in the duration of 2 months.
Q: What is your experience like working with Director Yusry Abdul Halim and your co-actors, Stephen Rahman Hudges and Rahim Razali? A: At first I thought it was going to be difficult with Yusry as I thought he had a very unwelcoming expression, but later on I realised that it was completely untrue. What really caught my attention of Yusry as a director was that even though his tent on set was quite far from the others, he still came over frequently to check on the actors. He's a very good director. Meanwhile my scenes are mostly with Stephen and Rahim. Working with Stephen wasn't hard because we had acting classes together before shooting, so it was easy to find the chemistry. With Rahim Razali it was a bit shaky for me at first, but since it was my second time acting with him, I knew he would help me out with his experience.
Q: Could you share with us your most memorable experiences while shooting the movie? As an actress it has always been my dream to be a part of an epic movie. I was given the chance to do so and I was really happy when I was chosen for the character. There weren't any bad experiences, only that I fell once while shooting a scene with Stephen. But I'm doing what I love, so it was all good experience.
Q: What made you agree to be a part of HMM? As I said before I always wanted to be a part of an epic movie and also with Kru Studios production under Yusry's direction. I watched "Cicakman" before and I found the CGI to be really impressive. I had to go for casting 3 times and only at my third casting session I could finally meet the producers when I finally won the role!
Q: We heard that you no longer want to be known with Ummi Nazeera. Can you share us what is your new stage name and why the sudden change? I'd like to be known as Nazeera Musa from now on so as to go well together with the rest of my siblings. However, that doesn't mean I will not respond to fans or media who addresses me by my older stage name.
Q: You have recently been living & studying abroad in Melbourne, Australia. So, how has student life been going on for you? At first it was quite hard because I had to do everything by myself. But after a year I managed to adapt to the environment and finally get used to be independent. The previous year I did Media & Communications but now I'm pursuing my degree in Business Marketing, as I want to explore the field in the future and also for the benefits of the family business.
Q: Since you are heading back Australia to pursue your studies, do you see yourself getting back to acting in the future? That's a very good question actually but for now; I've decided to stop acting because I know my weakness very well - I can't do two things at one time, so I've decided to complete my business degree at the moment. However, if I'm offered a good part with a good script, then hopefully I will consider stepping back into acting in the future.
"Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa" is showing at cinemas in Malaysia from 10 March onwards while a Singapore release is tentatively scheduled on 12 May 2011.