Mamat Khalid to do film on the 'pop yeh-yeh' era?
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Mamat Khalid to do film on the 'pop yeh-yeh' era?

The director and main cast of
The director and main cast of "Rock 4" at the movie's gala premiere.

Previously, many thought that the Mamat Khalid-helmed "Rock" franchise would end with "Rock Bro! Kembali Ke Pangkal Jalan". However, the well-known director has now surprised everyone with the new "Rock 4: Rockers Never Dai".

Mamat said that aside from him missing the rock scene, the movie is also made in hopes of introducing the rock era to today's youth, who's not as exposed to the music genre that was popular in the 1980s to the 1990s.

"Rock 4" is the continuation of "Rock Bro!", where Dio who went into a coma following an accident with Rimba Bara, is now back and realises that today's music has changed a lot. Determined to continue the legacy of rock, he forms Rimba Bara Dua along with Rayyan, Omar, Seri and Acap.

Produced by Primeworks Studios, the movie stars Sharwani NS, Adam John, Hazama, Bulan Terry and Nazimi Fahmi as Rimba Bara 2, as well as guest stars Khir Rahman, Pekin Ibrahim, Dato' Awie, Kamarool Haji Yusoff and many more.

Cinema Online had the chance to talk to Mamat, who attended the recent gala premiere of "Rock 4: Rockers Never Dai" alongside the cast members at mmCineplexes eCurve, Damansara.

Take a look at our interview with Mamat Khalid below.


Mamat Khalid revealed that due to his poor health, he had to direct "Rock 4" while lying down.

Cinema Online: What inspired you to make "Rock 4"?

Mamat: The story of "Rock" was originally meant to stop at the third movie, but I miss the rock scene and that became my inspiration to make "Rock 4". There are still plenty of tales about the rock music that I think people need to learn, especially the youngsters who have no idea about rock. I hope they will realise the uniqueness of rock's touching rhythm.

How was the experience filming this movie?

Honestly, I did not face any trouble during filming thanks to the good cooperation from the production crew and cast members. During filming, I had to lie down a lot while directing. I only delivered my ideas, while my assistant and director of photography were the ones who executed those.

How did you pick the cast?

All the actors we picked from auditions and I didn't even recognise most of the newcomers except Sharwani and Hazama. I was worried at first because so many came to audition and I felt like picking them all. I then asked for Imuda and Aziz M. Osman's help to filter them. Sharwani, of course, must be included for Rimba Bara.

Adam John had his own aura that I needed in this movie. Nazimi I picked because he knows how to play the keyboard and during the audition, I was touched when he sang "Mad World". Bulan Terry is very talented in playing the drums and I appreciate that. Hazama, I knew him by name before. When he came for the audition, I found out he was a very great singer and I am proud to include him in this movie.

It was reported that a lot of scenes were cut?

Yes, a lot of scenes were cut, about 20 minutes' worth and most are Dio's scenes. We had to cut a lot of the funny and sad scenes. At the end of the story, we did slip in a bit of the cut scenes. Word of advice, a movie's duration is just 90 minutes.

If more, no matter how good it is, the audience will begin to feel bored. But as a filmmaker, 90 minutes is actually not enough to tell a story. Nevertheless, I will follow the producer's words and will not defend my work, because I'm thinking of how long the audience can stand being in the cinema hall.

Any plans for "Rock 5"?


I previously said that "Rock Bro" was the final movie, now suddenly there's "Rock 4". So we'll see. For now, I want to see first how's the reception towards "Rock 4".

What are your next projects?

Maybe I will explore and produce a movie with the theme 'pop yeh-yeh'. Based on my experience, there's a lot of stories about the music genre that we can tell. The 'pop yeh-yeh' and rock eras are in leagues of their own. But it's not so easy because the people during that era is very sensitive and I have to be careful. I did do several interviews and research. So I can't mess with this era and I hope that I will be able to make a 'pop yeh-yeh' movie after this. I will also collaborate with Hasnul Rahmat and Imuda for this movie.

Don't miss out on watching the musical film "Rock 4: Rockers Never Dai", now showing in a cinema near you since 20 February!


Related Movies:
Rock 4: Rockers Never Dai (FFM) (Malay) (06 Dec 2021)
Rock Bro!: Kembali Ke Pangkal Jalan (Malay) (27 Oct 2016)
Rock Oo! Rimba Bara Kembali (Malay) (28 Feb 2013)

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