Personal Selection - Favourite Malay Dramas (Films / Coloured)

1. Layar Lara (Shuhaimi Baba) – Ida Nerina, Sidi Oraza, Azean Irdawaty, Man Bai & Shazleen Shahbi.

- Shuhaimi Baba has always been a bold and inventive filmmaker. Her TV Movie, "Maria", captured my attention years before she ventured onto the Big Screen. Her first official Film was "Selubung", but she topped herself with "Layar Lara". And personally, she never quite managed to capture such form ever since. The storyline and the acting were superb. One of those rare Malay Movies, at that point in time, to use the Direct Sound Recording method. Great performances from Azean Irdawaty (as always), Ida Nerina (always dependable to deliver over-the-top performances) and the rest of the supporting casts, especially Man Bai, Shazleen Shahbi, and the group of Veteran Actors. But I will always remember this movie for two reasons - one is the "gedik" act by Ida Nerina, singing over the phone while talking to Maman... and the other involves Sidi Oraza lashing out his anger towards the indisciplined Ena Manjalara (Ida Nerina). Sidi Oraza had a wonderfully controlled emotion that erupted at the very right moment. Sidi is a brilliant actor who had earlier won the Best Actor accolade in the Festival Film Malaysia (FFM) for his portrayal of a mental patient in "Sayang Salmah". He won his 2nd Best Actor award for his portrayal of the Director in this movie. Unfortunately, his career was rather short-lived. If you are given a choice of only watching 3 - 5 Malay Movies that could give you a glimpse of what Malay Movies are all about, than this should definitely be one of those.

2. Sepet (Yasmin Ahmad) – Sharifah Amani, Ng Chen Seong, Ida Nerina, Harith Iskander & Adibah Noor.
3. Abang (Rahim Razali) – Rahim Razali, Ahmad Yatim, Noorkumalasari, Ahmad Termimi Siregar & Ogy Ahmad Daud.
4. Leftenan Adnan (Aziz M. Osman) – Hairie Othman, Umie Aida, Shaharuddin Thamby, Farid Amirul Hisham & Rusdi Ramli.
5. Fenomena (Aziz M. Osman) – Ramona Rahman, M. Nasir, Amy Search, Abu Bakar Omar & Afida Es.
6. Sepi (Kabir Bhatia) - Afdlin Shauki, Vaneeda Imran, Tony Eusoff, Eja, Baizura Kahar, Pierre Andre & Nasya Aziz.
7. Bukit Kepong (Jins Shamsuddin) – Jins Shamsuddin, Hussein Abu Hassan, Yusoff Haslam, A. Rahim & Suhaina Yahya.
8. Perempuan Melayu Terakhir (Erma Fatima) – Eizlan Yusoff, Vaneeda Imran, Azri Iskandar, Nanu Baharuddin & Ahmad Yatim.
9. Selubung (Shuhaimi Baba) – Deanna Yusoff, M. Nasir, Liza Othman, Ida Nerina & Hattan.
10. Hati Bukan Kristal (Raja Ahmad Alauddin) – Erma Fatima, Ridzuan Hashim, Julia Rais, Zaiton Sameon & A. Rahim.