Saturday September 2, 2006
It’s all real
By Sheela Chandran
WITH so many reality TV shows around, it isn't surprising that Popiah Pictures has produced a drama series about the finalists in a talent search reality show.
Aptly called Realiti, in which the characters speak both Bahasa Malaysia and English, the story highlights the challenges faced by finalists Amir, Nickson, Baby, Melody and Burn in trying to win the competition.
Zizan Nin plays Amir, a pleasant and stable chap whose love for music is restrained by his bigger responsibility of providing for his family.
During the competition, he befriends Nickson (Alvin Wong), a complex guy with a happy-go-lucky demeanour.
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Clockwise from far left: Chelsia Ng, Zizan Nin, Maureen Melissa, Alvin Wong and Ashraf Sinclair. |
The opposite is shy and talented Melody (Chelsia Ng) who wants to win the competition to prove her worth to her family and hopes the experience will help her transform her introverted personality.
Ashraf Sinclair’s character Burn appears to be a playboy. He enters the competition after accepting a challenge from his friends.
The singing contestants stay together in a hotel throughout the competition. In this tense environment, they learn to live with each other while vying for the grand prize of the reality TV show. As the competition heats up, things go awry when the finalists realise that the competition is an uphill struggle.
Other actors in the series include Kee Thuan Chye, Radhi Khalid, Reefa, Maria Farida and Fly.
“Realiti focuses on what takes place behind the scenes. The idea behind the show is to bring out the fact that there is so much drama behind reality shows,” said 8TV chief executive officer Ahmad Izham Omar after the launch of the series recently.
“The series looks at the pressure and conflicts faced by the contestants and budding friendship that happen in real life.
“Realiti has nothing to do with being cynical, but it brings forth the drama that is actually happening in talent search shows, which viewers do not get to see on screen.”
The 10-episode series is the work of Popiah Picture's producer Anne Low and director Ng Ping Ho. It premières tomorrow on 8TV at 10pm.
To make the series as real as possible, Ng and his production crew followed Malaysian Idol 2 from the audition stage to the finals .
“We decided to focus on reality shows as they show the struggle finalists go through for the glory of winning a competition.
“Realiti focuses on how five normal youngsters have to deal with fame. It was fun working with the actors as they were a dedicated and talented lot,” said Ng, who directed award-winning comedy Kopitiam.
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