Talentime
Encyclopedia
Talentime is a 2009 Malaysian drama film written and directed by Yasmin Ahmad
. Yasmin, in her blog, has described it "as a story full of joy and pain, hope and despair, a host of beautifully-written songs, and rich, rich characters". A Hindu
open cremation
and a scene reminiscent of the Kampung Medan incident are included in the film.
The film was released on March 26, 2009 in Malaysia and marks Yasmin's last feature film prior to her death on July 25, 2009.
. Through the days of auditions, rehearsals and preparations, running up to the big day of the contest, the characters get embroiled in a world of heightened emotions - ambition, jealousy, human comedy, romance, heartbreak - all of which culminate in a day of great music and performances. Yasmin also mentioned that the idea behind Talentime was that as humans, we have to go through a lot of pain and some measure of suffering before we can reach greater heights.
A talent search competition has matched two hearts - that of Melur, a Malay-mixed girl and an Indian male student, Mahesh. Melur, with her melodious voice, singing whilst playing the piano is one of the seven finalists of the Talentime competition of her school organised by Cikgu Adibah. Likewise Hafiz, enthralling with his vocalist talent while playing the guitar, dividing his time between school and mother, who is hospitalised for brain tumor.
It all started after Mahesh, amongst the students assigned to get the finalists to school for practice, delivered the notice of successful audition to Melur's house. His handsome looks attracted the girl. Early on of their relationship, tragedy struck Mahesh's family when his uncle Ganesh who had been the care-taker of the family since the loss of Mahesh's father, was stabbed to death on his wedding day. Melur thinking that Mahesh's silence was due to his grief over the tragedy became furious when she was continuously ignored. She regretted it however after Hafiz revealed Mahesh's situation.
That changed Melur's perception of Mahesh. Likewise Mahesh, who grew comfortable with the presence of the girl who often quotes beautiful poetry. Mahesh, realizing that the relationship will be opposed, kept it hidden from his mother, still grieving over the death of Ganesh. Alas, the secret was exposed and Mahesh was assaulted before Melur's very eyes. Just a day before the competition, is Melur resilient enough to sing the poetic lyrics of her song when her heart is tormented by the thoughts of Mahesh? What about Mahesh who has found his first love? On Talentime night, everything unfolds.
Sharifah Amani
was supposed to be cast as Melur in the film. However, due to clash of schedules, she was replaced by Pamela Chong. She did, however, play a role as the 3rd Assistant Director for the film. This would probably mark the first time that Sharifah Amani has played a behind-the-scene role in Yasmin Ahmad's films.
. Songs include:
Original soundtrack album released by Universal Music includes Malay language versions of many of the principal songs in the film including 'Pergi' [I Go], Angel and Itulah Dirimu [Just One Boy]. The song "Ore Piya" was taken from the Bollywood
movie, Aaja Nachle
. Available online and in shops all over Malaysia.
, the most Gracious and most Merciful). Like Muallaf
, the verse is displayed in a script different from Arabic in Talentime, i.e. in Tamil
- பிஸ்மில்லாஹிர்ரஹ்மானிர்ரஹீம்
23rd Song Champion Awards of Malaysia
Yasmin Ahmad
Yasmin Ahmad was a film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia and was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers, in particular her...
. Yasmin, in her blog, has described it "as a story full of joy and pain, hope and despair, a host of beautifully-written songs, and rich, rich characters". A Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
open cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
and a scene reminiscent of the Kampung Medan incident are included in the film.
The film was released on March 26, 2009 in Malaysia and marks Yasmin's last feature film prior to her death on July 25, 2009.
Plot
"A music teacher, who is herself a great performer is organising an inter-school talentimeTalent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
. Through the days of auditions, rehearsals and preparations, running up to the big day of the contest, the characters get embroiled in a world of heightened emotions - ambition, jealousy, human comedy, romance, heartbreak - all of which culminate in a day of great music and performances. Yasmin also mentioned that the idea behind Talentime was that as humans, we have to go through a lot of pain and some measure of suffering before we can reach greater heights.
A talent search competition has matched two hearts - that of Melur, a Malay-mixed girl and an Indian male student, Mahesh. Melur, with her melodious voice, singing whilst playing the piano is one of the seven finalists of the Talentime competition of her school organised by Cikgu Adibah. Likewise Hafiz, enthralling with his vocalist talent while playing the guitar, dividing his time between school and mother, who is hospitalised for brain tumor.
It all started after Mahesh, amongst the students assigned to get the finalists to school for practice, delivered the notice of successful audition to Melur's house. His handsome looks attracted the girl. Early on of their relationship, tragedy struck Mahesh's family when his uncle Ganesh who had been the care-taker of the family since the loss of Mahesh's father, was stabbed to death on his wedding day. Melur thinking that Mahesh's silence was due to his grief over the tragedy became furious when she was continuously ignored. She regretted it however after Hafiz revealed Mahesh's situation.
That changed Melur's perception of Mahesh. Likewise Mahesh, who grew comfortable with the presence of the girl who often quotes beautiful poetry. Mahesh, realizing that the relationship will be opposed, kept it hidden from his mother, still grieving over the death of Ganesh. Alas, the secret was exposed and Mahesh was assaulted before Melur's very eyes. Just a day before the competition, is Melur resilient enough to sing the poetic lyrics of her song when her heart is tormented by the thoughts of Mahesh? What about Mahesh who has found his first love? On Talentime night, everything unfolds.
Cast
- Pamela Chong as Melur: An EurasianEurasian (mixed ancestry)The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
girl in the Talentime finals who sings and plays the piano. - Mahesh Jugal Kishor as Mahesh: A hearing impaired IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n boy who becomes Melur's love interest. - Mohd Syafie Naswip as Hafiz: A Malay boy in the Talentime finals who sings and plays the guitar.
- Howard Hon Kahoe as Kahoe: A ChineseChinese peopleThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
boy in the Talentime finals who plays the erhuErhuThe erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
and resents Hafiz. - Elza Irdalynna as Mawar: Melur's younger sister.
- Azean Irdawaty as Embun: Hafiz's mother who is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
- Harith Iskander as Harith: Melur's comical father.
- Jit Murad as Ismael: A patient who befriends Embun at the hospital during her final days.
- Mislina Mustaffa as Melur's mother.
- Tan Mei Ling as Mei Ling: A Chinese Muslim convert who works as a maid for Melur's family.
- Ida NerinaIda NerinaIda Nerina Hussain is a Malaysian actress, producer and director.In 2008, Nerina and friend Tania Khan were selected to race in the reality TV Show The Amazing Race Asia, season 3, where they finished third in Phuket, Thailand....
as Datin Kalsom: A friend of Melur's mother who distrusts Mei Ling. - Adibah NoorAdibah NoorAdibah Noor is a Malaysian artiste. She is a singer, actress, emcee, voiceover and ad talent. She has been in showbiz for 13 years.- Film :*Sepet *Gubra *Mukhsin *Buli Balik*Talentime *Crayon *Nasi Lemak 2.0...
as Cikgu Adibah: The teacher in charge of organizing the Talentime. - Sukania Venugopal as Mahesh's mother.
- Jaclyn VictorJaclyn VictorJaclyn Joshua Thanaraj Victor is a singer and actress, popularly known as Jac, who won the inaugural Malaysian Idol and Ikon Malaysia. For being the winner of Malaysian Idol, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment. She is under the management of The 8 Unit. She represented...
as Bhavani: Mahesh's elder sister who has a penchant for picking on him.
Sharifah Amani
Sharifah Amani
Sharifah Amani Syed Zainal Rashid Al-Yahya is a Malaysian actress. She is the second daughter of veteran Malaysian actress, Fatimah Abu Bakar. Sharifah is of Malay-Chinese-Arab-Bengali parentage and speaks fluent English, Malay and some Hindi...
was supposed to be cast as Melur in the film. However, due to clash of schedules, she was replaced by Pamela Chong. She did, however, play a role as the 3rd Assistant Director for the film. This would probably mark the first time that Sharifah Amani has played a behind-the-scene role in Yasmin Ahmad's films.
Music
Film score by Pete TeoPete Teo
Pete Teo , is a leading English language singer-songwriter in Malaysia. He is also an acclaimed film composer and music producer as well as a sought-after actor in what has become known as 'New Wave Malaysian Cinema'.-Biography:...
. Songs include:
- O Re Piya [Artist: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan]
- I Go [Artist: Aizat. Written & Produced by Pete Teo]
- Just One Boy [Artist: Aizat. Written & Produced by Pete Teo]
- Angel [Artist: Atilia. Written & Produced by Pete Teo]
- Kasih Tak Kembali [Artist: Atilia. Written by Ahmad Hashim. Produced by Pete Teo]
Original soundtrack album released by Universal Music includes Malay language versions of many of the principal songs in the film including 'Pergi' [I Go], Angel and Itulah Dirimu [Just One Boy]. The song "Ore Piya" was taken from the Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movie, Aaja Nachle
Aaja Nachle
The film's soundtrack was released on 18 October 2007 composed by Salim-Sulaiman and lyrics by Jaideep Sahni and Piyush Mishra. A few songs from the final sequence of the movie have not been included on the soundtrack including "Yeh Ishq"....
. Available online and in shops all over Malaysia.
Screening
As in all of Yasmin's previous works, Talentime opens with the Islamic verse Bismillahirahmanirrahim (In the name of GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, the most Gracious and most Merciful). Like Muallaf
Muallaf
Muallaf is a 2008 Malaysian drama film directed by Yasmin Ahmad. It tells a tale of three souls finding solace in religion. This is Yasmin Ahmad's fifth film after Rabun, Sepet, Gubra and Mukhsin.-Cast:...
, the verse is displayed in a script different from Arabic in Talentime, i.e. in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
- பிஸ்மில்லாஹிர்ரஹ்மானிர்ரஹீம்
Awards and nominations
22nd Malaysian Film Festival- Best Director - Yasmin AhmadYasmin AhmadYasmin Ahmad was a film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia and was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers, in particular her...
- Best Actor - Mahesh (nominated)
- Best Supporting Actor - Syafie (nominated)
- Best Screenplay - Yasmin AhmadYasmin AhmadYasmin Ahmad was a film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia and was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers, in particular her...
- Best Original Story - Yasmin AhmadYasmin AhmadYasmin Ahmad was a film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia and was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers, in particular her...
(nominated) - Best Cinematography - Soon Keong (nominated)
- Best Editing - Affandi Jamaludin (nominated)
- Best Original Music Score - Pete TeoPete TeoPete Teo , is a leading English language singer-songwriter in Malaysia. He is also an acclaimed film composer and music producer as well as a sought-after actor in what has become known as 'New Wave Malaysian Cinema'.-Biography:...
(nominated) - Art Direction - Nick (nominated)
- Best Promising Actress - Jaclyn VictorJaclyn VictorJaclyn Joshua Thanaraj Victor is a singer and actress, popularly known as Jac, who won the inaugural Malaysian Idol and Ikon Malaysia. For being the winner of Malaysian Idol, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment. She is under the management of The 8 Unit. She represented...
- Special Jury Prize for Implementing Humanitarian Elements In A Motion Picture
23rd Song Champion Awards of Malaysia
- Winner - Best Song for Pergi by Pete Teo / Amran Omar. Performed by Aizat Amdan