Banglasia
| Banglasia | |
|---|---|
| 猛加拉殺手 | |
| Directed by | Namewee |
| Produced by | 張捷惟 |
| Written by | Namewee |
| Starring | Namewee, Nirab, Saiful Apek, Dato David Arumugam, 尤雅敏、 朱宥六、Kinki Ryusaki, 林大詠、 韓曉噯 |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Language | Mandarin, Malay, English, Hindi |
| Budget | MYR 2 million |
Banglasia (Chinese: 猛加拉殺手), is an action comedy and Namewee's fourth film. The budget was more than MYR2 million, and was shot in Kuala Lumpur's Petaling Street.[1] Although the title appears to allude to the alleged Malaysian political phenomenon, the director has denied the insinuation. Filming is completed, however on 30 January 2014, Namewee revealed that the Malaysia Censorship Board had banned the film for 31 reasons.[2]
The cast included the "Bengal Andy," (Md Shakhawat Hossain Nirab), comedian Saiful Apek, Dato David Arumugam, Zhu Yu-six, female tattooist Kinki Ryusaki, Singaporean artist Ai Dika (Atikah Suhaime), "Laozhabor" You Yamin.[1][3]
Cast
- Nirab
- Namewee
- 尤雅敏
- 朱宥六
- Dato David Arumugam
- Saiful Apek
- Kinki Ryusaki
- 林大詠(Ling Big Yong)
- 韓曉噯(Michell Lim Huei Sun)
Banning
The film was originally scheduled for release on 30 January 2014, the Lunar New Year's Eve in Malaysia, but because the film dealt with Malaysian politics, it faced difficulties from the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia. Fixing all thirty-one plot points would require re-shooting the film, but because those points make up most of the film, it could not be saved. After several twists and turns, Banglasia was officially declared banned.[4][5] However, the film was screened for the first time in Southeast Asia at the Singapore International Film Festival held in December 2015.The film team also announced that a crowd-funding project using American platform Kickstarter to raise US$500,000 (RM2.1 million). The project, the biggest in Asia, will allow the film to recoup its costs so it can be uploaded on the Internet for a global audience.[6]
Kickstarter Campaign
Namewee is seeking to raise USD 500,000 to partially recoup their initial production cost of more than RM 4,000,000 (USD 1,000,000) so that they can afford to release the movie globally for free. Part of the funds will be used to pay for extra post-production editing so that qualified donors can be mentioned in the front and end credits. This is also an opportunity for all of Namewee's supporters who believe in him and his projects to contribute and be part of in their own capacity.
Risks and challenges The producer and director (Namewee) already suffered a major setback when Banglasia was officially banned in Malaysia due to 31 scenes that were deemed “unsuitable” for general viewing, despite a huge demand by millions of Namewee fans for it to be screened. The biggest challenge upon being successfully funded is to provide the most accessible platform for all donors (especially Malaysia-based audience) to view the Director’s Cut version.
However, the biggest risk of NOT getting successful funding is this film; which really is a human story that tells the struggles of forging racial and national unity, will be buried for good and never to be released again.
Kickstarter link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1416624528/banglasia-movie-by-namewee
References
- 1 2 黄明志新片《猛加拉杀手》 "孟加拉刘德华" 跨国演出 [Namewee movie "Banglasia" "Bengal Andy" transnational performances] (in Chinese). Nanyang Siang Pau. 12 June 2013.
- ↑ [Namewee Tokok] 029 禁止賀歲 Censored CNY 31 January 2014
- ↑ Xie Lifen (12 June 2013). 《猛加拉殺手》開鏡‧吸引外勞舉機猛拍 ["Banglasia" open mirror ‧ attract foreign workers held a quick photo machine] (in Chinese). Sin Chew Daily.
- ↑ Namewee film suddenly banned (Chinese)
- ↑ ""Banglasia" By Namewee Banned". Malaysian Digest. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- ↑ http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/namewees-banned-movie-banglasia-screened-in-singapore
External links
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