The Making of Nasi Lemak 2.0

When you talk about Namewee, alot of people will think that’s he’s one rude chap as he excessively used vulgar words in his songs and whatnot. But the truth is far removed from reality. Namewee is not just an ordinary punk as he portrayed himself to be in public.

He’s just misunderstood as a lot of people tends to judge a book by it’s cover. I’ve met him before, and he’s nothing but a gentleman, and I must say, quite a shy feller. We’ve chatted for a while and not even one vulgar word was hurled at me, and I was really surprised. He’s in fact, a very polite young man and is very encouraging of aspiring artists and authors.

I came to understand that Namewee is also a patriot who wants nothing but a better Malaysia for the future generation (somehow on the twisted and darker side, though). He mentioned that as an artist, he feels that the only way he can reach out to the public about his visions is through his songs. It may not be well received by those who are prim and proper and those who supported the government, but well, at least he made his point, and to me, he’s much better than those who just know how to rant on various social media sites but at the end of the day, contributes nothing at all to the country. That sort of people, are just empty cans to me.

Some of you may and may not know that Namewee have been working hard on his first movie, Nasi Lemak 2.0.

Nasi Lemak 2.0. is a movie about a young chef, Chef Huang who is on a quest to find the best Nasi Lemak recipe. I have yet to watch the movie as it’ll only be released in September, but I can say it’s a multi-cultural based film where the main protagonist meet alot kind of people along the way in his quest /misadventure and learn the true meaning of unity and non-discrimination.

Interesting story with catchy soundtrack, really, and to think that the government had initially given him a red light just because he’s a controversial artist. Talk about stereotyping!

Due to the controversial issues faced by Namewee last September, the initial plan to complete Nasi Lemak 2.0 for 2010 came to a complete halt when the sponsors and investors decided to pull out from the project. Luckily for him, the Minister from the Prime Minister’s office, Dato Seri Nazri Aziz officially announced Namewee’s innocence after viewing his proposal and Nasi Lemak 2.0 movie trailer in Parliament at end of last year, they were able to revive the project again in 2011.

Artists line up for Nasi Lemak 2.0 is most impressive. There’s Adibah Noor, Dato’ David Arumugam, Karen Kong, Afdlin Shauki, Kenny & Chee, Reshmonu, Dennis Lau, Nur Fathia, Nadine Ann Thomas, Pete Teo, Ho Yuhang, Dian Sharlin, Felixia Yeap and many more famous celebrities, and most of them volunteered to act in Nasi Lemak 2.0 without asking for anything in return. Now, this is what I call unity.

You know what’s more amazing about Nasi Lemak 2.0? Well, despite of the low budget and various obstacles placed by the the ruling government in the beginning, the movie was completed within 6 month time. Amazing? Well to me it is amazing. Another amazing thing about this movie is that they only used DSLR camera to do the shooting. How about that? Talk about fully utilizing the DSLR camera.

Check out the pics below… it’s taken during the shooting of Nasi Lemak 2.0.

Namewee and Nasi Lemak 2.0 crew. Notice the camera? It’s not huge like those people usually use to produce movies. This one is just a DSLR camera. They just use DSLR camera cuz there’s budget restriction and they have to make do with what they have I was really surprised during the Press Conference. The quality of the movie was really good despite the fact that they did not use high end cameras for the shooting.

Local artistes who starred in Nasi Lemak 2.0. I can only recognize Adibah Noor and Karen Kong inside this picture, though. Adibah Noor is one of the most versatile artist in Malaysia. She’s not only an awesome singer, but her acting career have been pointing to the sky since she acted in the late Yasmin Ahmad movies. Adibah Noor plays Kak Noor who is the mysterious nasi lemak stall owner who holds the secret of the perfect nasi lemak in Nasi Lemak 2.0. Interesting enough, she’s also a tai-chi master in the movie.

 

 


One of the scenes in Nasi Lemak 2.0. Afdlin Shauki, Reshmonou and Namewee. Afdlin Shauki played a down to earth fisherman with four wives while Reshmonou played a historical hero who came to Chef Huang’s aid when he’s in trouble.


From left: Namewee, Afdlin and Reshmonou, having fun on the set.

Namewee and Karen Kong in Nasi Lemak 2.0. Karen Kong have an interesting history in the Malaysian entertainment industry. She’s the first Malaysian Chinese to debut with a full Malay album. She plays the heroine in this movie.

Namewee and Dato’ David Arumugam. Datuk David  Arumugam is widely recognized in Malaysia as the pioneer of championing the muhibbah spirit where his all-Indian band Alleycats was the first non-Malay band to be accepted and hugely popular in the Malay music industry. In Nasi Lemak 2.0, he plays Curry Master who taught Chef Huang (Namewee) about how understanding a good curry mix is vital to building a harmonious society in a multi-cultural country.

Dato’ David Arumugam is my childhood idol. I love his songs when I was a little girl.  My dad used to turn on his cassettes every now and then, and each time I look at him, I feel like singing his old songs. My all time favourite is “Jika Kau Bercinta Lagi”. Take a note on the picture above. Notice Namewee’s T-shirt? There’s a message in it. ‘Why can’t we all just get along?’. Indeed. Why can’t we all just get along?

I know most of you are not a fan of Namewee, but I think it’s fair if his artworks are viewed with an open mind, especially Nasi Lemak 2.0. At least this one is a multi-cultural film with tonns of unity message embedded inside. To me, it is way better than those cheap looking horror movies or those gangsters and mat rempit movies. In case you’re interested in Nasi Lemak 2.0, here’s the link to the official website:

NASI LEMAK 2.0

Cleffairy: Never, ever judge a book by it’s cover. Truthfully, appearance can be really deceiving.

44 comments

    • Cleffairy says:

      Me too… I’ve watched the trailer during the press conference, and it’s very interesting… and the the theme song is a remixed ‘Rasa Sayang’. LOL… very catchy tune.

    • Cleffairy says:

      Hi, thank you for dropping by. Eh? Really? I’m not sure la… *blush* I tot it’s an all Indian band who sings malay songs… I was too young to remember…I was only a little girl when I listened to Alleycats songs.

  1. Bananazஇ says:

    Namewee is a very good singer and songwriter and if you listen to the American rappers they are even worst with their four letter words..Agree with Azlan, Alley Cats got more than one Chinese band members. Those days used to frequent their performance in Carmen’s Inn, Penang back in the 70’s. tQ for the preview & link of Nasi Lemak 2.0.

  2. Bananazஇ says:

    Namewee is a very good singer and songwriter and if you listen to the American rappers they are even worst with their four letter words..Agree with Azlan, Alley Cats got more than one Chinese band members. Those days used to frequent their performance in Carmen’s Inn, Penang back in the 70’s. tQ for the preview & link of Nasi Lemak 2.0.

  3. ladyviral says:

    he just wants a better place in malaysia… yep it is… what other ways to get these people’s attention but the way he is doing? Other methods have been tried… but it failed. haha

  4. eugene says:

    I like this guy, i think he sees the bigger picture of Malaysian than those “hahahahah UMNO guys” you see this movie, so many different stars and i think they only ask for a small fees,,,,,,,,,,i think i would go for this movie, kena support kaw kaw,,,,,,,,,,,,

    • Cleffairy says:

      Yup… those big stars volunteered for this movie. You see, the budget for this movie very limited wan. He din get any financial support from those… donkeys, cows and whatnot.

  5. Zara says:

    way to go, Namewee…! Can’t wait to see it in September!

    Yeah…it’s true what’s printed on the shirt. Why can’t we all just get along?

  6. icyanimator says:

    yes…they use dslr
    but do you know how much is that lens cost,,and how much is the camera…that lenses can buy how many camera???check it out
    and all other equipment that join to the camera still a movie production stuff
    not all dslr can take hd quality video,,do some research on camera
    still..it was clearly shot with all they can do…
    nowaday…in america,,,some movie were shot by damn cheap video,,,
    like myr price 3999…
    coz due to the high megapixel they have made into in,,,
    mostly all vcam can make good movies,
    first…must add with equipment,,and also..lighting,,and lenses,,,
    filter,,
    talk about movie making,,he done a great job….
    besides of film structure,misc en scene..and sets…other still very good
    hope in future more better can be done
    keep it up….

  7. jinfun says:

    good job malaysian. please support namewee, please give him more and more publicity. please forgive him. keep it up. and also next time please give a chance to an brutal gangster and ex-prisoner to become a policeman and if we can appoint him as state police chief. This is reform and you can do anything you want within this state, nobody will stop you. and when we die, just go to HELLLLLLL…

  8. Tim says:

    After hearing so much about it, I watched Nasi Lemak 2.0.
    It’s a very unfunny movie. I can’t laugh at the jokes. Some parts are silly, some parts offensive, lots of parts boring — I really wish Malaysians can rise above making mediocre comedies. They should make intelligent comedies, not those that appeal only to people with the lowest IQ. Perhaps I should lighten up. But honestly, I am disappointed.

  9. Edward says:

    Watched Nasi Lemak 2.0…. it’s quite a big difference from the so-called ‘offensively racist’ branding of the movie by many. The movie talks facts and I honestly can relate to many of the jokes in the movie. While there are many aspects of the movie which are downright racist, I hardly find them offensive at all.

    The ending speaks for itself. The dish Chef Huang prepared for the final competition and his explanation for preparing it talks directly to ALL Malaysians. Just as the taste of the dish is best when mixed together as one, letting each distinct taste complement the other, so does our multiracial community shine best when we all work together as one, allowing each culture to complement each other.

    Why can’t we all just get along, indeed!

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