Ola Bola but with pre-teen schoolboys
IFMalaysiansloved Ola Bola ,acelebration of national unity and the beautiful game, they will find Suatu Ketika just as inspiring. To sum up this movie in a nutshell, it is Ola Bola for pre-teen schoolboys who defy the odds and beat their counterparts from an elite boarding school. All this takes place in 1952, in the heat of the campaign for Merdeka.
Yes, 1952 was the very year in which the British colonial government introduced local council elections participated by the various political parties.
Partly based on a true story, it is filmmaker Prakash’s first feature length film.
Since he is a fan of football and cinematic messages of muhibbah and Malaysia Boleh, he has poured his heart and soul into it, with fantastic results.
Set in Ujong Pasir, Melaka, which also happens to be Prakash’s hometown, Suatu Ketika is a tribute to his family friends who exemplified the spirit of Bangsa Malaya, and later Bangsa Malaysia.
Prakash spent eight years researching, interviewing and script-writing to come up with his cinematic masterpiece.
He is fortunate to have picked the brains of various family friends who remembered their younger days prior to Merdeka. For his pre-teen cast, he recruited 12 schoolboys between 8 and 12 to play the footballers.
They are Danial Akmal Fariz, Dheva Naish, Danial Iman, Kuhan Divagaran, Farez Iqmal, Armand, Lim Xuan, Adeq Jiey, Azlan Raihan, Daniel Syahidan, Putera Syazwan and Ahmas.
Meanwhile, two household names who garnered critical acclaim in the awardwinning film Bunohan were roped in as the coaches, popular actors Shahili Abdan a.k.a. Namron and Pekin Ibrahim.
Both happened to be staunch football fans, and they readily trained the boys on the set with the rudiments of acting (though the boys did not need much coaching in football).
Suatu Ketika is about a group of underprivileged kids from Ujong Pasir School who, against all odds, formed a soccer team of misfits.
Encouraged by teacher Sulaiman (Pekin) and his best friend, former British Army officer-turned-school gardener Pak Saad (Namron), they undergo rudimentary, kampung-style training while battling personal issues of their own.
For instance, hot-headed Atan (Farez), the team captain, struggles to keep his temper in check. Then, there’s aspiring filmmaker Dol (Ahmas), who has a lot of “catching up” to do as he is plus-sized while Husin (Daniel) has a handicapped sibling and absentee parents.
Meanwhile, Shukri (Danial Akmal) has a heart condition and is prohibited by his fisherman father Selamat (Din) from participating in sports.
Initially, Ujong Pasir’s headmaster Othman (Naza Abdul Manas) disapproves of the boys’ participation in the JG Davidson Cup, the most prestigious nationwide football tournament for public schools.
But he relents after observing how promising Pak Saad’s and Sulaiman’s proteges are.
As the youngsters had no acting backgrounds, Prakash, Namron and Pekin spent eight months training them, and they learnt fast. Finding a good football field was tricky, too, as most had mod
ern facilities. Prakash and his crew finally picked one in a rural part of Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
Kudos to the director for his meticulousness, from the cast’s fashion, hairstyles and body language right down to the leather ball. It was an accurate depiction from that era. The 12 young heroes are convincing in their respective roles, especially Danial Akmal, Farez, Lim, Daniel and Ahmas. Each displays distinctive personality, and their close, on-screen friendship is as real as it gets. Namron does a star turn as the boys’ inspiring coach. Not only does Pak Saad plays football well, he also knows how to communicate with his students and never raises his voice at them.
While he does not have any magical powers, he comes across as a Malaysian version of Albus Dumbledore, the wise and kind headmaster and mentor of Harry Potter in JK Rowling’s iconic novels about the boy wizard from Hogwarts.
Pak Saad’s most inspiring scene is when hetellsoneoftheboysthatahibiscusmay be beautiful by nature but it takes a lot of hard work to keep it beautiful.
In that philosophical moment, he is actually reminding his proteges that they must nurture an independent Malaya or Malaysia and make it shine by working hard and excelling in life.
As for Pekin, he is almost unrecognisable as Cikgu Sulaiman. He piled on the kilogrammes, straightened his curly hair and shaved off his moustache to play a stocky schoolteacher from that era. Nevertheless, the brilliant character actor is spot-on for that role, and he gives the schoolteacher a stoical yet vulnerable personality.
Syafnida Shuhaimi, who plays the sweet, red kebaya-clad Cikgu Rokiah, is also perfect as Cikgu Sulaiman’s love interest who is initially indifferent to the motley crew of footballers and their teacher.
Fans of Kelantanese beauty Eira Syazira may easily mistake Syafnida for Eira. Syafnida is indeed Eira’s less-known younger sister who has occasionally appeared in television dramas such as Memori Cinta Suraya. Of the supporting cast, Din, who is the son of the late veteran actor Tamam Idris, is commendable as protective parent Selamat, while Puteri Andrianna, his reallife daughter, is precocious and adorable as Syukri’s supportive little sister Salmah.
Henzi Andalas of Papadom fame is easily recognisable by his bald head and shrill voice. He provides great comic relief as the boys’ biggest naysayer, coconut seller Awang.
As for the British coaches, teachers and students of Ujong Pasir’s arch rival St James School, they look typically “snooty” but still display professionalism and a sense of fair play as the story progresses.
Too many “anti-colonial” television dramas in the past have depicted the “penjajah” in a two-dimensional manner. Prakash recruited them from real students and staff from international schools around the country. Even the referees are real-life referees from such schools.
Suatu Ketika’s cinematography is beautiful, and there are lots of long-shot scenes of the boys training in their large, green field with clear, blue skies above them.
The scenes of the boys plucking coconuts along the banks of the scenic Perak River in Kuala Kangsar is equally nostalgic. Likewise those of their “adventures” in a quaint, timeless Chinatown which is given a retro touch with street vendors and posters from Jalan Ampas movies.
Filming took place over two months last year around Kuala Lumpur, Banting, Serdang, Kuala Kubu Baru, Kuala Selangor and Kuala Kangsar with a production budget of RM3.6 million.
Besides having a solid storyline, Suatu
Ketika also has two stirring songs in its soundtrack, Datuk Zainalabidin’s Ayuhlah, which was composed by Michael Veerapen and written by the veteran singer himself, and Senja, written and composed by Viona a.k.a. Takahara Suiko.
In addition, Michael’s son Daniel provided the original music score.
Suatu Ketika is a journey of self-discovery, courage and belief in oneself as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old boys.
It aptly captures the hopes and dreams of Malaysians who dream of making it big in the beautiful game, and their spirit of togetherness.
While it is a football movie, its main message transcends the beautiful game and celebrates the true spirit of Malaysianness. A timely National Day and Malaysia Day gift for all moviegoers to share.