The cast and crew members of a local soap opera, Angkara Cinta, were in the midst of filming in Ipoh when the movement control order (MCO) was reinstated.
"We first came to film in Ipoh a few days before Jan 13. After filming here for a while, MCO was announced in Perak," recalls Hun Haqeem, the 90-episode drama's lead actor, in an interview with Harian Metro.
MCO was announced in five states and three federal territories on Jan 13 but it did not include Perak.
When MCO was announced in Perak on Jan 22, the Angkara Cinta production team, led by director Michael Ang, had to stop filming.
"We're waiting on instructions from Finas (The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia) and MKN (National Security Council). We're hoping we can continue filming again. Even if we're back in Kuala Lumpur, we can't film there either."
The cast and crew have been staying in a hotel in Ipoh for some three weeks now.
Hun, 23, shares they've found a silver lining in all this.
"Since we can't go home and we can't film, we have been missing our family members. But thankfully, we've become like a family here. We spend a lot of time together. We do lots of activities together."
Hun shares they've been holding "badminton tournaments" at the hotel ballroom to pass the time.
"The hotel management empathises with what we're feeling.
"Since we can't go out and about, at night, we fill our time playing badminton with makeshift equipment."
Angkara Cinta, which has been airing since Nov 2 on Astro Prima, follows the story of Luqman (Hun) and Haqeem (Meerqeen) – one grew up poor, the other lives a life of luxury – who become fast friends after meeting at a police academy for the first time. Little do they know, they're actually half-brothers.
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