Datuk Adi Putra plays Paskau group leader Major Adnan in the film. Photos: GSC Movies
Although there are many explosive action sequences in Air Force The Movie: Selagi Bernyawa, the film is ultimately about the men and women in the military, said Zulkarnain Azhar, who co-directed it with Frank See.
“It shows that our airmen are not without flaws and personal struggles. You see that they are vulnerable; that they are human beings,” elaborated Zulkarnain.
“With the film, I also want to highlight that their family members are fighters as well because it’s not an easy thing to do – to let their loved ones go.
“As seen in the film, each and every one of them has their own battles to fight, and they will keep on fighting as long as they are alive,” he continued, referring to “Selagi Bernyawa” in the title.
Actor Datuk Adi Putra shared that one of the hardest things about acting in the movie was putting on the uniform.
“The challenge wasn’t in acting in any of the scenes but wearing the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) uniform and standing for what the uniform represents. I have the utmost respect for our air force,” said the actor, who plays group leader Major Adnan in the film.
Set in a fictional country called Namburi, Air Force The Movie follows the members of RMAF’s special operations force – Paskau (Pasukan Khas Udara) – who are deployed to the war-torn land.
When the civil war in Namburi takes a turn for the worse, Paskau members must ensure the safe return of Malaysian humanitarian workers and journalists stationed there.
Unfortunately, the plane bringing everyone home is shot down soon after take-off by local militants. It is up to the nine survivors – both civilians and special forces members – to stay alive in the war zone while waiting to be rescued by the air force team from Malaysia.
According to Zulkarnain, Malaysian Armed Forces and RMAF were consulted in the making of the film from start to finish.
“The script went through several drafts before it was finally approved (by RMAF). The sixth draft was quite a bit different from the first because our initial focus was just on the Paskau team.
"But they said that RMAF is more than just Paskau, which is why they wanted us to include its air force assets like the fighter aircraft, in the movie.”
The actors got a chance to experience military life when they participated in a 10-day boot camp.
Thanks to RMAF’s involvement, the cast members got a chance to experience a bit of what military life is like when they participated in a 10-day boot camp to familiarise themselves with weapons as well as the physical aspects of being a member of the air force.
Actor Pablo Amirul recalled: “I had the toughest time training to be a ‘Paskau’ member.”
Johan As’ari added: “I failed at almost all the things at the beginning of the training. I couldn’t march properly or hold the gun correctly at first. But they drilled all that into us from morning to evening during the training period. We could only rest at night.
“But thanks to their commitment to teaching us, there weren’t any problems when we shot the film and I’m happy with my performance in the film.”
But not all the cast members came away unscathed.
Nas Muammar Zar Nasruddin – better known as Nas-T – shared: “I did all of my action sequences myself and suffered some injuries. One of it was when we were filming the tunnel scene, where it was very dark.
“The scene required me to stop an enemy’s weapon by grabbing it. And mind you, we used real weapons in the film. I miscalculated and the gun’s barrel hit my forearm and penetrated my skin. Although it was painful at the time, looking back now, I regard it as a good memory.”
Nas-T says they used real guns for the film.
Meanwhile, Jack Tan remembered that it was a tough shoot on location as it had rained heavily where they were filming (in Kota Belud, Sabah), which made the ground extremely muddy.
“Although it was challenging, making this film was a great experience for me not only as an actor but as a Malaysian,” Tan said.
Actor Aiman Hakim Ridza, who plays a pilot, agreed that the whole experience was something he cherishes.
“The movie taught me that we get to enjoy the freedom that we have as Malaysians because of the military men and women, who are keeping our country safe. They put their lives on the line every single day for us.
“The film tries to convey what they go through and the battles they endure, all of which we do not see.”
Aiman Hakim Ridza is honoured to play an airmen in 'Air Force The Movie'.
According to director Zulkarnain, all the actors they approached said “yes” to being part of the film.
“They are honoured to be in this movie. Some of the cast members have told me that they have relatives in the armed forces which made the movie even more meaningful to them.”
Wanting to do justice to the themes featured in the film, the directors made sure to keep things as real as possible.
Zulkarnain stated: “Wherever possible, we avoided using green screen and computer-generated imagery (CGI). We only used CGI to enhance a shot.
“For the cockpit scenes, we did use a stationary aircraft with a green screen at the back which we later replaced with a sky.
“But all the (aerial shots) in the film are real. We got those by mounting our cameras onto the fighter aircraft during the pilots’ flying hours.
“We also used real explosions in one of the scenes and we felt the shockwave.”
He concluded: “We have done our best to represent RMAF in this movie. I hope everyone will enjoy the movie and also appreciate our (air and armed) forces.”
Air Force The Movie: Selagi Bernyawa is currently showing at cinemas nationwide.
