This Ramadan, Hannah Delisha said she will be travelling quite regularly to her family home in Singapore to break fast with them.
“I will be in Singapore for three days, then coming back to Malaysia to continue working.”
The 27-year-old has been active in the Singapore entertainment industry since 2013 as a singer as well as an actress. She has recorded singles as part of a duo, and appeared in dramas produced by Singapore channel Mediacorp Suria.
In 2017, she decided to try her luck in the Malaysian entertainment scene.
Thanks to her good looks (Hannah is of English and Malay parentage, whose full name is Hannah Adlina Blackburne Birch) and talent (her mum was a singer in the 1980s), Hannah has been working steadily since making her first Malaysian drama Mencintaimu Mr. Photographer (2017) for Astro Ria.
Some of her more recent titles include 28 Hari Mencari Cinta and Andai Itu Takdirnya.
She can currently be seen in TV3 drama Lelaki Itu, which centres on a conflict that rises in a family when the father loses his title as the head of the family. It also stars Datuk Adi Putra, Sophia Albarakbah and Nadia Brian.
In 2020, she started wearing the hijab and a year later she got married to fellow Singaporean actor who is also based in Malaysia, Muhammad Imam Shah Abdul Mutalib, better known as Imam Shah.
When it comes to Hari Raya, Hannah said it’s not a problem to decide which house to go to first as both their families are in Singapore.
“Singapore is so small, and the community is small too. For example, I discovered that one my relatives married my classmate.
“So, it’s not really difficult to go around and visit everyone. (In Singapore) from one end to the other end, it only takes you about 45 minutes.”
But that doesn’t mean that Hannah isn’t going to go all out with her Hari Raya outfits and eating her favourite food.
“I have already chosen four Raya outfits this year – one is in my favourite colour, pink.
“I got it early this year after learning from my mistake last year,” said Hannah, who is the ambassador for the Bukit Bintang label.
“I didn’t have time to pick my Raya outfits last year. And by the time I wanted to choose the designs that I liked, they were all sold out. So I had no choice but to wear what I already had. This year, I booked the designs I liked really early.”
Hannah added that she is looking forward to eating ketupat and her mum’s rendang.
“Another dish I look forward to is bihun laksa, which is my grandma’s recipe.
“I always look forward to that every Hari Raya because it’s very difficult to get that particular texture and taste anywhere else. It’s really special,” said Hannah, admitting that she has yet to master this dish, but she is planning to learn how to make this dish soon.
For her, every Hari Raya is memorable as it allows her to spend time with her family members.
“As I live and work (in Malaysia), Hari Raya is actually the only month that I have time to spend with my family, both my mum’s side and my husband’s side. So, every year, it is a memorable Hari Raya.”
Unfortunately, her celebration is somewhat marred this year as Hannah recently experienced the miscarriage of her first child.
Sharing the sad news on her social media on March 16, she wrote: “I have experienced my first miscarriage, and I want to send this love and strength to all women who have experienced it.
“The grief that is certainly unbearable is endured by many women without being shared. I hope that by reading this message, it reminds them that they are not alone.
“May Allah heal our pain and fill our hearts with peace and tranquillity. God willing, see you in Heaven, my dear.”
As someone who prioritises her mental health, Hannah told StarLifestyle that she is glad that her husband is someone she is comfortable talking to about whatever is troubling her.
In that sense too, Hannah hoped viewers would be open-minded to accept the message Lelaki Itu is trying to convey about a family caught in multiple conflicts.
“Sometimes as women, we are emotional people.
“When we have issues, you know, it doesn’t matter what kind of issues, we keep it to ourselves.
“Many people out there are not OK. It’s just that we do not know they are actually going through anxiety or depression. And usually, when people are in that situation, they tend to keep things to themselves.
“That’s why I really hope this drama will leave a good impact on the audience, especially if they are going through the same thing.”
Lelaki Itu airs on TV3 from Mondays to Thursdays, at 10pm, and is available on tonton.
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