New formula for Senario film

BY ZIEMAN

PETALING JAYA: Lang Buana, the latest film featuring comedy group Senario, will have less slapstick humour than their three previous blockbusters but promises to be equally entertaining. 

The movie, which is the 18th film effort by TV3’s Grand Brilliance Sdn Bhd (GBSB), will feature Senario members Wahid, Azlee, Mazlan and Saiful “Apek” alongside Shamsul Ghau Ghau, Kuswadinata, Tengku Sariwani, Tan Sue Lee and Adza Tuty Rianti. 

According to GBSB production manager and executive producer Lazizah Ahmad, the company decided to use a different formula this time around after discussions with director Mamat Khalid, who felt they should be more adventurous.  

“The script is funny, entertaining and more cynical. The humour is like what you get in comic strips. It’s not like what Senario is famous for,” Lazizah said. 

The popular group, currently the country's top comedy act, is known for their slapstick jokes and ad-libbing as can be seen from their weekly series Senario on TV3 every Wednesday. 

“We decided not to use the name 'Senario' in the movie title because we don’t want people to assume that this is another of Senario’s slapstick movies. Instead, we’ve called it Lang Buana, which is the name of a place.  

“It has a different approach to comedy with a strong storyline. We hope fans will welcome this change,” said Lazizah. 

She described the light comedy as something Malaysia would be proud to present at international film festivals and which would show the Senario members as serious actors. 

Mamat, who also wrote the movie script, is the younger brother of renowned cartoonist Datuk Lat.  

He was named Best Director at the 2001 Anugerah Skrin Panca Delima for the telemovie Pinang Durian and is known for gems like Rombongan Cik Kiah ke Sukan Komanwel and Abang We. Lang Buana marks Mamat’s first attempt at directing a feature film. 

Lang Buana is a period movie about three slaves named Gunung (played by Saiful), Bercabang (Azlee) and Daik (Wahid) who run away from their rich but cruel master called Orang Kaya Bentan (Shamsul). 

They reach a village known as Lang Buana, ruled by Datuk Merewang (Kuswadinata) whose daughter Kesuma (Tengku Sariwani) and her friends Xin Xin (Tan) and Cik Pah (Adza) are warriors. 

The slaves are mistaken for princes and given VIP treatment.Lazizah is confident that Lang Buana – which will hit the cinemas during the Hari Raya season – would be another blockbuster, adding that she hoped it would rake in RM5mil like the group’s earlier films. 

Senario The Movie brought in RM4.7mil, Senario Lagi, RM5.2mil and Lagi Lagi Senario, RM5.3mil. 

After Lang Buana, GBSB will open its doors to young blood, grooming them as directors for coming films. A few have been shortlisted, among them theatre and drama director Fairuz Loy, whose past credentials include Good Afternoon Cikgu, Suzi Antartika, Dosa Di Kaki Bintang and the VCD version of Musa Berjanggut, coming out on Aug 20.