Veteran Hamzah gives thumbs-up to 'Puteri Gunung Ledang'

PETALING JAYA: The epic Puteri Gunung Ledang has triggered sweet and nostalgic memories for veteran scriptwriter Hamzah Hussein.  

Forty-three years ago he wrote the script when the film, about a mystical mountain princess, first made the cinema circuit. The black-and-white flick starred Singaporean model-dancer Elaine Edley in the lead role. 

Actor-turned director S. Roomai Noor directed the 1961 movie, which was produced by Cathay Keris and also featured Fatimah Ahmad, Wahid Satay, Mazlan Ahmad and Puteh Lawak. 

Hamzah was 34 when he wrote the script, after a lengthy and in-depth research on the popular Malay folklore. 

It took 40 days to shoot the film at the foothills of Gunung Ledang (also known as Mount Ophir), wedged in between the boundaries of Johor, Malacca and Negri Sembilan. The movie was produced at a cost of S$50,000 (RM115, 000). 

Hamzah: 'It may well be the best Malay movie ever made'

Watching the new Puteri Gunung Ledang, which cost a whopping RM20mil, warmed his heart. 

“Artistically, it’s the most beautiful Malay movie I have ever seen,” said Hamzah, now 78.  

The new millennium version boasts a star-studded cast combining talents from Malaysia and Indonesia, with Tiara Jacquelina and M. Nasir in the lead roles. The others included Christine Hakim, Alex Komang and Slamet Rahardjo, alongside Datuk Rahim Razali, Adlin Aman Ramlie and Sofea Jane. 

Hamzah, however, felt  

Enfiniti Productions could have spent more time on the content of the script and characterisation. 

“It may well be the best Malaysian movie ever made – the cinematography and the special effects – but, personally, I think the storyline could have been better developed.  

“But whatever the flaws, I still like the movie. It makes me so proud that we have created a film that is at par with international standards,” said Hamzah, who has scripted more than 70 movies, 50 of which were for Cathay Keris. 

Among his better-known works were Gurindam Jiwa, Tun Fatimah, Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Di Julang, Yatim Mustapha, Dondang Sayang, Ibu, Salah Sangka, Selendang Delima, Pertaruhan and two of the most classic of Malay films, Cinta Gadis Rimba and Mahsuri. 

Aside scripts for films, Hamzah published the first film magazine in Jawi called Filem Karya back in the 1960’s and wrote the popular novel Rumah Kosong, which touched on the subject of libido, and created quite a stir in 1950.  

Asked how authentic is the story of Puteri Gunung Ledang, Hamzah, who is also a former journalist with the Melayu Raya newspaper, believes it is partly myth and partly true. 

“The villagers around Gunung Ledang told us many stories about the existence of the princess. There were facts to support the claim that she really existed. 

Hamzah said there was one point that he had overlooked in his script. This had to do with the impossible conditions the princess set to decline the Sultan’s proposals. 

“In those days it was wrong to go against the Sultan and the princess was aware of this. I suppose that was why she coined all those absurd conditions,” he said, adding the producers of the new version had also not probed the matter. 

The movie, which opened on National Day at 39 cineplexes, raked in RM1.2mil within six days of screening.  

Music video veteran Saw Teong Hin directed the movie, which is being marketed overseas via several international film festivals. It has been singled out by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry as Malaysia’s best prospect to enter Hollywood’s Academy Awards.