Body-swapping comedy aims to spur patriotism

PETALING JAYA: Ayis and Sia work at a hotel and regularly butt heads because of their cultural differences, until one day when an office prank goes wrong.

Suddenly, the two colleagues switch bodies and have to work out their differences and look beyond their comfort zones if they want to get back to who they are.

Body-swapping comedies are a subgenre made famous by movies like Hollywood’s Freaky Friday.

It’s also the premise of the upcoming local workplace comedy Adoiii Jiwaku, which aims to break the mould of what is considered a patriotic film by debunking common cultural and ethnic misconceptions Malaysians have of each other.

“Even after 66 years of independence, a lot of misunderstandings occur among Malaysians due to long-standing false perceptions we have of each other’s cultures,” said director Steve Yap, who also plays the role of Sia.

“By having the characters swap bodies, we hope to highlight the irony and misplaced beliefs behind common perceptions between the communities as the characters interact and argue with each other on screen while being inside each other’s bodies.

“We hope this can help viewers better relate to the characters and reflect on their own personal misconceptions they might have towards others, while also gaining a better understanding of the truth,” Yap told The Star in an interview.

Sia and Ayis, played by Ali Ariami, will have to turn to another colleague, Malesh (E. Ramanamohan), to get out of their jam.

Executive producer Chris Daniel Wong said the film attempts to instil patriotism through comedy, rather than the usual genre of historic drama or war movies.

“The younger generation in Malaysia today is rarely moved by older patriotic films as they are not able to relate to events that happened before they were even born.

“This is why we decided on a modern-day comedy that would better resonate with youth and their current struggles.

“We want to instil hope in youth that regardless of what happens in politics or cultural differences, we as Malaysians can and will come together to live together in harmony and unity,” he said.

Other than the main cast, the film will also feature characters from various other backgrounds played by the late Adibah Noor, Amber Chia, Pablo Amirul, Anuar Abdul Hamid, Jack Lim, Chan Fong, Mark O’Dea and Dennis Lau.

Adoiii Jiwaku is expected to hit local cinemas on Sept 7.