One Friday Night

This writeup appears on http://tangisanbulanmadu.blogspot.com which echoes my general sentiment about the series.

ONE FRIDAY NIGHT

I've always believed Friday nights were meant for anywhere but home. Until an unusual Friday came along out of nowhere. I didn't know an innocent visit to grandma's crib could cause such a stir in the being that is me. The stir came in the form of Nur Kasih (Light of Love).

Hollywood has always been my brand of heroin. My affection with the Malay entertainment industry began with Tan Sri P Ramlee and ended with P Ramlee The Musical. In between them lies the late and great director Yasmin Ahmad's invalueable Petronas commercials. Truth be told, I am the least interested in Malay films and dramas. I find them rather similar and mediocre. High expectations or not, a drama should be awe inspiring, with a pinch of uniqueness, a sense of familiarity and a touch of originality. Add those up and you get Nur Kasih.

The 26 episodes drama, said to be inspired by Indonesian blockbuster Ayat-Ayat Cinta (Letters of Love), is a tale of redemption and realisation. Being a non subscriber for Sensasi (the Starhub channel which is airing Nur Kasih here in Singapore), I was intrigued by the sneak preview I caught at Grandma's place (where Sensasi was at) . Thus one Friday night, I gave the drama a shot. In return, it gave me an engaging plot which made me hook, line and sinker. For once, I didn't yawn at the thought of a Malay drama.

My jaw first dropped at the cinematography of the drama. Each scene was shot tremendously well especially the flashbacks. They were nothing short of perfect. I gave the plot my green light and mid way through the drama, it has yet to disappoint. The pace of the story, as it unfolds, is just about right although I do have problems with the slightly long timeline which is minor. Even the background music played was soothing and heart wrenching enough to toy with emotions. Kudos to Kabir Bhatia for bringing the story to life, capturing the essence of each scene in an integral angle. While he breathes life into the story, the team of scriptwriters, Mira Mustaffa, Mariana Hashim and Maizura Mohd Ederis are the heartbeat of it. The dialogues written are simply phenomenal that it brought us the same anguish, misery and guilt portayed by the cast. The cast definitely brought their characters to life as well.

While I am only familiar with Dato' Jalaluddin Hassan, I had never heard of the rest of the cast prior to Nur Kasih. Even for a few episodes, Dato Jalaluddin Hassan stood out, proving what a versatile actor he is till today, potraying a strict father with a religious upbringing he adhered to. Liza Othman as the mother delivered some of the best dialogues thus far. Sharifah Sofea was in a familiar territory who added a different dynamic to her sub plot. The scene between her, Adam (Remy Ishak) and Nur Amina (Tiz Zaqyah) belonged to Sharifah Sofea by far. Although I believe no one in this world is as angelic as Aidil but Fizz Fairuz as a filial son and doting brother had me almost convinced. Ummi Nazeera as the devilish step sister worked out pretty well as audience would love nothing more than to hate her character, Sarah.

The most convincing of the lot had to be Remy Ishak as the bad boy gone good Adam. I believed him when he was bad as much I believed him when he turned good. The last but certainly not the least, the debut of lead actress, Tiz Zaqyah Razak, just how did she fair? If Remy is the convincing one, let me introduce you to the promising one. Nothing short of sensational, she proves to be a natural as the persevering good girl, Nur Amina. Her misery made us teared while her smile is just as contagious. More than that, the on screen chemistry between Remy Ishak and Tiz Zaqyah reminded me of the chemistry shared between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock (pardon the Hollywood comparison). It is just as sizzling, making the viewers anticipate their interaction in each episode. From a mere audience, I turned into a fan.

In a nutshell, Nur Kasih is a drama of relationships of many kinds. Relationships of a being to the parents, of the parents to the children followed by the kinships of siblings and friendship. It also portrays the ties of two generations of husbands and wives, more importantly it depicts the ties between God and human. These are the ties that bind. Even if it is broken, it can be fixed, in due time. It is a tale of sacrifice, of ignorance, of responsibility and of love. The drama dives deep into Islam for a better understanding of the misunderstood religion. From a sacrifice of a brother, to a repentance of a husband, to an acceptance of a wife, it goes to show there is light at the end of every tunnel.