KUALA LUMPUR, August 18 — Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan director Syamsul Yusof has hinted at an upcoming mega project to be announced this Saturday.
The 38-year-old director posted several photos of him meeting with Melaka Yang Di-Pertua Tun Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam on his Instagram yesterday.
He told Harian Metro that he didn’t expect his efforts to be noticed, especially by a state governor.
"Alhamdulillah, I’m grateful to Allah SWT for all His blessings. I’m both excited and moved that my journey to uphold the local filming industry is getting recognised more and more by not just the public but by a state governor as well.
"Yesterday, I had the chance to meet with the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Melaka, Tun Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam, who’s open to collaborating with me to uphold our films, as well as to uphold our race and religion as well.
"He (Tun Ali) has his own perspective when it comes to religion and race. On how to present the Malay race and Islam to the world. This is a huge project which is still in the discussing stage,” Syamsul said, adding that Tun Ali had shown great support for the project.
He said that Tun Ali was looking forward to meeting with his team to learn more about their next plan of action as well as ideas for the mega project.
Meanwhile, Syamsul confirmed with Utusan Malaysia that the upcoming project will be the most expensive production in Malaysia with the cost expected to reach hundreds of million of ringgit if it were to proceed.
Actress Maya Karin meanwhile shared her dream to portray legendary folklore character, Mahsuri, on the big screen.
The 42-year-old award-winning actress told Kosmo!, that she has suggested Syamsul take the helm in producing it.
"The story of Mahsuri is really interesting to be turned into a film. There are so many layers to it, from folklore's perspective to the historical take.
"It would be really exciting if we were to film it."
Syamsul has since responded to Maya’s proposal via an Instagram post by posting a screenshot of the news report along with the caption ‘Good idea, let’s do it’.
His post has garnered over 20,000 likes with local celebrities and fans supporting Maya’s proposal.
Taking place in the late 18th century, Mahsuri, who lived in Langkawi, was wrongly accused of adultery, and cursed the island for seven generations before she was executed.
Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan broke Malaysian box office records when it became the fastest film to collect RM47 million in 11 days.
To date, the film has collected over RM96 million after screening in 40 days in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, making it the highest-grossing Malaysian film of all time.
