THE UNSTOPPABLE NEELOFA
Celebrity Noor Neelofa sits down with Syahirah Mokhtazar and speaks candidly about life, love and her career
ASCRUMPTIOUS lunch is served at a private room in Yun House, an exclusive restaurant tucked away in the posh Four Seasons hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Outside, sunlit clouds drift across a clear blue sky ― it’s a perfect day to catch up with one of Malaysia’s top celebrities, Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor.
“Please, help yourselves and don’t be shy,” the soft-spoken personality announces to the members of the press she has invited for this intimate get-together.
Even with minimal make-up, Neelofa appears fresh-faced, which she attributes to the six hours of sleep she makes sure she gets every night. “I can’t afford to sleep for less than six hours, otherwise I’ll be walking around with very puffy eyes,” she says with a laugh.
In person, Neelofa appears to be a really ‘”chilled” person, a highly successful celebrity with no hint of obnoxiousness. Behind that affable personality and sweet smile, it was almost hard to believe that she had recently experienced the tragedy of losing a loved one.
BEING PRESENT
Just a few weeks ago, her beloved grandfather had passed away and she described the experience as one that was extremely heartbreaking and eye-opening at the same time.
“I will never forget the whole experience of taking care of my grandfather before his final days,” she relates. “I flew back and forth from Kuala Lumpur to my hometown in Kelantan to be with him whenever I could,” she says. “At times, he was in so much pain. I recalled one time when he complained that he couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t bear to see him like that. I cried and cried until my nose was blocked for close to two weeks. It was so heartbreaking because I am close to my grandfather. He was very loving to all his grandchildren.”
Her grandfather passed away on Nov 20 and it happened while Neelofa was hosting the live talk show MeleTOP.
“I was informed about it immediately after the show ended and I quickly made my way to Kelantan. I was sad, but the time spent to take care of him had me prepared for the worst,” she says.
Although her grandfather’s death marked one of the darkest phases of her life, she says that particular experience has made her appreciate her family more and not take things for granted.
“There are things that I regret. I regret not spending more time with him whenever I travelled back to Kelantan. I now realise the importance of putting your family first, no matter what. I don’t want to take my parents for granted,” she says.
Neelofa adds: “I want them to know that I will care for them when they grow older and I will be by their side. It truly made me realise that it’s really important to be present when you spend time with your loved ones, in order to make the best out of the time together.”
She admits that it was hard on her for
the first couple of days and that she was in no mood to communicate with anyone. She slowly gathered the strength to move on. After all, she does have a skyrocketing career to keep up with.
Fans would know that two international agencies in the United Kingdom and France have their eyes set on working with the lead actress of Suri Hati Mr Pilot.
So how did Neelofa get opportunities from abroad? “I made friends with this French man who is based in New York and he is now my global manager,” she says. “He is the perfect guy to represent me because he understands how the international market works. And me being a woman who wears the hijab, he knows what sort of opportunities there are out there that are suitable for me,” she adds.
Neelofa was supposed to ink contracts with the two agencies last month but things were put on hold after her grandfather passed away. She is set to travel back to Europe soon to meet with representatives from the agencies.
SILVER LINING
There is not much of Neelofa’s personal and professional life that is far from the attention of the general public. It was a roller-coaster ride for the 29-year-old who fell in and out of controversy this past year in both her personal and professional life.
The phrase “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” pretty much seems to be the rule that Neelofa lives by because not a single day goes by without rude remarks from haters pointing out alleged flaws.
Despite the negativity from naysayers, Neelofa said she has developed enough strength in her to not get carried away by emotions when Netizens don’t agree with the choices she makes in life. A controversy etched in her mind is the storm of hostility she encountered when she launched a hijab collection at popular nightclub Zouk earlier this year.
“I will remember that forever. You know I’m human too and I’ve made many mistakes in my life but those are the lessons that have shaped me to become who I am today. Once in a while, I still read comments from Netizens but I’m no longer bothered by them. Let’s just say ... I’m untouchable!” she quips before letting out a laugh.
In all seriousness, Neelofa sees the silver lining behind all the rough patches that she has been through, especially ones that involve her fashion picks. Her outfit choices also apparently don’t sit too well with social media users. “When my outfits become viral fodder, of course it’s hard to deal with sometimes, but what I’ve noticed is that women interestingly start to pick up my style later,” she says.
“For example, I received a lot of flak when I wore a t-shirt paired with a skirt on the set of MeleTOP a few years back. After that though, I noticed that others started following the style as well. So it can’t be that bad right?” she asks.
SINGLE IS BEST
Neelofa, who has not even hit 30 yet, is surely an inspiration, having achieved what most people can only dream of. She’s got the most following on social media among Malaysian celebs. Her Instagram account alone has over 5.8 million followers.
Aside from hosting one of TV’s most popular talk shows, MeleTOP, Neelofa was also appointed as Air Asia’s non-executive independent director. And she runs a successful hijab business.
Celeb, fashionista and succesful entrepreneur, the only thing that one would assume is missing so far is someone special to share it all with. But Neelofa begs to differ and says that she loves every second of her “singlehood”.
This then debunks those rumours that she and former flame Datuk Hans Isaac are back together as a couple. “I am single and I am loving it. For the first time in my life, I don’t have to commit to anyone and deal with relationship dramas,” she says nonchalantly.
“I enjoy what I do and I love the freedom that comes with being single!” she adds, flashing that million dollar smile that her fans have come to know well.
Neelofa mentions Bollywood-Hollywood star Priyanka Chopra. “No one expected her to be married at that age to a much younger man, but look how gorgeous their wedding was! I’m not saying I want to marry a younger man, but what I want is for my love story to happen naturally,” she says.
The level-headed celeb adds: “I’m sure the right person is out there for me. For now, though, I just want to enjoy being single.”
CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP
With so many things going on in her career at the moment, Neelofa says that she is not quite sure what her schedule next year will entail. Will she be actively acting, or putting more focus on her business?
That’s not told, but what she is certain of is that she doesn’t want to slow down doing what she loves doing anytime soon. “There’s just so much more I want to achieve, and until then, I won’t stop hustling,” she says with a broad smile.