No heroes, villains in Dira’s productions
FOR new director Dira Abu Zahar, her double win (for Best Director and Best Telemovie) at the recent Anugerah Tribute P. Ramlee is a sign of good things to come.
The 32-year-old single mother, who started taking directorial work seriously beginning last year, is no supporter of predictable storylines and, instead, believes in plot twists and thought-provoking questions because they make movies interesting.
She describes her winning telemovie Redhaku Untukmu as a preview of what she expects to create in future telemovies, series and movies.
The law graduate and filmmaking Master’s graduate from Universiti Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam said: “My productions do not have heroes and villains. Every character has his strengths and weaknesses. This is because I am a realist. In the real world, people are not black (bad) or white (good), everyone comes in shades of grey.”
Dira wants her movies to be “character-driven”, in that audiences follow a plot from the point of view of various characters.
“Redhaku Untukmu shows this lack of heroes and villains. I’ve created a story of a young couple whose romance is short-lived when the girl is forced to marry a rich, older man by her parents.
“While she initially obeys their wishes, she soon rebels against her husband and goes on a search for her former boyfriend.
“She may follow her heart here, but in the process she breaks her solemn marriage vow and angers her parents and husband,” Dira told the New
Straits Times recently.
She thanks her talented cast comprising Sharifah Sakinah, Iedil Putra Alaudin, Linda Hashim and Zaidi Omar, among others, for making the telemovie a success.
“They’re a brilliant ensemble. Their strengths are their natural ability to portray people with different viewpoints, characteristics and emotions.”