A first for Delimawati
Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 32 has two wellknown veterans in the running for its major award categories,
THE massive popularity of director Mamat Khalid’s horror comedy Hantu Kak Limah last year has made veteran actress Delimawati Ismail a household
name.
And better still, she is one of the front runners for the Popular Film Actress title in Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 32 next month.
“I can’t believe it. It’s a first for me. I’m so honoured to be in the running for a major category in ABPBH. I want to thank Mamat for making me a household name with Hantu Kak Limah,” said Delimawati, 61, who has been acting for three decades.
She was speaking at the announcement of ABPBH 32’s top fives for its 15 categories and five online categories at Tamu Hotel & Suites in Jalan Raja Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur last Friday.
Delimawati, who hails from Kuala Kangsar, Perak admitted that most of her screen and television roles had been “rather ordinary” but Mamat created the strange, creepy character of Kak Limah specially for her in his Kampung Pisang film series which began in 2007.
“I admit I’m a wee bit like Kak Limah, a village girl at heart, who is kind and generous but slightly ‘crazy’. And yes, I was born and bred in the same place where
Kampung Pisang is, the heart of Kuala Kangsar district, where the Perak Malay dialect is at its thickest.”
Delimawati is up against Erra Fazira, Hannah Delisha, Mira Filzah and Uqasha Senrose in the Popular Film Actress category.
“My juniors have the advantage of a strong social media following whereas I’m hardly on social media. I let my movies do the talking and promoting. Considering a veteran actor like Frankie Lee won the Best Actor award at the 27th Malaysian Film Festival for The Journey, good things might just be coming my way!”
COMBINATION OF NAMES
Dayang Nurfaizah and Hael Husaini Razmi are marking their first entry as “Haeyang” into the Popular Group / Duo category of ABPBH. They sang duet on Haram, which was voted Best Song at the Anugerah Juara Lagu 33.
Dayang, 38, has been nominated in the Popular Female Artiste category several times, while Hael, 31, was nominated in the Popular New Artiste category last year.
“This is actually my second nomination for a song sung in collaboration with another singer. Last year I was nominated alongside Malique,” said Dayang.
“Hael and I are surprised that our winning collaboration in Anugerah Juara Lagu has been phenomenally popular, and everywhere we go, fans have been calling us Haeyang, a combination of our names.”
Hael can’t believe it: “Many of my fans have already crowned me the winner, or rather co-winner of Most Popular Artiste alongside Dayang. It’ll be great to win, but all I can tell our fans is keep voting.”
Dayang and Hael plan to record more duets later, but have decided not to make Haeyang an official pop duo.
“I once teamed up with an old friend Azhar Osman to form Azhael, but it did not last, as each of us wanted to focus on solo projects. I guess it’s better that Haeyang remain an informal name for the both of us, as we don’t want to limit ourselves,” said Hael.
He added that his “chummiest female friend” has always been his fellow Akademi Fantasia 2013 contestant Nabila Razali, for whom he has written and composed songs.
Dayang meanwhile said that on her part she has not “ruled out performing more duets with Anuar Zain in the future. Fans love our collaborations, and many have requested that Anuar and I reunite. Also, there are a few singers on my checklist whom I’ve yet to team up with, including dear friends from Sarawak my home state, such as Hafiz Suip.”
Reigning Popular Male Singer Khai Bahar is set to defend his title. His four competitors are Faizal Tahir, Haqiem Rusli, Sufian Suhaimi and Syafiq Farhain. He is also in the running for Popular Group/Duo with Fatin Husna.
“Faizal, Haqiem, Sufian and Syafiq each have their own strong fan base, and this means competition is very stiff. I’m fortunate that my fans are giving me 200 per cent support. Even if I don’t win, it’s great to be nominated once again,” he said.
Khai, 25, also said he was cheering for his fellow Perlis-born artistes in various award categories.
“We may be a small state but we are never short of talents. The year 2019 is a bountiful year for young artistes from Perlis. There’s
Nazim Othman, Fendy Bakry, Zahirah Macwilson and myself. May the best Anak Perlis win!”
Actress Mira Filzah has had the most number of nominations at seven, including Popular TV Host, Popular Versatile Artiste, two nominations for Popular Drama Partners with Remy Ishak, and one Popular Film Partner nomination with Remy.
Siti Nordiana comes second with six nominations, including Popular TV Actress, Popular Group / Duo with Alif Satar, Popular TV Host, Popular Versatile Artiste, and Most ‘Boom’ Song (Hatiku Milikmu).
“It’s my biggest ABPBH in terms of nominations. But competition is very stiff, and even if I win only one award, it would be a night to cherish forever.”