SENI FOKUS: There’s Nobody Quite Like Nadiya Nisaa In Our Film Industry At The Moment!
At the Festival Filem Malaysia press conference last week, The Daily Seni team managed to score a delightful moment with this year’s Best Supporting Actress nominee Nadiya Nisaa.
No one is brighter in the room filled with stars; decked in a yellow top and sporting a bob hair cut, she carried a rare elegance that sets her apart from the others. In person, Nadiya possesses a smile that could light up a room – something she’s generous with giving.
Nadiya is nominated this year for her work in Terbaik Dari Langit. Image via .
This is one of the easiest of local stars to talk to. She’s engaging, friendly and talkative and we found out quite a lot about her in a short time.
“Alhamdullilah, sukalah, seronok!” she exclaims when we asked her about her nomination this year.
“I hope that our acting coach [Abdul Qahar Aqilah] would be proud of me and the boys! We really allocated our time during rehearsal and production and also blocked our dates early so we could spend more time during rehearsal. And then during shooting baru kita rasa yang rehearsals really helped us.”
According to Nadiya, it became clear that all the hard work paid off when the team went to the Tokyo International Film Festival. After watching the film screened on international waters, their two months of practice manifested in how complete each character in Terbaik Dari Langit seemed.
The ensemble received a lot of positive words from overseas audiences and Nadiya credits all this to Qahar (who also appears in Cuak, another movie recognised by FFM this year).
Of Career Hitches And Getting Hitched
Prior to becoming a full-time actress, Nadiya used to work in the government sector. After two years in service, she chose to stick with acting because her efforts were paying off.
Nadiya’s career however began long before that: she began appearing in films while she was still studying. A dedicated student, Nadiya would turn down roles in films (Anak Halal and Puaka Tebing Biru are among films she let go) so she could concentrate on her studies.
“It’s not that I’m a nerd, but for me I needed to focus on my main responsibility,” she explained.
“Masa tu, I tak fikir sangat nak berlakon. Tapi bila dah dapat berlakon, rasa seronok la. I also got to meet Bront Palarae through Osman Ali. Best lah dapat kawan dengan orang yang berlakon! But let me finish my studies first, then only I’ll concentrate on acting.”
Nadiya’s spouse is visual artist Saiful Razman. Image via Glam.
From what she told us, we surmised that she’s the sort of daughter that would make any parent swell with pride. Nadiya stayed in university, careful to allot only her spare time to cinema.
Her post-graduate aspirations however didn’t go exactly as planned, as she decided to get married.
And in all honesty, who could blame her: have you guys had a look at hubby Saiful Razman? The 35-year old hunk has exhibited his works in Malaysia, Lebanon, Australia and Singapore, and together with Nadiya, they make a significant pairing in the local arts scene. However, in order to get married Nadiya first had to have a stable source of income.
“So that’s why I masuk government sector with my qualifications. So I jadi pegawai kat sana; pegawai PR for two years. I sempat cuti tanpa gaji sebulan untuk shoot Jiwa Taiko.”
There were a couple of surprises in store for her during this specific period of her life.
“Right after habis shoot, on the last day, I found out that I was pregnant. So okay lah, boleh lah I habiskan sisa-sisa hidupku di office dengan pregnant,” she recalls, giggly.
“It was right timing lah waktu tu. Then suddenly bila dah bersalin dan tengah pantang, I tercalon untuk Pelakon Harapan dan menang. Bila menang tu, baru fikir, nak renew contract ke nak focus on acting?“
Nadiya currently lives with her husband and their son, Omar Saiful Razman, who turns four this year.
But at which point in your career did you decide to focus full time on acting, Nadiya?
“After winning Pelakon Harapan Wanita, I jumpa kawan-kawan I balik and they all said, I think it’s a sign for you. That was the end of year 2011. Then in 2012, I started fresh.”
Imitation is the quickest way to mastery
We believe Nadiya’s success has a lot to do with how sincere she appears on the screen. Her acting style is deemed unique; she’s even accumulated praise from fellow actress Sara Ali as we found out in an interview last week.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but to me mungkin jugak it’s because I am not from a film background or acting school so I tak tau method or technique. I just bedal ikut dengan apa yang I rasa,” Nadiya tells us humorously.
“Maybe ada advantage dekat situ [not being held down by school of thoughts]. Sampai sekarang pun, bila I join theatre, we will have sessions. Masa tu baru I faham, Ohhh, berlakon macam ni. During rehearsal untuk filem pun, I suka observe orang.”
According to Nadiya, she doesn’t speak much on set, instead preferring to keep a close eye on her fellow actors. She learns by observing, but she also has a strong instinct when it comes to her craft. This can sometimes result in stubbornness during shoots.
She laughs, confessing, “I ada perangai degil jugak tau! Sometimes bila orang suruh I buat ni, I tak nak buat. Sebenarnya I dah lock dah I nak buat apa. Sometimes when Qahar says, why don’t you try this, give me another option, I bedal je buat benda yang sama.”
Nadiya didn’t have formal training in acting. Most of what she’s learnt has been picked up from watching films. She reveals that her husband often suggests DVDs for her to watch in order to seek inspiration for her characters.
Nadiya’s favourite movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Watch it to find out why.
As a result, she’s a huge fan of cinema! Her favourite movie of all-time? Michel Gondry‘s breathtaking Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Most excitingly, she has her thoughts on this year’s selection at Festival Filem Malaysia too!
“I tak reti lah nak pilih favourite, tapi I rasa macam, eh, kenapa la I tak free masa Kami Histeria tengah shoot?! It’s fun, and it’s something fresh. Bukan semua orang boleh buat,” she notes, impressed.
Nadiya associates this with RED Communications (REDComm) and their track record with creating quality films.
“REDComm has this formula which can capture urban viewers through its mood and feel, and that’s their signature.”
Dreaming of Malaysian cinema
Of all the nominated films, Nadiya’s favourites are Kami Histeria and The Journey. She reveals that she’s watched both films over and over because she loves their original stories and the fact that they’re fresh in the context of Malaysian cinema.
So we naturally segued into her experience with Malaysia’s top film directors, and this is when we realized just how big an impact Nadiya has made. She’s worked with so many directors, it’s quite startling.
She’s done films with prolific filmmakers like Shuhaimi Baba and Osman Ali repeatedly. She’s also worked with Tunku Mona Riza, Nik Amir Mustapha and most special of all, Dain Iskandar Said.
Nadiya Nisaa is one of four local actresses who had the opportunity to work with Dain on a full-length feature. She had a role in Dukun, a movie as-yet-unreleased due to legal concerns.
“Masa itu rasa macam tak berpijak di bumi nyata!” she notes.
Nadiya (left) will next be seen in Tunku Mona Riza’s (right) Redha!
“They needed someone to be a daughter, and my scene was with Nam Ron who was the pegawai polis.”
She will be appearing (again!) under the direction of Dain Said’s through his upcoming full-length feature Interchange. As a supporting actresses in the much-anticipated film, she will be seen sharing the screen with local talents Iedil Putra and Shaheizy Sam, as well as Indonesian stars Nicholas Saputra and Prisia Nasution.
Nadiya couldn’t think of anyone she hasn’t had a chance to work with off the top of her mind, so we threw her suggestions.
After several minutes of flinging names at her, we finally arrive at Liew Seng Tat, nominated this year for Lelaki Harapan Dunia. Yes, this is one director she hasn’t worked with and would love to.
We then asked her about her dream role, and she tells us that she really wants to carry a role that requires her to learn a skill, something she deems rare in the local film scene because of limited production time and budget.
“Contohnya macam I kena jadi ahli sukan or dancer,” Nadiya begins.
“I do get roles like these in dramas but I could not allocate the time to train myself. So I feel it’s such a waste, like, eh sayangnya. I suka tengok Million Dollar Baby and Black Swan, as Natalie Portman actually trained to be a ballet dancer.”
Nadiya is in Jejak Warriors! Go to the cinemas now to watch it!
This reminds us of HBO Asia‘s hyped-up television miniseries Halfworlds. The upcoming thriller will include a plethora of unique characters, but one of them is a tattoo artist. The role of Pinung – which went to Indonesian performer Aimee Saras – required six months of training in the art of tattooing.
Nadiya however really wants to play a sportswoman. It’s a dream that takes root from her days in school as a hockey player when she learned about the uglier side of sports; Nadiya faced fights and dirty tricks on the field.
Interestingly, she appears in sports film Jejak Warriors, directed by Saw Teong Hin. The film, which opened last weekend, pairs her with Harun Salim Bachik and Kelantanese football team The Red Warriors.
“Sports because bila kita sebut pasal sukan je, kita akan sokong gila-gila – that’s the only time that semua orang bersatu. So a sports film mungkin boleh menyatukan Malaysia,” she tells us, hopeful.
Something tells us that Nadiya isn’t in it for the money. Given the way she carries herself with humility and enthusiasm, we reckon she’s in the industry for the fun of it all and the adventures, but we also sense that there might be a greater purpose to her time in Malaysian cinema.
In any case, after being interrupted for the umpteenth time by organisers wishing to take photos of Nadiya with her fellow nominees, we ask her one last question about her thoughts on having an acting career. She responds, bittersweet.
“I don’t want to label acting as a career,” Nadiya smiles, “Sebab career tu kita rasa pressure tau! Kalau I cakap lakonan ni satu kerjaya, macam tak best. It’s more like a passion that I want to retain, takde orang boleh musnahkannya.”
“I’ve got nothing to lose. I tak kejar jadi brand ambassador. I live a very simple life.”
Catch Nadiya Nisaa in Jejak Warriors, out now in all good cinemas! The author would also like to thank Wendi Sia for her contribution to this piece.
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