ZINDIK

11th January 2007 marks my biggest role on stage. It was Festival Seni Universiti Malaya. My father, sister and stepmum were there. I was happy to see Azlaili, Maftuhim, Sy.Nabilah, Raihana and Azliyana in the audience. I'm glad they made it and their support meant a lot to me. I received mixed reviews for my performance, but most of them (my co-stars included) admit they were very impressed. I couldn't stop smiling for weeks! Did we really do all that in 10 days? ZINDIK won 4th place, but that cannot compare the sense of accomplishment i felt just to perform.

Last year when i was staying in college, i was hoping to join the theatre competition. 6th college being what it is, word never got around and heck, not everyone knew the existence of FesSeni. So this year I was sort of determined to join, because it's now or never for me. I am a 2nd-year medical student, supposed to be burried in my studies. Next year I'll be in Klang for the practical skills and hands-on clinical teachings. How an earth am I going to find the time to join drama? The following years will be even more hands-on, practically an internship at the UMMC. I'll start being on-call, so most definitely I can't go for regular practise sessions, right? Once I graduate, i'll be a house officer and that is THE BUSIEST and WORST time of a doctor's life! Work from 6.30am-9pm, on-call bout 3 nights a week, you are literally the hospital's slave. After that, I'll be a medical officer, still struggling with my footwork in the profession. Not to mention my plans about having my own family....so yeah, its now or never.

Back in November, Intan and I somehow started to contact each other and decided to meet at Midvalley. It was then that she told me she and her friends were in charge of the 8th college drama team (Godsent!). So, I unshamefully told her that I wanted to join, that i'll audition with the others if i have to. She said she'd hook me up but warned that priority will be given to the residents of 8th college. Due to the uncertainty of the outcome, I tried to join 12th college's team, but it didn't work out.

Auditions. I came to 8th college that night, lost and rather confused (it was my revision week). Intan gave me a copy of the script : ZINDIK. I read, and decided to try for the role of AKAL. It was easy and not much to do or compromise. I was unsure of myself and the fact that i didn't know anyone else there didn't help. When I learned that Hafiz was joining too, i was relieved, (Godsent!). I knew him back in PASUM and it was always through drama. We didn't hang out much but I remembered that I enjoyed his company.

Back to the story. Well, my audition went very well and i was immediately welcomed into Khaira's (the director's) good grace. That night i was already reading other parts and helping her cast the others. She was in a dilemma, whether to cast me as AKAL, or as NAFSU? Fast forward to our earlier practise sessions and I told her "Khaira, before I start memorising lines (at that point she decided i was AKAL), I don't mind if you want to cast me as NAFSU, coz i think it's easier for you to find someone to play AKAL than to find someone to play NAFSU". It was only after a few practises that it dawned on me : holy crap, what did I get myself into?

As with any production, practises went up, and down, tossed, and flipped backwards. There were major changes with the script 3 or 4 times, the absence of Remy who's playing HIDAYAH and we still had noone to play AKAL. Then, Asyraf came and he was Godsent! Finally, we have a complete cast! Izhar as NAJMI/JIMI, Hafiz as SETAN, Remy as HIDAYAH, Asyraf as AKAL, Dima as NAFSU, Intan as WATY and Umai as AISYAH. I have two great-looking guys in the team and two guys with whom I have great chemistry with...could a girl ask for more? hehehe *wink* .

Practises were fun, but tiring. On most occasions we only finished at 3am, some even dragged on til 5! But honestly, I was really excited about the whole thing that I didn't care much about missing classes. Mind you, I even noticed that I wasn't eating as much chocolate as I'd normally do; now that's saying something! But I have to apologize to my team for my mood swings and at times for appearing too much of a know-it-all or the whole i-think-i-am-better-than-you. Seriously guys, it wasnt intentional. I tend to get carried away with things I care about.

Costumes were a bugger. I spent 2 days going in and out of all the clothing stores in MidValley and Sungai Wang, trying on all the suitable garments for my character. Mind you, i think I'm from the rare breed of girls who dislike shopping for clothes. On top of that, I was going broke from paying for my costume acessories, petrol and food. So all that was taking a toll on me : my performance was deteriorating, i was tired and my mood was glum, cranky and snappy. So, Fazlisya was, you guessed it, Godsent! Her ideas breathed fresh air into the group and it's always great to know you have supporters. Azlaili too was Godsent because she was willing to help transport the mattresses we needed from my Grandma's house to UM.

And before you know it, its was time for rehearsals. Wednesday night was out first and only full-dress rehearsal. Thursday morning was our only rehearsal on-location and the competition was that night. Yikes!

Showtime. Azlaili was the first in the audience. I felt rather awkward because I wasn't used to having heavy make-up on my face. When my dad and he's crew arrived, I freaked out. I mean, how am I supposed to feel comfortable striding on stage in a skintight top+corset, flirting with my co-stars like nobody's business and coyly caress my own body with my dad watching in front-row seats? Well, I did get over it and pulled it off. I was cute, I was playful, I was seductive, I was 'manja', I was bitchy and I was happy. It worked.

And so, who cares is we messed up our lines? Nobody could tell we fumbled. We pulled it off. It was one of the few performances where I didn't beat myself up afterwards. Now, about one month after it all ended, I am waiting for 3 things : my certificate, the pictures from Asyraf's camera and a celebration with the team. Oh yeah, and my broken tongkat that Hafiz promised to fix.

I can go on talking about the drama for hours, but unfortunately I can't put it all down. Once again, thank you for chacking in. To the people of College 8 ( Intan, Has, Lani, Al, Khaira, Izhar, Asyraf, Umai, Umai aka AISYAH, Remy, Lisya, Hafiz, Najib, Lim and others) : Thank you very much for this opportunity, and its great to be part of a team again. You guys did great to make me feel welcomed. All the best in your future undertakings. Till we meet again, ciao!

p/s : ZINDIK is an Arabic word which means 'orang yang sesat'. The story is centres around the self-conflict within NAJMI/JIMI, a man who has everything but takes his wife AISYAH for granted as he parades with his mistress WATY. In one very long dream, NAJMI/JIMI comes face to face with HIDAYAH, SETAN, AKAL and NAFSU, each of them trying to influence NAJMI/JIMI to succumb to their way of life.