Mamat Khalid’s third installment of the Malaysian rock comedy premiered exclusively at the Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre earlier this month. The event was organized by the Singapore Malay Film Society, SMFS together with Dlux Entertainment and CMX International.

The continual success was fruitful since 2005 with the release of Rock followed by Rock Oo! in 2013. The fictional film envelops around the formation of the Malaysian rock bad, Rimba Bara. Characters were inspired by real life musicians and certain scenes were based on true life events. Flashback scenes as well as new ones were shots in various real life sets such the Kampung house and the old run down flats in Ipoh and Perak.

Proper research and character realization was carried out by Mamat Khalid and the cast especially Amy Jueliet who had the opportunity to play the part of Ella, one of the few legendary female Malay rock singers. Band members consisted of Jijo (Khir Rahman), Zek (Hasnul Rahmat), Black (Azmi Bahron), Zul (Soffi Jikan) and Slash (Pekin Ibrahim).

Khir Rahman recorded five tracks for the soundtrack. He explained the complexity of being a versatile actor and the bond between characters on camera during filming. He shares his experiences from his school days learning theatre. Azmi too started out his craft in theatre. He evaluated ideas and improvised ways to present his character as a comedic drummer who was not able to speak clearly. During the press conference, Soffi started to rap showing off his skillful vocal styles.

If you have watched the first two parts of the film, you might have noticed an original soundtrack entitled, Tika composed by Jamil Ahmad and the director himself, Mamat Khalid. The remaining music from the film are song covers by rock classics such as Sweet Charity, Amy Search, Ella and more. The musician themselves made a cameo in various scenes in the recording studios. Just to name a few; they are Esma, Black of Wings and Jihan. If you grew up in that cultural era, you will be drawn back to those nostalgic times when rock music was popular everywhere.

I would recommend this comedic yet emotional masterpiece to rock music lovers out there. It will tickle your funny bones and please prepare some tissues when your watch the film till the end. It ends with a sad and memorable scene underlining the importance of friendship and dedication to one’s dream.

The Fifth Parlour would like to thank Singapore Malay Film Society (SMFS) for the invitation.