features

From pitch to screen, Ola Bola a success story for director Chiu

BY K. ANAND
February 04, 2016

Ola Bola director Chiu Keng Guan getting a feel of the stadium where the events behind the inspiration for his movie took place 36 years ago. – Astro Shaw pic, February 4, 2016. In 1980, as an eight-year-old growing up in Batu Pahat, Chiu Keng Guan already knew he loved to play football. He took an active part in the sport in school and that interest continued through to secondary school and even in university.

That was also the year the critically-acclaimed director joined millions of Malaysians in watching our national team defeat South Korea in a tough final Olympic qualifying match at Stadium Merdeka.

The match and the legends of Malaysian football in that squad left an indelible mark in him.

“It was the golden era in Malaysian football, with the players achieving the dream and the nation celebrating with them,” Chiu, 44, said about his inspiration for his latest movie, Ola Bola, that is taking the country by storm.

“The movie tells a tale of how the whole team shown in the movie are heroes. There is no one hero in the storyline,” Chiu said.

Casting for a football movie is never an easy task. Does one get actors and teach them how to play football, or get a main cast of young men who know how to play football and teach them how to act?

As the director, Chiu chose the latter option, with those who have represented their school or district, or better yet, still play regularly, being ideal to showcase the skill and technique needed on the pitch.

“Most of the cast comprise first timers in a movie. The players, including the main characters among them, are all new to the local film industry,” he said of the men who first had to undergo two months of acting classes.

“Even the part of the Englishman who becomes the national coach is played by a Geography teacher from an international school in KL,” Chiu said of Mark Williams, who made a rather impressive debut.

That may not have been reflective of the true events, as it was a German, Karl Weigang, who led Malaysia that year, but it brought back memories and did enough to complete the intended look for the movie.

Chiu also turned to some of the football legends from the 1980 squad and sought their advice in the making of this movie.

“We got the likes of Soh Chin Aun, the real ‘taukeh’ and former national captain, as well as Santokh Singh, James Wong, Hassan Sani, Isa Bakar and Bakri Ibni to give us some advice,” he said.

Even Weigang, who happened to visit Malaysia a few times, was roped in for some insight that could help make the movie just a little bit more authentic.

But only one former national hero, though not from that 1980 team, was directly involved in making a difference on the pitch in the movie. Former national goalie, Wong Kam Fook, took Saran Kumar under his wing to polish up on technical skills for the role of goalkeeper Muthu.

Even the hardcore national football supporters group, known as the Ultras Malaya, were brought in to lend some “voice” and audience action for the stadium scenes.

Chiu, who went to Brazil to watch the 2014 World Cup semi-final between the host nation and Germany as part of his research for the movie, said he believes the Malaysian supporters can easily match their Brazilian counterparts.

“The level of noise made, and the passion showed in the stands, is something I can proudly say that Ultras Malaya have got what it takes to be among the best supporters in the world,” he said.

He also threw a few surprises in the movie, which made a bigger impact than he could possibly have imagined, but I won’t reveal these “spoilers” for the sake of those who have not watched the movie.

Ultimately, Chiu says, the movie is for young Malaysian football fans as well as those who are trying to improve their game in the sport, for them to see the greatness of our footballers just three decades ago.

“It is to help us believe in our national team. They are the pride of the nation, so we must support them,” he said. – February 4, 2016.Ola Bola director Chiu Keng Guan on one of the sets for the movie, recreating what an office would look like in the late 1970s through early 1980s. – Astro Shaw pic, February 4, 2016.