For this research, I wanted to focus my attention on a local filmmaker that made a path for Malaysian filmmaking, the one and only P.Ramlee. On this research I wanted to focus on the filmmaker rather than his films because of what he brought to the table for Malaysian filmmaking.

Raised and born in Penang (Malaysia), P Ramlee represents one of Asia’s biggest influence in the golden age of Malaysia. To date, P. Ramlee has known to be the most successful director, actor, songwriter and singer in Malaysian history. And this in itself is very interesting because it’s very rare to come across a director with so many different talents. Over his career, he starred in 63 films, directed more than 30 films and written well over 200 songs.

Most of P.Ramlee films consist of song and dance, and since all of this were filmed in the around the 1950s to the 1960s, the Golden Age of Malaysian Cinema, were all black and white. Due to the very limited opportunities film studios in Malaysia had that time, P.Ramlee had to work his way from the bottom, being a coffee guy for many sets just so he can learn how to make films. Often times, P.Ramlee would perform and direct his own films, sometimes even taking control of the camera works for his films.

Song and dance were largely popular in Malaysian film, reason being of the influence from directors from India who were brought in to do filming. P.Ramlee largely received his influence from Indian, Japanese and Hollywood cinema. In his films, he likes to shoot in kampong, a place where villagers used to stay. One of his better known films is called “Bujang Lapok”, and in this film he compares the more stylized kampong in contrast to the city. His vision for films were to show what it was to be Malays, Muslim and Bumiputera, also known as a native.

Kampongs are commonly found in the rural areas of Malaysia

P.Ramlee wanted to make his film real, sand Bujang Lapok is a great example of his work. In the film Bujong Lapok, the actors that were involved in the film used their real names in the film blurring reality and film. Besides that, the film was meant to target the issue that was present in Malaysia in the 60’s.  This film reflects the change in lifestyle in Malaysia from both the Japanese invasion and the British colonization. Besides that, the dialogue presented by the actors were spoken in both English and Bahasa, evidence of cultural influence from the British.

In my opinion, featuring in your own film although give you total control over what you have vision in mind, it sometimes gives very little creative space for other cinematographer, and actors to bring in ideas.  As prove, P.Ramlee often fought with other directors but he always had the upper hand because the studio had his back. What is present in his film though truly shows the culture and issues that were faced by the locals at that point in time.

Overall, watching his films really do reflect his love for Malaysian cinema. Although P.Ramlee ended his career in a very harsh way, watching his films today really do give us a sense of enjoyment and laughter. Just like most directors today, many of their film styles and technique are based on how they were influenced growing up, it was just unfortunate that P.Ramlee was way ahead of his time.