Catch the drift, racers
2007/08/23
Ahmad Idham instructs actor Opie Zami on the set of Impak Maksima, his latest directorial effort. |
The world of illegal drag racing is a temptation for one reputed actor and film director, but his interest takes wings on celluloid. SAHRIFAH ARFAH hears about Impak Maksima.
FILM director Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri loved motorsports as a young man, having been introduced to it after school.
“I was involved in illegal drag racing. I knew it was bad, but I did it for fun,” he revealed.
Motorsports being an expensive hobby, he didn’t pursue it seriously and when he entered college to study accounting, he dropped it completely.
Three years ago, Ahmad Idham decided to revisit his youth by making a film about drift racing, a skill-based motorsport that was in its infancy in the country at the time.
The idea had to be shelved, though, as he had no financial support.
But Ahmad Idham, who was at the helm of such box-office successes as Remp-It and Jangan Pandang Belakang, has finally done it with Impak Maksima.
The film, which opened in cinemas nationwide yesterday revolves around professional rally driver Johari, who quits the scene so as to prevent his brother Ayie from following his footsteps. Unbeknown to him, Ayie has been in illegal racing, secretly.
Starring Awal Ashaari, Eizlan Yusof, Zul Huzaimy, Dynaz and Cat Farish, the film is produced by Excellent Pictures, of which Ahmad Idham is its managing director.
“I made this film because I wanted to entertain. I believe this is a movie people would want to watch because it’s the only movie of this kind in the local film circuit,” he said.
Featuring plenty of adrenalin-pumping drift action, Ahmad Idham said the film’s target audience is young people who thrive on action.
It features stuntmen and local professional drift racers including stuntman/choreographer Sir Meng Hu and Malaysia’s drift champion Tengku Djan Ley.
“I came to know them through my cousin, who is also a motorsport enthusiast.”
The other “stars” in Impak Maksima are, naturally, the cars. Using 20 main cars for drifting, the film required an additional 80 for various scenes throughout the film. Most of the cars are modified Proton models, as well Japanese models such as Toyota and Nissan.
Shot in 35 days, the film was shot mainly in the Klang Valley, around Subang Jaya and Jalan Sultan Ismail, as well as in Putrajaya.
“Shooting in the middle of Kuala Lumpur was the most challenging part of the shoot because I had to take safety precautions during the filming of drift stunts, which attracted a big crowd, to make sure nobody got hurt,” said Ahmad Idham.
Surprisingly, Impak Maksima only cost RM1.7 million to make. The film would have required RM2 million, said Ahmad Idham, had it not been for sponsorship from the likes of Bridgestone (motor vehicle tyre manufacturer and distributor) and Proton’s motorsports arm, Proton R3.
“We worked on a very tight budget. But with planning, we managed to do it,” he said.
Impak Maksima is Ahmad Idham’s sixth film. Having acted in television series (mostly Kuasatek Sdn Bhd productions) since 1994, he found his true calling, thanks to Kuasatek managing director Mohd Noor Kadir who gave Ahmad Idham his first break as a director for the movie, Mr Cinderella.
The film collected RM2.5 million at the box-office, and earned him the most promising director award at the 16th Malaysian Film Festival (FFM16).
He subsequently directed Tipah Tertipu the Movie (2006, which colected RM800,000), Remp-It (2006, RM4.6 million), Tentang Bulan (2007, RM1.2 million) and Jangan Pandang Belakang (2007, RM7.26 million). His next project is horror flick Congkak, which is currently undergoing post-production.
“If you ask me right now, I prefer directing, because this is something new for me after acting for some time. Anyway, actors generally don’t have as much staying power as directors,” he quipped.
Ahmad Idham is not bothered by criticisms that Impak Maksima is a copycat of Hollywood movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
“Sure, drifting is present in my film, but that’s only part of it. My intention was to show what the motorsport culture is like in Malaysia. Besides, anyone can make a movie about drifting,” he said.
