Sipadan Diving Vacation Blog

OK OK. It’s just a story. But it’s really a mermaid story!

Sipadan Island was recently featured as a shooting location for a Malaysian movie. The title of the movie is Duyung which is the Malay word for Mermaid. It stars the very popular actress Maya Karin.

KUALA LUMPUR: One of Malaysia’s most acclaimed actresses, Maya Karin, who became popular for her role in the Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam films, will be portraying a mermaid in her new film Duyung, set to be released early next year.

Duyung is a light-hearted fantasy romantic comedy directed by Assoc Prof A. Razak Mohaideen (of Anak Mami and Nana Tanjung fame).

Comedian Saiful Apek stars alongside Maya as Jimmy, a nature-loving man living in a fishing village who spends his time looking after the environment by clearing rubbish.

Jimmy believes the myth told by his mother that if the environment were looked after, a mermaid would appear.

Maya had to wear a mermaid outfit, which required her feet to be bound, during the 25-day shoot at Sipadan island, Sabah, where most of the scenes were shot in May.

“It was definitely interesting,” said Maya about acting underwater during the official launch of the film on Tuesday.

“I had to express myself and even show that I was talking underwater.

“I didn’t think too much about what I had to do, I just went for it.”

Assoc Prof Razak said he was very impressed by Maya’s ability and commitment.

“It is difficult for anyone to swim and dive with their legs tied and I truly admire her for that,” he said.

“We did not have to resort to stunt women for some of the more difficult scenes. Maya Karin proved she is a real mermaid and no longer a pontianak.”

Maya, however, did experience a few scary moments during the underwater shoot.

“There was an incident where my mermaid outfit got stuck in the fishing net, so that was a bit scary, but Saiful and another crew member were nearby and realised I was in trouble and helped me,” she said.

Source: The Star

This entry was posted on Friday, October 26th, 2007 at 12:59 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.