P Ramlee (PART I) : Tribute to a Legend!

P RAMLEE - A huge name in Malaysian entertainment industry. 

Although he lived before I was even born, I grew up with laughter and tears from watching his films and listening to his songs. I know I am not the first to write about this legend. Many have wrote before this about his life, his biography, his films, his songs, his marriages, his children and even about his friends. And I have to admit that my post may not be very much different from those others, but it is my way of paying tribute to one of the greatest legend I have even known. It is My World after all.

Let's start with some basic info about P Ramlee. He was born Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Ngah Puteh in Penang. He has always been passionate about music even during his school years. But many would agree that his journey to become one of Malaysia's greatest legend really begun when he boarded a train on 28 August 1948, which took him from Penang to Singapore to accept an offer to work with the Malay Film Production (MFP). A historical leap indeed by P Ramlee to travel that distance, when travelling itself was a big decision at that time. 

He started off doing odd jobs in MFP like handling camera sets, being a 'clipper boy', playing extras and singing. It wasn't until 1950, when P Ramlee was 'upgraded' to a hero status for the first time. He played as the lead starring in the film 'Bakti', which was well received by the audience. And the "P Ramlee mania" begun!! Everybody loved him. The audience loved him. Every film he acted in achieved box-office status, every director wants him to be in their film. Some even postponed the production of their film; like what director B. N. Rao did. He halted his film production to wait for P Ramlee to finish acting in a film of another director, R Ramanathan. 

At the height of his popularity as an actor, he was elected to a Film Director, where he blossom even more. The first film P Ramlee directed was 'Penarek Becha' in 1955. He acted in this film as well, playing the less fortunate and poor trishaw cyclist, who fell in love with a Azizah, a rich and beautiful girl. The relationship received resistance from Azizah's father and her fiance. In this film, P Ramlee also sang the song 'Azizah', which he wrote back in school.

The second film P Ramlee directed was 'Semerah Padi', which many have acknowledged as his masterpiece. It tells a story of two best friends who fell in love with the same girl. Marriage was arranged by their families for one of the two friends to marry the girl. But situation soon became heart wrenching when the other friend could not hold his lust and committed adultery with his friend's fiance, a crime punishable by death.  

After successfully directed serious movies, P Ramlee threw in yet another surprise by directing comedic films like the series of Bujang Lapok films, Musang Berjanggut, Nujum Pak Belalang and Labu Labi. These films remains popular until today.

P Ramlee's films won many awards in many categories. Among others....

• 'Best Music in A Film' award won in 1956 through his film 'Hang Tuah'.
• 'Best Actor' award received in 1957 through his film 'Anakku Sazali'.
• 'Best Black & White Photography' received in 1958 through his film 'Sumpah Orang Minyak'.
• 'Best Comedy Film' he received through his films 'Pendekar Bujang Lapok' in 1959.
• 'Best Comedy Film' he received through his films 'Nujum Pak Belalang' in 1963.
• 'Best Comedy Film' he received through his films 'Madu Tiga' in 1964.

The last film he directed and acted in Studio Jalan Ampas, Singapore, was 'Tiga Abdul'. After that he decided to resigned from MFP and joined Studio Merdeka in Hulu Kelang, Selangor. Sadly, that decision also marked another turning point in his life........

Stay tuned for "P Ramlee (PART II) : The Forgotten Legend".