Conceived and filmed during COVID-19, Juang is a Malaysian movie featuring a collection of tales centred around said pandemic.
While the film itself aims to win the hearts of Malaysians, it has recently won something else—the title of having the biggest cast in a feature film in the Malaysia Book of Records.
The lengthy end credits scene includes the names of five directors, a hundred main actors, 235 supporting actors, and 165 crew members.
Malaysians will likely recognise some of the names in the star-studded cast, starting from the directors themselves. The five filmmakers are: Osman Ali, Kabir Bhatia, Yusry Abd Halim, Matt Lai, and Aziz M. Osman.
Osman Ali is best known for Anak Halal, Cun!, Jiwa Taiko, and Ombak Rindu.
Meanwhile, Mumbai-born Kabir Bhatia’s filmography includes Sembunyi: Amukan Azazil, Dollah Superstar, and more.
Yusry Abd Halim is known for action movies Cicak-Man and The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines. Matt Lai directed Fight Lah! Kopitiam, Anak Merdeka, and The Great Lion Kun Seng Keng.
Actor-director Aziz M. Osman is known for Gila-Gila Pengantin, Scoop, and more.
Each of these directors took charge of managing different storylines within the film.
The top cast includes familiar names like Zul Ariffin, Jack Lim, Zizan Razak, Sangeeta Krishnasamy, Dian P. Ramlee, Izzue Islam, Janna Nick, Vanida Imran, Azri Sabri, and more.
Championing industry players
In an interview with StarLifestyle, executive producer and veteran actor Jack Lim shared that the team intentionally wanted to make a movie where they could hire a lot of people.
This is to help those working in the local showbiz industry who had become jobless during COVID-19 when filming activities had been halted for a long period of time.
Jack also said that each of the five directors would also bring their own favoured set of crew members.
“This way, we could get as many people involved as possible and let them know that the industry is not dead.”
Two years after starting work in September 2020, according to Free Malaysia Today, the film was finally released on September 8, 2022.
This comes after much delay due to the uncontrollable factor of the pandemic. In a Facebook post from 2021, the team shared about the hardships of the pandemic following the announcement of MCO 3.0.
Since the pandemic hits [sic], the filming industry has been struggling to survive; film productions halted, movie schedules postponed, cinemas closed, festivals cancelled are some of the aspects affected in the industry. However, all these are also important measures implemented to help break the chain of COVID-19.
To our fellow comrades, continue JUANG and never stop producing great movies; we will definitely bounce back, better & stronger.
Thankfully, with many restrictions lifted, Malaysians can now get to enjoy films on the big screen again, including Juang.
The Malaysian film is now showing at cinemas nationwide. Check out the trailer here:
