Shafiq (centre) and his pals are determined to win the match against a more posh school. Photos: Handout
For two months, actor Pekin Ibrahim travelled to Gemencheh, Negri Sembilan, almost every day to get to know the man he’d be portraying in the movie Gemencheh Boys – known to everyone as Cikgu Azman.
The actor met up with the teacher Azman Abdul Aziz at Sekolah Kebangsaan (Felda) Bukit Rokan Utara, as well as went around the town of Gemencheh to spend time with the locals.
“I would hang out at the coffee shop with Cikgu Azman and other people from Gemencheh. I’d go to the school where Cikgu Azman works, and observe him from near and far, sometimes without his knowledge. I’ve also gone to his house and had meals with him prepared by his wife,” said the movie star.
For Pekin, it was crucial to get “the vibe” of Azman somewhat accurate once filming started. This is because Azman is a local hero and is known outside of Gemencheh too in some circles.
“I want to make sure that I get at least 90% of who he is right, so that people who know him would be able to identify him when watching this film,” the 41-year-old actor told StarLifestyle.
Based on true events, Gemencheh Boys tells the story of discipline teacher Cikgu Azman (Pekin) who is put in charge of the school’s cricket team by the headmaster (Datuk Ahmad Tamimi Serigar).
Although Azman has no clue whatsoever about cricket, he takes on the responsibility of a coach as he knows the sport can be a way to turn around the lives of six Felda boys – dubbed Enam Jahanam (Six Rascals) because they were bent on mischief and always ended up in detention class. They were deemed to have no prospects.
At first, these rascals tried their best to get out of playing a game they dislike. But, they slowly fall in love with cricket. They also become determined to excel in it after losing a match and upon realising how much faith their teacher has in them when no one else does.
Cikgu Azman (Pekin Ibrahim) is at his wit's end on how to discipline the six boys who are always up to no good.
“Gemencheh Boys is unlike any films we have seen in Malaysian cinemas,” Pekin said.
“One of the reasons why I said yes to this role is because you don’t put cricket and Felda together. It seems unimaginable. And yet, the official sports for Bukit Rokan Utara school are golf and cricket. Isn’t that amazing? Not football or badminton, but cricket!”
What is even more extraordinary is that Azman, as a cricket coach, went on to produce a total of 10 national players in cricket. One of them is Shafiq Sharif who represented the country in Cricket World Cup 2019 and won a gold medal at SEA Games 2017, and is featured as one of the main boys in the film.
It is from Shafiq’s point of view that the story of Enam Jahanam unfolds in Gemencheh Boys. The 33-year-old athlete also narrates the film which shows how 10-year-old Shafiq and his five buddies went from “zero to hero”.
Shafiq told StarLifestyle: “Growing up in the kampung, we’re expected to continue doing what our fathers have been doing for the past 30 years.
“But because of cricket, I got a chance to go down another path – one that would allow me to explore the world.
“Believe it or not, when I was 11 years old – when I couldn’t even speak proper Malay, much less English – I was given the opportunity to go to Australia and play cricket there for two weeks. I knew then that this is what I wanted for my future.
“Without Cikgu Azman, we wouldn’t have played cricket. Without him and my friends, I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today.”
Five of the six characters portrayed in Gemencheh Boys including Shafiq (third from left) with their hero, Cikgu Azman (centre) at the movie premiere.
This inspirational backstory is what made Pekin even more committed to do right by the man who made a huge difference in his students’ lives.
Much to his relief, at some point before filming began in early 2019, Pekin finally got the feeling that he could play Azman and do him justice. More importantly, he felt he’d mastered the Negri Sembilan dialect down pat, which was a huge deal for Pekin who was born in Kelantan.
When StarLifestyle asked Azman to rate Pekin’s performance in the film, the 57-year-old teacher started with: “Well, Pekin is more handsome than me. But, for his performance, I have to congratulate him.
“Although he’s born in Kelantan, his Negri Sembilan dialect is pretty good, not perfect but pretty good... I will give him four-and-a-half stars.”
Jokes aside, Azman said: “I really like Pekin.”
That fondness goes both ways, Pekin said. Even now – four years after filming ended – the actor still travels to Gemencheh from time to time to meet up with Azman.
“I feel like I am part of his family. I often go to his house. I also like Negri Sembilan food now,” he said, adding, “my wife and his wife are also friends.”
Asked what was key to Azman’s personality, Pekin said that it all came down to the fact that although Azman is fierce, he has a good heart and always managed to be there for the boys, rain or shine.
“He is a generous man, who goes above and beyond for the welfare of his students.
“When I got this script, I was reading the same scene for one week, I was so touched by it. So, I was really fired up to play the role, and play it well, and be part of the movie.”
Pekin Ibrahim and Cikgu Azman have become friends during the course of making 'Gemencheh Boys'.
Gemencheh Boys is the follow- up film from the duo Eric Ong and Jason Chong who directed and wrote Adiwiraku, an inspiring 2017 film about a teacher in a rural school.
Chong – who described Adiwiraku as one of the best filmmaking journeys for him, calling it “a soul cleansing project” – said that they were definitely looking for another project that was as inspiring as Adiwiraku. But they didn’t think they’d find one.
“Maybe we were putting out that energy to the universe, and somehow, we got to hear about this story. After talking to Shafiq and knowing more about Cikgu Azman, we knew immediately that we needed to tell this story and share it with everyone,” said Chong.
To him and all the other people involved, Gemencheh Boys is not a movie about sports or even cricket.
Executive producer Raja Jastina Raja Arshad described it as “a story that goes beyond sports and cricket”.
She said: “It is really about not giving up. It is about Malaysians, when we put our minds to it, the impossible becomes possible. It touches on teamwork, perseverance and hope.”
Similarly, associate producer Datuk Dr Siva Ananthan pointed out what caught his attention.
He said: “What really touched me about this movie is the whole idea that one person can make a big difference. Here’s an example of an individual who is not fabulously rich, who doesn’t come from a very comfortable background, who is in his own way struggling in life. But he had that deep sense of purpose that drove him to do what he did.
“As you see in the film, through adversity, these people climb up. All good sports movies are not about sports. They are about the human element. And that’s what this movie is about.”
Azman instills in the children true meaning of sportsmanship.
Chong reassuringly said that an audience doesn’t need to know the rules of the game to watch this film. The cricket matches are all laid out in simple terms in the film.
The directors also told Pekin not to read up too much about cricket, so that he’d be on par with Azman who didn’t know about the sport when he first took on the coaching job.
However, Chong and Ong felt it was important for the boys portraying the Enam Jahanam to actually know cricket in real life and can play the game.
“I felt it was easier to cast boys who can play cricket and teach them acting, rather than cast actors and get them to learn cricket,” said Chong.
He needn’t look any further than Negri Sembilan. As it happened, the top three schools in cricket in Malaysia are all in that state, which meant the young stars would already have the right dialect, and some of them would have the experience of growing up in a Felda settlement.
To cast the young actors, the directors held inter-school cricket matches and shortlisted 12 boys.
“All the boys (who auditioned) were keen to participate in the movie because Enam Jahanam are their heroes,” said Chong. “Of the 12 we picked, in the end six became the main characters and the remaining six were cast as players from a competing school.”
The six actors portraying the 'Enam Jahanam' in the movie.
Under the tutelage of Datuk Fauziah Nawi, youngsters Aqil Yaya (Shafiq), Syed Ahmad (Rashid), Ayiet Harith (Fauzi), Kimi Norais (Amin), Izzue Deen (Sukri) and Amir Kuziq (Azad) slowly got over their shyness to play their respective roles well.
Chong said: “My job was to help them portray the emotions, and these six boys did a fantastic job although they’d never acted before.”
Pekin added: “The boys were very natural and what they did felt real.
“Sometimes, when we actors have to enter their world, it becomes a challenge because we have to be equally natural.
“At the beginning, I was a little stressed when I looked at the dailies. These boys were so natural that I felt awkward – I felt like my performance looked like I was acting when I was next to them.”
However, Pekin was grateful as this not only forced him to up his game but he said his young co-stars often helped him when he didn’t pronounce some words right.
“They helped me get my intonation right in the dialogue as I do get confused with the pronunciation of some words in the Negri Sembilan dialect. That made things easier for me. So, over time, our relationship became more natural too.”
It’s obvious everyone involved in Gemencheh Boys is proud to be part of this true story. Just as filmmaking was fulfilling for the production team, Chong hoped audiences would also take pride and inspiration from Gemencheh Boys. “I think this film is very relatable,” he said.
Siva added: “Teachers are the real heroes in our society. Cikgu Azman is an exceptional human being. And there are many more teachers like him. Hopefully this movie will remind us of that.”
Gemencheh Boys is showing at cinemas nationwide starting from Oct 26.
