IN less than 24 hours, Malaysians will be bidding farewell to 2022, the year which marked the return of live concerts and packed cinema halls.
If there is one person, song, film or TV show that became a household name this year, it was Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan, director Syamsul Yusof's take on the legendary Pahang warrior who fought British colonialism in the 1890s and lived to the age of 105.
Mat Kilau which opened in June and boasted a star-studded cast headed by Datuk Adi Putra made history by becoming the top-selling Malaysian film and the only one which raked in a whopping RM97 million in its two-month run.
BABY TIGERS
Other patriotic films followed, namely Air Force The Movie: Selagi Bernyawa, which also starred Adi Putra, and the Covid-19 pandemic movie Juang.
Air Force which told the story of Malaysia's brave fighter pilots and Special Operations Force or Paskau members involved in a rescue mission, collected RM13 million at the box office and Juang, a tribute to frontliners which had a star-studded cast headlined by Datuk Rosyam Nor, Zul Ariffin, Janna Nick and Zizan Razak entered the Malaysia Book Of Records for having the largest cast at 335.
The country's first cinematic tale about Harimau Malaya's junior footballers, Anak Rimau The Movie, also made its debut and featured versatile Beto Kusyairy as a dedicated football coach, plus real members of the national team in cameos.
FOREIGN ACTS
Indonesia's major names in music returned to Malaysia to perform throughout the year.
Many held their concerts in the new, state-of-the-art concert hall Zepp Kuala Lumpur and they included Padi, Ungu, Marcell, Gigi, Rizky Febian and Raisa.
Datuk Seri Rossa, with Judika as guest star, and Afgansyah Reza performed at the prestigious Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, and Dewa 19 performed at the Axiata Arena.
K-pop singers Jackson Wang, Rain and Lee Minho also entertained fans at the Axiata Arena. Indian singer Ilaiyaraaja sang at the Malaysian International Trade And Exhibition Centre, and American singer Calum Scott sang at the KL Convention Centre.
FAREWELL
Malaysian entertainment bid farewell to film director, lecturer and actor Azhari Zain on Nov 24, veteran actor Hisham Ahmad Tajuddin on Oct 12 and legendary radio announcer Constance Haslam on Oct 3.
Lyricist and composer Bob Lokman died at 58 on Sept 23, 1980s singer-actor Aman Shah died at 68, and Hon Yit Sin who was best known for her role in the Chinese series Empat Sekawan died at 100, in the same month.
On Aug 17, Malaysian singer based in Taiwan Eison Chai died after he fell from a building. On July 29, drama and film producer Mohd Noor Kadir died at 69.
In June, the country lost versatile artiste Adibah Noor to cancer at 52, and funnyman Hamid Gurkha at 90. Veteran actress Aripah Damanhuri died at 73, and academician and musician Dr Wan Zawawi Wan Ibrahim died at 75, in May.
Acclaimed theatre director, producer and actor Jit Murad died of a heart attack aged 62, on Feb 12 while comedian Mohd Rafik Abdul Raman or Pian Cecupak died at 52, on Jan 26.
HEALTH SCARES
Actress Nad Zainal was hospitalised with a lung ailment in November and veteran singer Shima said she had to wear diapers due to ill health.
For jingle queen Salamiah Hassan who married Gerald Hughes in Australia, it was sadly short-lived when a couple of months later he died of cancer in November.
SUE FOR ROYALTIES
Datuk Jamal Abdillah and Datuk DJ Dave were among 32 singers and musicians who filed a motion and affidavit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to sue Performers' Rights and Interest Society of Malaysia for unpaid royalties between 2017 and 2021.
ESCAPES THE GALLOWS
On July 6, singer and composer Yasin Sulaiman escaped a possible death sentence, after the Petaling Jaya magistrate's court cleared him of trafficking dangerous drugs. He was charged under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
In the same month, former colleagues of former TV3 newscaster and host Zalina Azman expressed concern after learning of her disappearance in November 2021.
NOT FUNNY
In July, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall closed Crackhouse Comedy Club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail for allowing offensive comedy acts to perform at their premises. Its founder Rizal Van Geyzel was charged in the Sessions Court with three counts of posting insulting remarks touching on religious and racial sensitivities. Nuramira Abdullah, 26, who performed at the club, was accused of insulting Islam.
END OF MARRIAGE
The wife of actor and director Datuk Afdlin Shauki, Datin Christina Orow Abdullah, revealed that the couple had split since April.
CONCERTS AND COMEBACKS
Istana Budaya played host to Rock On 40 featuring Search, Datuk Awie, Muss and Ella. Animated sci-fi adventure Mechamato Movie made its big screen debut this month and ranked 11th of 100 at the Tokyo Anime Awards Fest.
DATUK AMY
Amy of Search received his Datukship from Melaka in August, and veteran singers Francissca Peter and Siti Fairuz were awarded the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang which carries the title Datuk. Wan Aishah Wan Ariffin received a Negri Sembilan Datukship in January.
MAGNIFICENT MICHELLE
International actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh received the inaugural TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award at the International Toronto Film Festival on Sept 11. In August she received a doctorate of Fine Arts from the American Film Institute and recently, she was named Time's 2022 Icon Of The Year in recognition of her contributions to the film industry.
WIN IN INDIA
In June, veteran actor Mubarak Majid bagged a foreign Best Actor award, for the Indian short film Coofie & Sexy Dress produced by Buffalo Orange Pictures. Mubarak, 66, was named Best Actor by the Motion Horse International Film Festival 2022 of India.
The action thriller by popular filmmaker Adrian Teh, The Assistant, opened in cinemas on May 19.
REMP-IT 2
Motoring enthusiast, producer and journalist Ahirine Ahirudin starred in Remp-It 2 and Gadis Jolobu, and became one of the year's breakout stars.
Wings performed at the Singapore Formula One and Dewan Filharmonik Petronas. A star-studded cast headlined by actor-director Gavin Yap lent their voices to the country's first online radio drama, Derek Kong Private Detective.
ABANG LONG RETURNS
Syafiq Yusof's movie Abang Long Fadil 3 managed to collect a total of RM1.2 million during its "sneak preview" screening in September.
TOK TI RULES
In April, Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin was listed in the Top 100 Most Awarded Musician Of All-Time list which included international superstars such as Michael Jackson, Beyonce and BTS. She was listed on the Twitter account of The Artist Museum at the 27th spot with a total of 329 awards.
In February, Kuching-born Alvin Wee put Malaysian music on the map with his nomination for a Cinema Audio Society Award 2022. The 34-year-old is the first Malaysian to be nominated in the annual awards, for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for his work in Disney's animated feature film, Encanto.
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