Nasi Lemak 2.0

Nasi Lemak 2.0
Film poster
Simplified	辣死你妈
Mandarin	làsǐnǐmā
Directed by	Namewee
Produced by	Fred Chong Sylvia Lim
Starring	Namewee Karen Kong Adibah Noor Afdlin Shauki David Arumugam Reshmonu Kenny & Chee
Production company	Prodigee Media Sdn Bhd
Release dates	8 September 2011 (2011-09-08)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	Malaysia
Language	Mandarin Malay English Tamil Hokkien Teochew Cantonese Hakka Japanese
Budget	lower than MYR1 mil.
Box office	MYR7 Million

Nasi Lemak 2.0 (Chinese: 辣死你妈; pinyin: làsǐnǐmā) is a Malaysian film directed by and starring Wee Meng Chee. The film had a low budget, completed under the absence of government funding. Wee spent nearly a year applying for loans. Wee met the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak and stressed that the movie promoted the spirit of the 1Malaysia program, which was initiated by the Prime Minister himself. Production took about two months including post-editing, and was then handed over to the National Censorship Board. The film premiered on 8 September 2011 in 60 cinemas throughout Malaysia. In an interview with AFP, co-producer Fred Chong said that the movie made more than MYR1.5 million during the first four days of release.^[1]

History

On 17 March 2010, Wee Meng Chee, nicknamed Namwee, announced at a small media event that he was going to make a movie.^[2] He applied for funds from the Malaysian government, which he recorded on film. After multiple unsuccessful attempts, he vowed to meet the Prime Minister of Malaysia.^[3] Instead, he filmed the movie himself with a low budget and requested the government censorship board approval.^[4] On 26 June 2011, he announced that the movie would be in theatres on 8 September.^[5] Soon after, the trailer was released on his YouTube channel.^[6] The movie premiered in Melbourne, Australia, on 31 August, which is also Malaysia's National Day.^[7]

The film's executive producer, Fred Chong, said that the movie had the full support from Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, a member of the Prime Minister's office, who had issued an official letter endorsing it as a "1Malaysia film".^[8] However, protesters objected to the film and its maker, which prompted Wee to post on his Facebook page about his concerns that the movie would be banned in Malaysia.^[9][10]

Plot

A young chef, Huang Da Xia (Wee Meng Chee) struggles to get his restaurant business going. His restaurant is unpopular because he cannot adapt to the "localized" cooking his patrons are looking for. However, contradicting his unpopular cuisine, he is also well known as "Hero Huang" in the local neighborhood, because he carries out good deeds in helping the community, including filming videos and putting them on his YouTube account. One day, he meets Xiao K (Karen Kong), who asks for his help. Xiao K's father, owner of a famous Chinese restaurant, is fighting with her aunt for the ownership of the restaurant. After some complicated discussions, they decide to hold a contest to see who can cook the best Chinese dish. Desperate to get his life and the restaurant business back on track, Chef Huang decides to help Xiao K. Huang seeks help from a mysterious hawker stall lady (Adibah Noor), who summons him to embark on an extraordinary journey of his life. During this self-enlightening experience, he will also meet many "local heroes", each lending their support to help him rediscover his roots and the real hidden message of "Nasi Lemak".

Social impact

2.0 is the first film in Malaysia to portray the country's three major races in an ensemble manner. The response was mixed. This is the first Malaysian film that did not target one of the three population groups as its audience. A survey conducted by major bloggers and entertainment tabloids claimed that most of its audience loved the style of acting, because they could relate to the characters.

The only protest against the movie took place in Ipoh by a group called Pertubuhan Gagasan Rakyat Didahulukan Negeri Perak.

2.0 is not without controversy. an article by Fauziah Arof dated 21 September 2011 condemned Namewee for insulting the national anthem Negaraku, Islam and Malay race as a whole. Namewee responded that the author had passed judgement on his movie without looking at it as a whole, for misunderstanding it and for missing its intent to unify the races across Malaysia. Namewee’s response led protestors to push for Utusan Malaysia to lodge an official police report against him.

The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) declared that the movie is not entitled to a 20% tax rebate under its new incentive for local films, because it did not qualify for mandatory screening status.^[11]

Cast

See also

• Nasi lemak

References

External links

• Official website
• Nasi Lemak 2.0 at the Internet Movie Database

List of Namewee associated films
2011	Nasi Lemak 2.0 Petaling Street Warriors
2012	Hantu Gangster
2013	Kara King
2014	Banglasia