''Iskandar'' is a 2003 Malaysian Malay-language

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by V. Nagaraj and starring Awie and Jeslina Hashim.

Plot

Karl Iskandar ( Awie), son of Tan Sri Hisham Al-Bakri ( Jalaluddin Hassan), returns to Malaysia to take over his father's company. Soon after, the head of another company, Vincent Cheah, is killed; Iskandar discovers that the two companies had a shady business dealings. Meanwhile, Iskandar begins falling in love with Amira (Jeslina Hashim), a waitress at a bar run by the gangster Ringgo (Bob Khairul); this upsets his father, who intends for Iskandar to marry Alissa ( Hetty Sarlene), who is of the same social standing. Iskandar later discovers that his father knew of the dirty dealings and ordered Ringgo to kill Cheah. To silence Hisham, Ringgo plans to kill him but Amira overhears this and when Ringgo knows they also kidnapped Amira. Iskandar was able to save Amira and stop Ringgo before the gangster can kill his father.

Cast

Production

''Iskandar'' was directed by V. Nagaraj, who had previously directed ''Ghazal untuk Rabiah'' (''Ghazal for Rubiah'') and ''Getaran'' (''Shaking''). Malaysian rock singer Awie was cast in the leading role; he also served as fight coordinator. Malaysia-based Singaporean singer Hetty Sarlene was cast as Alissa, Iskandar's would-be wife; ''Iskandar'' marked her feature-film debut. Sarlene, who was forced to audition by her mother, stated that working under Awie was originally frightening, but she was later able to relax. Other cast members included Jalaluddin Hassan, Farouk Hussain, Bob Lokman, Radhi Khalid, Bob Khairul and Aleeza Kasim. The film featured "Sangsi Asmara" ("Doubting Love"), a single Sarlene released in October 2001.

Release and reception

''Iskandar'' was released on 27 February 2003 the second Malaysian film released in 2003. It was marketed as an

action comedy The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the America ...

. Moer Shariman, writing for ''

The Malay Mail ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', opined that ''Iskandar'' was better than ''Getaran'' and "all the ingredients of a successful Malay film made 10 years" before, but noted that it lacked focus and ultimately became a "'genre-less' flick". In the ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'', Sharifah Arfah gave the film a scathing review, writing that the film had "nothing but two-dimensional characters, a flimsy plot, patchy editing and nauseating jokes."

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * * *

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0355580, Iskandar 2003 films Malaysian action comedy films Malay-language films Malaysian romantic comedy films