When something undesirable grows in my soul,
I ask God to give me the same courage mercilessly to pluck it out.
~ Paul Coelho in Like the Flowing River

Semerah Padi is clearly in a class of its own. I watched it the other day and was spellbound; it is a good movie with very good acting (by the legendaries P.Ramlee, Noordin Ahmad and Saadiah, to name a few), lakon layar dan arahan hebat dari P.Ramlee and I think what is most commendable (and most lacking in present Malay movies) is its uncomplicated approach to instill moral value and faithfulness to Islam.

Aduka and Dara,
played by P. Ramlee and the very beautiful Saadiah.

One of my favourite scenes in the movie was when Galak, played by Noormadiah and her lover were caught berzina by Pahlawan Semerah Padi (Taruna and Aduka) dan dibawa ke pengadilan before the Penghulu dan dijatuhkan hukuman sula. (Note: Dialog berikut dipaparkan secara kasar melalui ingatan penulis. Maaf atas sebarang kesilapan).

Penghulu: Di mana kampung kau?
Penzina Lelaki: Kampung aku di mana sahaja wanita cantik berada.
Penghulu: Mengapa kau berzina? Tidakkah kau tahu bahawa zina itu haram?
Penzina Lelaki: Nafsuku tidak mengenal halal haram.
Penzina Wanita: Nafsuku juga.

Pergh. Classic. And that ladies and gentleman, is one of the reasons why Allahyarham Tan Sri P.Ramlee is a legend dan tiada galang ganti.


Brothers and Sisters, let us all be reminded that the second ten days of Ramadhan are of forgiveness and they are here! :-)