COMEDIAN, actor, singer and more. Zizan Razak is larger than life and one of Malaysia's top celebrities.
Looking for more career mountains to climb, the 39-year-old star recently made his way to the director's seat to helm his first telemovie, which aired on the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
"During Ramadan, I did lots of filming for a selection of Aidilfitri programmes. But before that, I directed a telemovie titled 'Awak Terlalu Ganu Untuk Saya'.
"I already directed two works last year but this was my first time as a solo director of a project."
Zizan, whose full name is Mohd Razizan Abdul Razak, said his solo endeavour has taught him to look at all aspects of filming and to always have focus.
"I have to take everything into account since not everyone who gets into this can do it straight away.
"Thankfully, my team gave me a lot of encouragement. I also asked a lot of questions and chose my own 'shots', which were accepted.
"I learned all this in the process of becoming a better writer.
"You have to focus and, at the same time, you have to take care (of the project) as a whole.
"I had to be aware of the differences between telemovies, films, and drama series.
"There are many things I need to improve on. If there is an opportunity, I want to try again," he said.
The 'Polis Evo' and 'Abang Long Fadil' star added that taking on the role of actor, scriptwriter, and director all at once really challenged his abilities on set.
"It was tiring since I directed, acted, and wrote the script. Looking back, if someone else had directed this, I would have been able to delve deeper into the acting process.
"I noticed that I was thinking a lot about other things while I was acting.
"I'll see how viewers react to this (telemovie) first. I'll take any constructive criticism or even harsh comments and try to improve myself.
"For me, understanding is crucial since I'm coming to this from three aspects, which would give me a better handle on the work.
"I think there also needs to be an understanding between the artiste and the director to make a character successful."
Zizan, who was born in Dungun, Terengganu, shared that the storyline was based on his own experiences.
"It's about women who don't like men from Terengganu. I've been in love and there was a person who once told me she didn't like people from the east coast.
"I wrote this story based on that perception. If people say it's a sensitive issue, try watching it first.
"For me, I am trying to explain why this perception exists. If people are not good, they are just individuals and do not represent the whole state.
"I think this is a general perspective. Some people don't like people from other states as well.
"But because I'm from Terengganu, I used that (perception) in this story," he said.
'Awak Terlalu Ganu Untuk Saya' also features Riena Diana, Adrina Kamaruddin, Wanns Ahmad, Jihaa Sham, Hilmy Ashley and Addnan Saripudin.
