FORMER national women's basketball team captain, Nur Izzati Yaacob, has given the thumbs up to versatile actress Fify Azmi for portraying her with gusto in 'Padu', the first biopic about the team.
Nur Izzati described Fify's portrayal of her as "spot on", and the action heroine, who starred in 'Wira', captured the essence of what the women's basketball trailblazer stood for.
'Padu' is the story of the country's women's basketball team, its pioneering players, their ups and downs in the sport, and their hard work, which culminated in winning gold at the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.
Izzati, 35, who represented the country in basketball when she was 15, said the cast and crew of 'Padu' were meticulous and talented, and watching the coming movie was like a "real journey to the past", which relived the women basketball players' triumphs, tragedies, hopes, fears, dreams and victories.
"'Padu' is an amazing film, with a story that can inspire and open moviegoers' eyes to the struggles of the national women's basketball team, which worked hard to bring glory and gold to the nation, and put Malaysian women's sports on the map," she said.
"Almost everything that is depicted in 'Padu' is true, and watching it has greatly moved me. Fify, in particular, did a stellar job stepping into my shoes, and I wish her all the best in her career."
Izzati was met at the recent press screening of 'Padu' at Dadi Cinema in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur shopping centre, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
'Padu', a movie based on real events, focuses on four main stars of the national women's basketball team: Izzati played by Fify, Pang Hui Pin or Mulan (Jojo Goh), Kalaimathi Rajintiran (Thanuja Ananthan) and the coach, Yoong Sze Yuin (Lim Mei Fen).
The film produced by Global Station began screening in cinemas on June 6.
It features the journey of the Harimau Malaysia team in the 2013 SEA Games, which was held in Myanmar, the 2014 SEABA Games in Semarang, Indonesia, and the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.
Besides the real-life characters, 'Padu' features several fictional characters to bring to life the struggles and sacrifices made by the basketball players and their coach to build up their national team and overcome all challenges that they faced.
Fify said playing Izzati was a challenging yet interesting task.
"For the first time, I am playing a basketball legend. It was a real challenge that required me to undergo three months of training in the sport."
"However, Izzati guided me all the way, and I was frequently in contact with her as a reference to improve my shortcomings.
"rom the bottom of my heart, I thank her for helping me portray her realistically, as well as helping me in terms of fitness and basketball skills," said Fify.
"This movie will be watched by basketball and sports enthusiasts around the country and beyond. Playing the main character, who is a real-life person, can be rather intimidating, but I am glad that I nailed it, and earned her praise."
Fify or Nur Afiqah Azmi, 34, is famous for playing the martial arts exponent Zain in 'Wira' in 2019.
The action movie was directed by Adrian Teh of 'Paskal' fame, with action hero and stuntman Hairul Azreen as the main star.
