'Man in the mirror' spooky comedy
By Chew Wan Ying
Imagine you wake up in the morning, head to the bathroom, look into the mirror and see someone else.
This is what Bob, the protagonist in ntv7’s latest supernatural comedy Crossings, encounters every once in a while.
What’s worse, the reflections in the mirror belong to those who are dead.
From the TV station comes a brand new supernatural offering helmed by BMW Shorties’ The People's Choice Award winner Prakash Murugiah.
Zakizamani Osman, who dabbled in writing, directing and producing, makes his acting debut as Bob Boroi, someone whom you would usually label as loser.
In the advertising agency where he works as a copywriter, he is teased, taunted and taken advantage of by his colleagues, while outside the office, his life does not seem to be getting anywhere either.
All this is changed one day when Bob gets into a freak accident. He wakes up to find himself with the ability to see dead people – in his reflection in the mirror, that is.
These spirits come to Bob with one purpose – to fulfill their last wishes before they can rest in peace.
Sounds like a terrible ordeal for Bob? But the guy is not alone. He finds an ally in his new colleague Katie (Dira Abu Zahar), a tomboyish filmmaker. Later, they are joined by Danny (Hansen Lee), a geek who is obsessed with inventing spirit-detecting devices.
Together the trio embarks on an adventure that sees them encountering new mysterious character in every episode.
The 13-episode series boasts a “1Malaysia cast”, as how Prakash put it.
True enough, apart from series staples like Nina Sharil Khan, Xavier Fong and Ruzana Ibrahim, local personalities like Alan Yun, Yvonne Sim (the winner of FHM Girl Next Door contest), Prem of FlyFM, Craig Fong, Indy Nadarajah, Ako Mustapha, Chew Kin Wah, James Lim, Julia Ziegler and Mustapha Kamal take turns to guest-star in Crossings.
The cast and crew of Crossings: (From left) director Prakash Murugiah, Rusana Ibrahim, Xavier Fong, Zakizamani Osman, Dira Abu Zahar, Nina Sharil Khan and Hansen Lee
While there would be no vampires - yet - (sorry to disappoint you Twi-hards), the director, who also produces the show, promises to introduce a string of interesting paranormal characters that are not just limited to our local folk legends.
Since it was a series about ghosts, we wonder whether the cast and crew have any paranormal encounter during filming.
"We were in an Orang Asli (aboriginal people) village in Sungkai. There’s this beautiful river where we hung out and lit bonfire. It was 12.30am and I was alone, when I saw lights on the river and it seemed to get closer."
"Then I found out that it was just the Orang Asli hunting for toads,”"said Zaki.
For the first-time actor, it is not hard to relate to his character, due to his background in advertising.
"Sometimes, while working behind the desk, you tend to wonder, ‘Is that it?’"
"However, you don’t have to be a superhero to be a hero, as long as you have the drive to go on. If you are determined and strive for what you want, you can make something out of it," he said.
Apart from Zaki, Xavier Fong steals the scene as Anthony, the flamboyant office drama queen who would not let go of any chance to make fun of Bob.
"I’m actually straight,”"clarified the stage actor, causing those present to break out in laughter.
"Here I play a softie, a metrosexual. I prepare for my role by looking at my friends who are like that. For your information, I’m from a performing school and most of the guys from the dance department are like that. So I take it from there and improvise a little bit," he explained.
Sounds easy? Not quite, according to Fong.
"It’s a challenge to get the wardrobe for the character - we had to go around to look for those colourful clothes."
Equally eye-catching is Ruzana Ibrahim, who plays Brenda the office beauty.
"Brenda always takes advantage of Bob to get her ways in the office, because she knows Bob has a major crush on her," said the stage actress/musician about her role.
Crossings will be shown on ntv7 every Friday at 8.30pm starting from Oct 1. To watch episodes you have missed, visit www.ntv7.com.my and www.tonton.com.my.
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