Amidst this, I naturally went wiki-ing the late Tan Sri P Ramlee. I realised that I didn't know much about him. Sure I've seen a couple of his movies when I was reeeallly young, and have heard some of his songs over the years, and who could forget Sheila Majid's Lagenda tribute? But I'd wanted to know what was it that garnered him such recognition, a national icon?
His page was surprisingly sparse, but there was a reference to a documentary commissioned by History Channel a few years back, and again, thanks to Youtube, I found the 90-minute video (embedded below) which chronicled his life, the rise and fall. Yay!
Note: Full spoiler ahead :)
It was an interesting show, there were interview footage from earlier, and they also interviewed some people who were close to him (it looks like a number of them have also passed away since), such as the sister of his wife Saloma, his son Nasir, and other people in the industry. He'd lived in tough time, but he rose to the top of his game and was his studio's (Shaw Organisation) blue-eyed boy. Everything he touched turned into gold. He was a multi-talented entertainer: he wrote and directed screenplays, and he wrote hundreds of songs which were very popular at his times. His accomplishment and international recognition were well-deserved - his movies constantly won him regional awards.
Of course this made him enemies with the other more senior directors, and they ostracized him. Also because they had media clout, P Ramlee's news were practically blacked out. Still he persisted. Now I scantly remember what was the reason he left Singapore to come back to Malaysia (too much politicking that he couldn't handle, was it?) And that was the beginning of his downfall.
For whatever reason, he was rejected, ridiculed and scorned by his very own! They called him a has-been, they mocked his work, they unfairly criticized him. I really felt terrible for him. Still he soldiered on, trying to make do with the old equipment and untrained staff, which were a far cry from his endless budget, state-of-the-art and skilled workers environment back in Singapore. Everything he did was panned by the critics, and he never got back to the level he once held.
And it continued to go downhill from there. His music company severed ties with him, there were no new jobs that came in.. eventually he had to take up odd jobs to put food on his family's table. It was heartbreaking. I don't think I could ever know why his "friends" turned his back against him. Or why they were unaware of his plight (apparently he never sought help and kept his problems to himself).
I had thought that perhaps he was not a nice person, but everyone who was interviewed said that he was also generous to a fault, and he never knew how to say No. His sis-in-law said that people would often come up to him with sob stories, and he'd give every sen he had on him, to the disbelief of his wife. If such was this man, and I can imagine how some of his so-called "friends" sucking him dry.
His last days were desolate. He died a penniless man. Shaw Organisation never released the rights to his movies, so despite the thousands (millions?) that he's made for the studio, he earned nothing from there. But just as he had the chance to shine again (another famous actress from that era who was mentored by him, Sarimah, decided to let him direct her next movie. But before he had to chance to sign the contract the next day, he died suddenly of a heart attack, at 44 (so young!)..
His death shocked the nation, "and a sense of collective guilt began to spread nationwide, as prior to his death he had been discredited and rejected by his own nation,citing that he was a "has been" and that his songs and film were no longer marketable." (wiki) Most of his national recognition and titles came post-posthumously, and I echo the narrator who said that it was, "too little, too late". Sigh.
I was rather shaken and even teared watching the last bit of the documentary. I think it was the pains of the betrayal that got to me. And all those politicking that went about had him fighting uphill battles all the time. I still can feel the dull ache in my heart thinking about what he had gone through! :'( Maybe it was a different time, when men were too proud to talk about their problems and hence NOBODY thought to ask or help.
In his illustrous career spanning 20+ years, he had acted and directed in 66 films, and written about 360 songs, and his works had come to define the golden era of Malay silver screen. I might never come to a place to fully appreciate what he has done, but I know without a doubt that he's truly a national icon.
kaulah satu satunya di antara berjuta, insan teristimewa
patah tak tumbuh lagi, hilang belum berganti, kerana kau tersendiri
kau kebanggaan kita, kau budayawan bangsa
engkau lagenda
you're one in a million, a unique individual
you're irreplacable because you are one of a kind
you're our pride, you're the nation's humanist
you are legend
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