KUCHING: Sarawak’s first Hollywood epic film ‘Rajah’ not only tells the true story of the first White Rajah of Sarawak, Sir James Brooke’s adventure in the state, but it also showcases the state’s beauty and uniqueness.
Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the movie, which is fully filmed in Sarawak, will make many more people to be curious about the state.
“We do hope that all these locations being used as the shooting sites will arouse movie lovers’ interest in Sarawak as a very beautiful place as depicted in the movie,” he told reporters after visiting the filming set at the Siniawan Old Town yesterday.
The heritage sight of Siniawan is one of the shooting locations for the film, where the Hollywood production house has built props of Brooke’s house across the river, his palace, audience hall, the mosque of Prince Bedruddin and a Malay village.
Despite the heavy downpour, Karim took the opportunity to ride on a boat to the other side of the old town to see the filming set. There he met the main cast of the film.
“What fascinates me the most is the way the structure of the building was built. They (production house) had done their research and made it so detailed that it looks exactly what it was like in the Brooke’s era,” he exclaimed.
Karim said besides Siniawan, other locations selected for the shooting include Fairy Cave, Wind Cave, Santubong, Camp Permai and Kuching (Borneo 744).
“Rest assured this will be the best film ever. When it hits the cinema, we hope it will be become a box office movie, too,” he said, adding that his ministry will do its best to promote the movie.
Meanwhile, Rajah film producer Rob Allyn said Sarawak is a beautiful place and indeed is a ‘natural studio’ for shooting films.
“I was originally planning to film it in countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand with their big film infrastructure. But Jason Brooke (a descendant of James Brooke) contacted me and asked me to consider filming it in Sarawak,” he said.
Rob was amazed by the beauty of Sarawak, but he could foresee the challenges the crews would face as they had to extend filming duration due to Kuching’s wet weather.
“But overall, whatever challenges that we have, the people of Sarawak have been so welcoming, excellent and efficient, from the Sarawak government, to the tourism players to the local cast. We manage to overcome them all,” he said.
Jason Brooke, met at the set, said he had seen a couple of cuts and found them interesting.
“It is going to be a very good film. Besides, the places we saw for the shoots are simply authentic, beautiful and magical.
“The whole filming is made here and I am very excited about that,” Jason said.
Among the main cast of the film are Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers who plays Sir James Brooke, with English actor Dominic Monaghan as Colonel Arthur Crookshank (Brooke’s cousin and comrade-in-arms).
The Malaysian actors Bront Palarae, Shahezy Sam and Rahim Razali will also be playing major roles in the movie.
Also featured are Sarawakians Peter John and Kahar Jimi.
‘Rajah’ is supported by the Sarawak Tourism Board and Film In Malaysia Incentive’s rebate on Qualifying Malaysian Production Expenditure.
It is expected to finish filming in time for the Cannes Film Festival in May 2020 before its worldwide release in the middle of next year.
