Inseparable pain as twins
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Inseparable pain as twins

Interview held during the gala premiere of "2 Hati 1 Jiwa" on 13 January 2010 at Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) Tropicana City Mall, Damansara.


Fouziah Gous and Yasmin Hani.

What were the challenges faced whilst filming "2 Hati 1 Jiwa"?
Fouziah: The keyword here is pain. Whatever Yasmin and I did looked easy as we entered a car, lied down, and did everything together, when in fact it was difficult. Only God knows the pain I felt. This is the first film that after the first day of shooting, when the screws were off and we're separated, I got into the car and cried all the way home. The pain was horrible. You can't see it, but inside our clothes, there was fibre. It was hard and it could've pierced our bodies. While in pain, I had to maintain a cheery disposition and act childish as Lana. Another problem was going to the bathroom with Hani (laughs). The special effects take at least four hours to put on and producer Mr. Latif told me they cost RM 3000 a day!
Yasmin: Every pain was brought forward during the 25 days of shooting. Sleeping for eight hours was considered a luxury as in the first few hours we would be tossing and turning as it was so uncomfortable. Waking up was so painful and uncomfortable, what more with Fouziah stuck to me. I had to put myself in Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie's shoes and ask myself, "What would they do if they had the role?" I imagined myself as them and put on that attitude.

Fouziah, what preparations did you do for the role?
For our preparation, we researched online about Ladan dan Laleh. This film is inspired by their story and we learnt form the story, studied their lives, and that was one of our preparations. We also flew to Bangkok for all the special effects stuff.

Were you guys somehow required to interact with real-life conjoined twins?
Fouziah: We only researched on the story of Ladan and Laleh and had a lot of practice in moving together. Not that we didn't want to spend time with real twins, there was just no time. Yasmin was always busy with her hosting jobs and I had shooting and other things. It was too bad we couldn't find real Siamese twins.
Yasmin: So, we watched YouTube.
Fouziah: (laughs) Yes, YouTube.


The two stars during the gala premiere at GSC Tropicana City Mall.

Lana (Fouziah) and Lina (Yasmin).

Any memorable moments on set?
Fouziah: Everything! (laughs)
Yasmin: The one thing that really touched me was the letter writing scene. Every time we cried, it was for real because we just felt the love of these two sisters. I imagined my real sister. You know, an operation where one of us can die or both of us can die. It was like an awakening for me.
Fouziah: One thing that I remembered was during the filming of the burial scene. Imagine being stuck in the ground for more than half an hour in the sun and coincidentally, there was an actual funeral going on, where people were reading from the Yassin. Imagine being in the ground and hearing that, scary.

Weren't you afraid during that scene?
Fouziah: Of course, but what could I do? I couldn't just go home because I was scared. I mean, I had to bring her (Yasmin) back too if I did that.
Yasmin: Yes. She would have to drag me! (laughs)
Fouziah: (laughs)

Being stuck together constantly, were there any odd habits discovered of each other?
Fouziah: Not really because we were always in character. We couldn't see each other's habits because when on set, she was my sister.
Yasmin: Our habits never came out.
Fouziah: It just was not possible.

If you two were really Siamese twins, would you consider undergoing surgery to separate yourselves?
Yasmin: If I was in that case, for surgery where we didn't share organs like a liver, brain, or heart, then I think I would. I would.
Fouziah: It's very tough for me to answer because there are so many bittersweet moments and I don't think I fully understand the life of twins. I could slightly understand through this film even though it wasn't real but I could empathise especially with Hani, when we went to the toilet or did anything together. So having been separated, what happens when you die? I'm a little scared because even Ladan and Laleh didn't make it and when I'm like this, I just feel like I love my sister and parents so much.
Yasmin: But as you can see all over the world, being stuck like that, you would want to be separated. You don't want to be different, like too different when you see someone else, you want that life too. It depends. If you love your sibling, you'll stay that way until old age. There are some who never even marry.
Fouziah: When you want to be separated because you're in pain, you definitely want to be separated.

How do you feel after seeing the end product?
Yasmin: I am happy and I hope everyone likes our performance. Through this film, I hope people will appreciating the disabled community more and don't ignore them. Please watch this movie and feel it from the heart.

Any upcoming projects?
Fouziah: I've completed two films last month, "Ratu" dan "Rasuk". I've also finished "Naomi", where I play a busy body character and am currently shooting "Penunggu Gunung Raya" with director Kabir Bhatia, a 13-episode drama on the Suram slot. Insyaallah, there'll be another film coming up. I am also busy with my own beauty line.

OK, thanks guys and all the best!
Fouziah & Yasmin: Thank you.

Click HERE, for more pictures.

"2 Hati 1 Jiwa" will be in cinemas beginning 28 January 2010!

 


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