7 Mar – In true Malaysian spirit, the voice actors behind the animation "Bola Kampung The Movie" might not be the person you expect to be behind-the-scenes. For starters, lead character Iwan, who is a little boy, is played by none other than singer Ezlynn, who was encouraged by her husband, Adam Fahmi, to try out the part when she was preparing for an album in the studio. "I was in the studio for my album! But Francis (Cobb) asked me to try out for Iwan and I actually got the part." Ezlynn added that playing Iwan had been a fun and educational experience, but the effort in keeping in character as a little boy was a tiring one as she slipped back into Ezlynn mode easily when she felt tired.
Her casting was not the only surprise. The Indian boy Kumar, is actually played by Meester Bones, who is Chinese while Baki Zainal, who initially wanted the challenge of playing a Chinese boy, had his wish come true, albeit not the way he thought. Baki auditioned to be a Chinese but ended up voice acting for Bengali boy, Santok. "My manager couldn't spot my voice at all even after watching the movie!" declared Baki. The voice cast turned out in full force to support "Bola Kampung The Movie" at the press preview. Among the celebrities spotted were Afdlin Shauki, Harris Alif, Aizat Amdan, Noh (Hujan) and Douglas Lim. "Bola Kampung The Movie" will be released nationwide on 21 March. The movie has also been confirmed to screen internationally in Indonesia, Cambodia and Russia. However, release dates for the other countries have yet to be announced.