One of the leading and established actresses in Malaysia's film industry who is often praised by critics and audiences for her astounding acting skills, remarkable performance and versatility in portraying various roles is none other than Maya Karin. Propelled to wider fame through her role as a banshee in 2004's "Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam" for which she won several awards for the film, Maya currently holds the record for the actress with the most nominations in the Best Actress Award category and the youngest actress to have won the award twice in the history of the Malaysia Film Festival. Maya's most recent project is her involvement in the third installment of "Lagenda Budak Setan"; "Lagenda Budak Setan 3: Kasyah Lagenda Berakhir" where she plays Katerina. During the recent launch of her film at Red Box Ria Sogo, Kuala Lumpur, Cinema Online managed to meet up with the beautiful actress and digged up deets regarding her film, her latest projects and activities. Your latest film "Lagenda Budak Setan 3" will be in cinemas this September. Can you give us a bit of insight regarding your role in the film? I play the role of the hero's love interest, Katerina, and it was not easy. The role really challenged my credibility as an actress. I used a lot of emotions and feelings to play this role since there are quite a number of sentimental and emotional scenes where you need to cry a lot. Well, this because the storyline this time is a bit more dramatic and it involves a lot of conflict between the protagonists. I cry in almost every scene whether I'm angry, disappointed or sad, I shed tears all the time. So the role is really heavy and tiring. Can you tell us more on the focus of your upcoming film, "Lagenda Budak Setan 3"? The film is actually the third sequel of the "Lagenda Budak Setan" franchise and will also be the last. Due to the fact that the series is about to come to an end, the storyline is a bit more complex than the previous two. The story involves three different couples; Kasyah and Katerina, Hisyam and Sofean, as well as Zahirah and Shan. The three pair undergo different route of stories but at the end of the film we discover that their stories are interrelated.
Recently, there was a showcase of SuperMokh theater performance and it was discovered that you will be involved in it as well. However, previously you stressed that you refuse to participate in this particular theatrical performance, what is your comment on this? Yes, I admit that I once pulled out from the SuperMokh performance because I felt that I was unable to give my best on stage. The burden I have is just too heavy and I don't want to disappoint everyone. However, my actions were protested by the KRU production and they strictly requested for me to resume on stage. Even the producer, Hans Isaac tried to talk me into it, he asked me to come back saying that no one else can take my role. But the most touching part is when the musical director, Michael Veerapan called me personally and begged me to return. So, in order not to disappoint everyone, I decided to take the offer again with an open heart. But why did you suddenly decide to return to SuperMokh, were you offered anything extravagant? Honestly, it is not about money. I don't want to disappoint others and I did place a few requests so that the schedule for the theater performance will go smoothly because I want to give my very best performance to the audience. First of all, I requested for a slot for me to practice my dancing skills. Previously in my stage performance, I was unable to do so, all I did was singing and acting. Other than that, I also requested for the practice to be more organized so that more time can be use for me to appreciate and be at one with my role in the play as Datin Tengku Zarina. Tell us a bit about your preparation for this coming Aidilfitri. Where do you plan to celebrate it? Unfortunately, for this year's Aidilfitri, I will not be able to celebrate it with my Malaysian fans and friends because I will depart to London a few days before the occasion to celebrate it with my father and siblings that live there. The celebrations over there are no less different from here because quite a number of Malaysians reside there too. I don't have any family members or boyfriend in Malaysia, so every time I complete my project or work in Malaysia I would go back to London. You can say that I travel from Malaysia to London and London to Malaysia quite frequently. Before we end this conversation, is there anything you would like to say to your fans? I want to thank my fans for supporting me throughout my career, regardless of singing or acting. I hope all of you are anticipating my upcoming film, "Lagenda Budak Setan 3" and I hope that this film will be a success through the support given by all of the fans. Stay tuned for my upcoming 'Raya' single that will be out soon too!