24 Dec – Helmi Yusof, who just finished shooting his directorial debut, a road comedy called "Bikers Kental" in Thailand back in May this year, revealed that he had not expected to have a hard time communicating with the Thai residents, something that affected the filming process of his first movie. "It was tough. Initially the most challenging problem for us was having mechanical problems with our motorcycles along the journey from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi, but unfortunately we had to deal with the people in Thailand. We faced various miscommunications and they even scolded us many times while we were trying to get permission from them to shoot some scenes there," said Yusof. Budgeted at RM 1.7 million and produced by Astro Shaw Sdn Bhd, "Bikers Kental" stars popular local comedian Zizan Razak, rock singer-actor Awie, Zul Ariffin, Amerul Affendi, Bront Palarae, Harun Salim Bachik and Thai actresses Pornwipa Watcharakaroon and Julangtip Sukkasem. The biker-themed comedy is created based on director Yusof's own experiences, centring on Bidin Al Zaifa, an ambitious youngster who wants to own a powerful motorcycle and become a successful biker. He takes a long ride to Thailand with his Aprilia RSV4 together with his buddy Eddie and gang members. When Bidin reaches Thailand, he finds himself falling in love with a Thai girl named Saiya and decides to put his motorcycling dream aside for her. Unfortunately, things are not that simple for Bidin.
"I'm a biker in real life. So I'm trying to shoot something that I'm familiar with, something that is close to me. It's all about the exciting journey of the bikers to Thailand and we have actors like the talented Zizan, Awie who has been a biker off-screen for so many years and our veteran Harun Salim Bachik. It will be very interesting to watch," claimed the director. "Bikers Kental" is expected to see release in local cinemas next year.