12 Jun – Actor-director Namewee has started filming his latest movie titled "Banglasia", which will include a multinational cast from Malaysia, Singapore and Bangladesh. The new action comedy is produced by Fred Chong who is noted for "Nasi Lemak 2.0", "Hantu Gangster" and "Kara King". Yesterday, Executive Producer Fred Chong introduced the line-up of local and foreign talents, which include Nirab (Bangladeshi star), Saiful Apek (Malaysian star). Atikah Suhaime (Singaporean actress), Dato David Arumugam (veteran singer) and Lao Zha Bor (Singapore comedy actress). According to Nirab, the reason that he accepted the offer to star in "Banglasia" was because he has seen some of Namewee's work and is very touched that Namewee flew all the way to Bangladesh to meet him. "This will be Nirab's international film debut and he will be speaking Malay with the help of a Bengali translator," said Fred Chong.
When asked about the title of the film, Fred hurriedly explained, "The title of the film may sound very crude and racist, but we flew to Bangladesh to carry out our research beforehand, and we have been given the green light. As such, we are not trying to create any racial stereotyping or hate with the title "Banglasia", because the people there do use the word "bangla", so we hope that Malaysians do not jump to conclusions and take it out of context," said Namewee. Along with Nirab, it will be Singaporean actress Atikah Suhaime's first time starring in an action comedy film. The actress is currently signed under the Malaysian production company Metrowealth. "Banglasia" will be Namewee's first fully action-packed movie. Currently, all details about the movie are kept under wraps but it has already undergone a month's worth of filming in various districts of Kuala Lumpur. The film is expected to be released during 2014's Chinese New Year.