Pulang is about a man who left his poor village life to work on merchant ships, traveling the world. His wife waits for his promised return. For 61 years.
Pulang is about my grandfather.
#PulangTheMovie
It all started with a with a story my dad told me...
There he said he was going to work on a ship leaving that night.
He promised to return.
But he never did.
So in June 1966, a week after arriving in London, my father went to Liverpool and found his father after an absence of nearly 20’years.
They hugged.
Like whut??? But my dad didn’t want to argue in that first meeting. So he didn’t pursue.
But when my father said “Mak masih tunggu Abah”, my grandad was visibly shocked.
My grandfather looked up and straightaway knew. “Anak aku!”
And after nearly 20 years, they hugged.
Anyway, after they met in 1966, something tragic happened.
And all these years, nobody really talked about it.
Then in 2008, I decided to find out the truth.
I went to Liverpool.
And in my search I found incredible stories of Malay sailors especially in the writings of Zaharah Othman.
They were something else I tell you.
Zaharah tells the story of one ‘Pakcik Hamid Carpenter’ whose ship was struck by a German U-Boat. As he was in hanging on to a plank in the sea...
One became a mayor. One became an actor. One bicycled to the UK.
As I searched some more I came across this amazing paper written by a Dr. Tim Bunnell...
Are. You. Kidding. Me.
I ignored the fact that I was on the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour bus and Paul’s house was right in front of me.
I emailed Dr. Bunnell. And I found the truth.
But after the whole adventure, I reflected on what a great story this is. Multi-generation. The mystery. The wait. The anguish. The love story between my grandparents.
I started writing.
Then we got in Kabir Bhatia. Who in turn turned those words on paper into a piece of art.
We had a great ensemble of actors.
Thanks for listening. Hope you’ll go see the movie.
No matter what adventures life take you on, it all means nothing if you don’t have family to come home to.
The music score to #PulangTheMovie by @AubreySuwito . I put the entire soundtrack on as I was about to sleep the other night. Couldn’t sleep! Too moving. Too many memories. Well done Aubrey!