My good friend Ezaad, Mr Dollah Kassim’s son, had an idea.
Why not use the commentary found in my movie, Kallang Roar the movie, to play in his father’s ears to encourage him to wake up?
So we extracted the audio from our movie, and passed it to his mum in a disc.
Hopefully this helps even the slightest.
Mr Dollah Kassim fell into a coma, after experiencing a shortage of breath during a veteran’s game
the cause should be insufficient rest the day before,
but if you are a soccer player, you and I both know
the temptation for true football lovers is tremendous,
True to his love, he played even against better advice.
Prior to this Audio Idea, he was already showing signs of improvement.
Transferred from the ICU, he is now still in tan Tock Seng, but showing better signs.
His eyes are slightly opened as i saw him, he does not need breathing assist any longer,
and i believe he even sort of burped and moved his body a little when i saw him.
His wife and son are still cheering him on from the sidelines.
I was told by his wife, that people still visit him every day, just like the last time i visited him in ICU, and saw ezaad.
I can tell she is a very supportive person, just like what i see in Ezaad.
I told her not to worry. I told her what i remembered of him, coming on to my film set, helping me answer an interview
to try and lend a bit more of his star status to my small film. After he finished, he pat my back and smiled, like “no sweat, all for Kallang Roar.”,
which help me re-vitalize my determination in the darker days of filming.
Then there was that other day, he came and told me h observed that Rajagopal should be using his right leg. I told him, it was deliberate, because
in my movie, he injured his truly god’s gift – his left foot, and has to curb with returning to becoming a hero against his own physical condition, and
the over expectations of the public. Stuff like that. He nodded, gave me my little director’s worth of creative leeway, but did proceed to speak lengthly
to my actor Anwar Hadi,
who is portraying him. this I, really enjoyed, and thanked, for his wealth of experience, characterization.
Sometimes, i wonder if i let him down, cos i made his character more of the joker type, which the audience immediately loved Anwar’s oustanding performance for.
But that’s just my depiction, not everyone likes to be the comedian. The Dollah Kassim i met everyday, was a soft spoken type of nice guy. but nonetheless, his son,
told me that he really enjoyed the film. I know i can’t make everybody happy making a film, but i praised the skies, for at least making him happy.
So there he is now, that same man who helped me alot, who didn’t know me before.
For the cause of Kallang Roar, i still hoped that my movie was a blockbuster, if not simply, just to spread the good word, and tell everyone what
these guys have done.
Mr Dollah Kassim still has much to do. As I discuss with Ezaad, there are things that legends can pass down to the next generation.
For example, did you realize that we have a tradition of our Number 17 strikers with oustanding diving headers? Quah Kim Song 1977, Fandi Ahmad 1994.
What about our banana kicks, now i see Shaiful doing it. what about our defensive know hows, Samad is no doubt teaching his son.
Dollah Kassim’s Gelek.
Stand up Dollah Kassim. Plenty more people you can touch. Even if skills cannot be transferred, there is still heart.
Sincerely
Ding An
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