This Movie Is Malaysia's Answer To 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'... But Not In The Way You Think
Less kinky sex, more romance.
By Samantha Khor — 28 Aug 2015, 06:06 PM
Were you disappointed that you never got to see 'Fifty Shades of Grey' in Malaysian theatres?
Don't despair! Local production 'Girlfriend Kontrak' is almost the same thing.... in the sense that the lead male is a carbon copy of dominant billionaire Christian Grey and the leading lady an allusion to the naive Anastasia Steele.
Obviously, the movie is gonna be a lot less about erotic relations and sexual exploration...
... To focus on the fireflies (we'll get to that in a bit) as well as the romantic side of things so that anyone can watch it without being scandalised
The plot follows village girl Alisa (played by Nur Risteena Munim of 'Playboy Itu Suami Aku' fame) who agreed to be a "contractual girlfriend" to millionaire Umar (Keith Foo) as part of her mission to save some fireflies from being decimated
He does fencing (the fancy man's sport), and owns a private plane and helicopter and everything!
Why are the fireflies in danger, you ask? You see, Umar's company is launching a pretty controversial development project in Alisa's village... hence the need for someone to champion the fireflies' rights.
Adding to the drama, Umar is also having some problems with his equally powerful dad and future stepbrother Zain, who is trying to bring him to ruin for some reason or other. Talk about a dysfunctional family.
So, how did the connection with 'Fifty Shades of Grey' come about? Well, Australian director Virgin Kennedy did admit that she was inspired to write "a milder version" of the erotic hit novel after seeing how much of a hit it was in the US.
At the movie's press conference yesterday, she shared with Cinema Online, "I was in L.A. at the time and everyone was reading 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and so I thought, 'How would you write something like that but in a milder version?'"
cinema.com.my'Girlfriend Kontrak' will be shown in selected Malaysian cinemas on from 24 September 2015. We're pretty sure the censorship board has already given them the a-okay! ;)
The movie stars Keith Foo and Nur Risteena Munim alongside Bront Palarae, Azad Jasmin, and Fara Fauzana.