M. Nasir jokes he cast Aliff Aziz as he is 'Malaysia's second most handsome actor'

KUALA LUMPUR – Renowned composer Datuk M. Nasir joked that he cast singer Aliff Aziz as Sultan Mansur Shah in the musical theatre production Mansur & Liu because "he is the second most handsome actor in Malaysia".

"Why did I choose Aliff Aziz? Because he is the second most handsome actor in Malaysia," he said at a press conference for the production here today. (Quotes translated from Malay.)

M. Nasir said Aliff met the criteria sought for the role and was seen as a good match opposite Melinda Dadew, who plays Liu.

"If you ask why I chose Aliff, we have our own reasons. But if you look at their performance during the auditions, they really suited these roles," he said.

He added that Aliff's ability to both act and sing was among the main factors behind the casting.

"Many talented actors came to the audition but did not meet all the criteria, especially in singing.

"Casting has to be fussy, even though I am not that sort of person, otherwise we will regret it later. There will certainly be parties who are unhappy, but the one closest to the character we imagined is Aliff," he said.

A six-year ambition

Speaking about his first directorial outing in theatre, M. Nasir said he had long dreamed of staging the story of Mansur & Liu. The idea had been on his mind for six years, since he took part in an audiobook reading project of the tale written by Tun Sri Lanang.

"I like musical theatre, that is why I am doing this staging, and among all the Malay hikayat, I am most drawn to the story of Mansur & Liu.

"I had that ambition but it all disappeared when the Covid-19 pandemic came. However, when there were parties interested in producing a musical, the idea resurfaced and finally became a reality based on what I had envisioned," he said.

Mansur & Liu, produced by Icon Entertainment together with Roman Abadi, will be staged at Istana Budaya from 10 to 20 September.

Besides Aliff, the cast includes Melinda Dadew, Hazama, Fiza Thomas, Arena Wan, Sherry Alhadad and Ruzana Ibrahim.