He’s Thalaiva, not a fighter
Indian film deity Rajinikanth descended from the heavens and materialised in Malaysia to film his 159th movie, ‘Kabali’ – and the entire country went bonkers. Thalaiva’s every twitch, quiver and wobble during the 3 weeks he walked on water here triggered pandemonium everywhere he went, with even non-fans collapsing into hysterical fits when granted selfie requests. A phenomenon lost on no one was the complete dissipation of the apocalyptic, seemingly-solid haze – which had been smothering Malaysians without respite for two months – moments after Rajinikanth’s magical arrival. Romba nandri, Thalaiva!
A Danish best served cold
A-list celeb Nora Danish and man-about-town boyfriend Nedim Nazri (son of Tourism and Culture Minister, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz), caused a sensation when they abruptly took the LRT to Taman Splitsville Jaya. The power couple, whose 2-year romance was lavishly documented on Instagram, disappeared from social media without warning, before Nora tentatively resurfaced to curtly inform her 1.6 million online stalkers that her relationship with Nedim had ended “due to the interference of a third party”. Ooooh!
Pity Siti
After initially playing coy, Siti Nurhaliza (owner of music in Malaysia), confirmed that she was preggers with her first child in November – and promptly broke local portions of the Internet. But less than a month later, the songbird was singing the bluest of the Blues, announcing to her 4 million social media devotees that she had suffered a miscarriage. Determined to add insult to injury, a small but vocal group of zoo-escapee baboons proclaimed that Siti’s tragic loss was ‘divine retribution’ for her involvement in the entertainment industry (and for wearing makeup, taking selfies and being affectionate with her husband in public). It’ a pity that the mothers of fetal online trolls and vitriolic religionists don’t miscarry at epidemic levels.
Message in a battle
Unheard-of Instagrammer Vii Narza was suddenly slapped by the limelight when an innocent comment she made was horribly misconstrued by too-quick-on-the-draw actress and reality star Fazura. Misinterpreting Vii’s mention of “KimK” (a reference to that ubiquitous, elephantine-assed Armenian narcissist) as a Malay profanity, Fazura went ‘full retard’ and unthinkingly savaged Vii to within an inch of her life. The confrontation went on for days – during which Fazura bled 200,000 Instagram followers, while Vii’s camp ballooned from a measly 300 to a staggering 26,000.
Not to be outdone, legend-in-his-own-mind Azwan Ali went ‘nasty honey badger’ on one of his Twitter followers – the obscure Nur Azira Wazir Azman – when he misinterpreted her suggestion of a dining venue (‘Me’nate’) as a slur against him. D-lister has-been Azwan proceeded to spray Nur Azira with metal-corroding profanity – and not only refused to apologise when the matter was clarified, but doubled-down with an utterly-unhinged, filthy rant. Watching from the sidelines was the proprietor of Me’nate – a chef who once cooked for Queen Elizabeth II – who invited the shell-shocked Nur Azira and her family to dine at his establishment, where he treated them to a meal worth RM4,700, on the house. Chew on that, Azwan.
Having her cake and eating it too
Former swag-owning singer, TV host and actress-turned controversial PAS member Abby Abadi pronounced on Instagram that Secret Recipe’s Gua Musang outlet was non-halal because members of its kitchen staff are non-Muslim. Having hastily ordered cakes for her daughters’ double birthday party, she vowed never to patronise the outlet again, and advised other Muslims to do the same. Instead of support, ‘Dear Abby’ was hit in the face with a pie of derision by her followers, and charges of racism. The ‘cherry on top’ was Abby’s bizarre serving of said Secret Recipe cakes at the birthday party – as was amply documented in her Instagram account.
Lower the curtain: entertainers who bowed out this year
Veteran actress Mariani, 82, from colon cancer. She was the elder sister of Puan Sri Saloma, legendary actress and wife of Tan Sri P Ramlee (with whom she co-starred in many classic films).
Actor, singer and comedian Yus Jambu, 39, from a suspected heart attack. He was champion of the first-ever Raja Lawak Astro, and his film credits include this year’s ‘Cicak Man 3’.
TV host, actress and model Tiffany Leong, 30, from liver cancer.
Comedian, actor and singer Harun Salim Bachik, 56, of a suspected heart attack. He was best known for his role in the 1990s TV3 series ‘Rumah Kedai’ and as ‘Mohd Salleh’ in Astro CERIA’s ‘Oh My English’.
Legendary lyricist and entertainment news editor Mama Juwie, 62, from prostate cancer. The Singaporean blazed a trail in Malaysian entertainment journalism, and penned songs for some of the biggest acts of the 1980s and 1990s.
Veteran Singaporean actress, Momo Latif, 92, of complications from hypertension.
Veteran actor Karim Latiff, 78, from lung cancer.
Pioneering film producer and actress Julie Dahlan, 63, from diabetes. Her producing credits include “Driving School” and “Terakhir Cinta Metropolitan”.