By Meor Shariman
IN the 1980s, the rallying cry "Malaysia Boleh" took the nation by storm.
It was a slogan spurring Malaysians to excel in whatever they put their minds to. And they have.
They have trekked across the South Pole, sailed solo around the world, reached the peak of Mount Everest and launched into outer space. But that's not all. Some don't just try to break any record, they want to create one at the box office.
First-time film producer Datuk Dr Che Rozmey Che Din is one of them.
He recently announced that his film, 2 Alam, about a transvestite who commits suicide, would collect RM40 million at the box office. Many were heartened, although a little sceptical, with his lofty ambition.
But then, he went overboard with his publicity campaign and became an object of ridicule.
Through daily advertorials in a newspaper, Rozmey made preposterous announcements.
Among them were claims that 30 million Malaysians have sworn to watch 2 Alam when it opens in cineplexes, that the film will be shown in all 700 screens in the country, and the most ludicrous -- that cinema operators would postpone the release of Hollywood blockbuster Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 to make way for 2 Alam.
Rozmey's promotional team marketed the film using the "Ddr way" -- by marketing Rozmey instead of the film or its actors.
The film's posters feature not the stars, Aaron Aziz and Suhaillah Salam, but Rozmey. He also went on a solo promotional tour signing autographs and taking photos with fans. And he continued to make absurd claims in his advertorials and on his Facebook page.
When the media criticised the film as "trash and a waste of time and money", he announced that there was a conspiracy by entertainment reporters to see him fail. He refused to hold a press preview and arrogantly said that he did not need the media to succeed.
Read more: More misses than hits for '2 Alam' http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/34alam/Article/#ixzz16Wt6sRUy
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