Merah

Merah (transl. Red) is a 1996 Malaysian Malay-language romantic action film directed, co-written and composed by M. Nasir in his directorial debut and starring himself, Awie in the titular role and Ziana Zain.^[3]

Merah
Directed by	M. Nasir
Written by	M. Nasir Loloq [ms]
Produced by	M. Nasir
Starring	Awie Ziana Zain M. Nasir
Cinematography	Jamaluddin Maarif
Edited by	Dr. Deris Hashim King Jamaluddin
Production company	Luncai Emas [ms]
Distributed by	Skop Productions [ms][1]
Release date	19 December 1996 (1996-12-19)
Country	Malaysia
Language	Malay
Box office	MYR 1.5 million[2]

Cast

• Awie as Merah
• Ziana Zain as Kasih
• M. Nasir as Hassan
• Hani Mohsin as Salleh
• Jalaluddin Hassan as Kasih's father

Production

The film deviated from the norm by having a predominately male cast.^[4]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. Nasir and was released by BMG on 18 November 1996.^[5][6]

Release and reception

A charity screening of the film took place on 30 November 1997 at Tunku Syed Putra Hall, University Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang.^[7]

The film was well received.^[8] Reviewing the film at its premiere, a critic from The Malay Mail called the film "simply superb".^[5] A critic from The New Straits Times wrote that "Merah is an impressive directorial debut and an example of Malaysian film acting at its best". The critic criticised the supporting cast, uneven dialogue, and Ziana's undeveloped character and concluded that the film gives hope to the Malay film industry.^[9] A critic from Berita Minggu wrote that the film is full of suspense.^[10] Haliza Ahmad of The Malay Mail wrote that "Awie, Ziana put up a creditable show".^[11] The film was noted for having a different style of storytelling than other Malay films.^[12]

Accolades

Year	Event	Category	Recipient	Outcome	Ref.
1997	Anugerah Skrin [ms] by TV3	Best Film	M. Nasir	Won	[13]
	First East Asian Film and TV Festival (EAFTAB)	Pearl Awards	Merah	Shortlisted	[14]