Manjalara

No. of episodes: 75
Directed by: Khabir Bhatia
Year: 2007

Cast:
Emelda Rosmila as Manja / Lara
Jehan Miskin as Eskandar
Abby Abadi as Zaza
Sheila Rusly as Sahara
Jue Aziz as Ari
Ayu Raudhah as Farah
Faizal Yusop as Ryzal
Harun Hasheem as Karim / Rashid
Erry Putra as Joffry
Azhar Sulaiman as Kamarul
Rozita Chek Wan as Marissa

There is only one actress whom I've enjoyed watching throughout this entire lengthy series - she is Sheila Rusly. Everyone else in the cast was a good watch too.

This drama series is separated into two parts - the life of Manja and the life of Lara - who happens to be the same person actually. They may be the same person but a gap of three years has turned an innocent Manja into an outspoken Lara. At the end of the series, she only holds one name - Manjalara. Thus, the title chosen for this production.

Since it is an 75-episode series, I don't even know where to begin when it comes to sharing the synopsis. The conflicts are lots, the mini plots are confusing and there are just too much going on. You really have to watch for yourself to capture the whole story of Manjalara.

As for the characters, I have one word for Sahara (starred by Sheila Rusly) and it is 'WOW!' because I am truly amazed by Sheila Rusly. She acts as the cruel mother with lots of secrets hidden in her closet. She can be a gentle mother in the eyes of her children, a gang leader at the back alleys, a killer to those who walked into the skeleton in her closet and an extremely terrible wife.

So what is so amazing about that? Sheila Rusly not only pulled off the role really well, this series actually proves that she is one talented actress with lots of expression - you will not get bored of her. It's unlike certain actresses like Sammi Cheng who always has the same expression in every film she stars in. Sheila Rusly has what it takes to be a good actress and beyond. For that, I am adding her to my list of favourite-actresses.

As for the main actress, Emelda Rosmila, I heard that she purposely put on some weight to play the role of Manja. I admire that effort. However, she really doesn't have much to offer to me as an audience because her face expressions and gestures are always the same, I can recognise it when compared to her roles in other series such as 'Natasha'. Anyway, I think I like Manja more than Lara.

Also in the spotlight is Jehan Miskin starring as Eskandar. I don't really like his face feature, so won't comment on that. He too always has the same expression on his face when it comes to sad and happy scenes. I find his acting a little too boring to entertain.

So ya, I'm just going to keep this review short. Exploring each character and conflict would put you guys to sleep and destroy the charm of the drama series. So if it gets aired on TV again, go and catch it. It's worth watching because it is one of the best local brew ever! You can take my word for that.