Allahyarham Yasmin Ahmad

I have never met Yasmin Ahmad. And unfortunately I've never had the privilege of knowing her personally. But I'm a huge fan of all her TV commercials and movies. She touches my heart in the few minutes of short stories about love, life and respect in the commercials aired usually prior to festivals in the past few years. Strange how she can make me feel & cry in less than 2 minutes.

And don't get me started on her movies. Yasmin had that gift of seeing differently. Her movies are honest and true, so much so that all her work attracted controversies from the powers that be. Scenes were cut, some parts were banned and debated on. Her film Muallaf never reached the screens in Malaysia. But, kudos to her, she persisted on. She didn't live with a front so she would get public's approval. Yasmin was a story-teller who told simple, real stories about people, relationships, love and life. She was honest, without all the pretence and hypocrisies - and she touched so many hearts, mine included. 

The closest I got to Yasmin Ahmad was when I left a message in her blog yasminthestoryteller last year. I told her that I was in awe of her talent and she responded to my message simply by saying: Allah is generous beyond comprehension. How true..

Last night Yasmin was called to her Maker and we, as a nation has lost a remarkable person who had that rare gift of making people laugh, cry and think, all at the same time. Al-Fatihah..

It's strange how you can be so affected by the death of someone you don't even  know and have never met. But I feel so, so sad today. 

Please watch the clip below. It's to remind people that we are all "beautifully imperfect". It's one of her work in Singapore.

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=Nw0s4C0g5SM