Movie adaptation of Jit Murad’s ‘Spilt Gravy On Rice’ to screen in Malaysian cinemas for the first time

The film adaptation of late Malaysian playwright Jit Murad’s Spilt Gravy On Rice is finally set to premiere in Malaysian cinemas this June, more than a decade after it was made.

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The Zahim Albakri-directed film – which began production in 2011 – was initially scheduled to premiere in 2013, but was unable to pass the Film Censorship Board’s (LPF) censorship approval due to “a number of issues which touched on religious matters”, The Star reports.

The film underwent multiple edits and remasters over the following seven years before finally receiving a PG-13 rating in March 2020. However, the film’s release was further delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdowns that followed.

Jit Murad’s death in February meant that the playwright and actor never got to see the adaptation on the big screen. It will finally premiere in Malaysian cinemas on June 9.

Zahim Albraki said in a statement to The Star: “The process of getting the film passed by LPF was long and frustrating at times but I cannot, in all honesty, put all the blame on the censorship process. The film was produced by my brother and myself and there were definitely mistakes we made during the process that added to the delay.”

The film – now titled Spilt Gravy Ke Mana Tumpahnya Kuah – has been edited to mute some dialogue, change a major plot point, blur out a hand gesture, and had its colours re-graded.

Spilt Gravy Ke Mana Tumpahnya Kuah is based on Murad’s theatre piece Spilt Gravy on Rice. The film follows a retired journalist, who learns he is dying, gathers his five children from five different women. The families come together to resolve long-lasting issues and discuss who inherits the family home.

Zahim Albraki noted that “the film is different from the play and some significant changes were made in the screen adaptation but the characters are [Murad’s] and so is most of the dialogue”.

He added that Murad wrote “a couple of new scenes for the film and one is particularly poignant in light of his passing”, calling the film’s release “bittersweet”.

Jit Murad died on February 12 at the age of 62 due to a cardiac arrest. He was best known as a playwright, actor and performing arts veteran in the Malaysian entertainment scene.

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