I PROMISED the editor I would not write about the movie Adiwiraku, yet here I am, about to launch into a 700-word write-up about the movie. But, I can assure you it will be different from all the other reviews and articles you’ve read about it to date.

As many of you might know (or not), Adiwiraku was based on true events that happened throughout my three years as a teacher in a government school. The movie was shot entirely in the school I used to teach and 90% of the cast are my former pupils. Sangeeta Krishnasamy plays my character and Xavier Fong plays the other teacher who assists her to bring this story to life. There were lots of good things about the movie, from its message to the wonderful student actors and personally, I was excited about a movie-centred on a school and teachers!

On the opening night, the cast, crew and I were invited to a few screenings and answer questions from fellow moviegoers. I was looking forward to the reaction of the public and anticipated questions on my involvement in the movie, perhaps even if I got paid to share my story (I didn’t).

After a few rounds of questions, one person stood up to ask if there was romance between the female lead character and the male lead in the movie. It was a harmless question, but I was disappointed.

The following week, I read even more reviews of people wanting a little romance in the movie. One even suggested that the female teacher’s lack of interest in men might be an indication that she’s a lesbian. While I strongly believe that relationships and romance are extremely important, do we really need to see romance in all movies?

Adiwiraku is one of those rare movies where the female lead has no love interest. I can assure you that the only “love” in the movie is the one between the teachers and their pupils. Adiwiraku was made to send a message that there are thousands of teachers all over Malaysia working hard to bring changes in the classroom.

The teachers in Adiwiraku do not drive fancy cars or wear expensive clothes and are not shown to be looking for romance. Instead, all they are searching for is a way to reach out to their pupils and to lead them on a different life trajectory.

Perhaps we are conditioned to believe that lead characters in movies (especially if they are female) need to have a companion or a love interest to get by? Perhaps female leads are so rare in Malaysian movies that we need to question why a teacher has no love interest and subsequently question her sexual orientmation.

I don’t know the answers but I do know that in this age and time, we should get used to seeing more female leads in and out of the movie screens. 

Our universities, schools, government bodies and the private sector are seeing more women in managerial roles and positions. We’ve seen many Malaysian women shatter the glass ceiling to be the first women to lead in their industries. In whatever role or capacity, we are not short of women making waves and creating history. Inspirational women are everywhere around us, so why not as a female lead in a movie?

One of the best things about Adiwiraku (and partly why I agreed to the movie) was the fact that both the female and the male lead characters did not wait around for things to change or for a superhero to come and save them and their pupils.

She got up every day to do it herself. For me, that was a perfect representation of teachers in Malaysia. Through the changing policies, administration, processes and new syllabuses, they are showing up every day in the classroom to continue teaching in hopes of a better Malaysia.

While Adiwiraku highlights the struggles of pupils in rural schools, it also shows how they work hard to stay in school, to support their families and to defy the odds to become their own heroes. Now tell me, what’s a better love story than that? – March 31, 2017.

* Cheryl Ann Fernando used to write for The Malaysian Insider and waited all this while to start writing again. She believes in free and quality education for all Malaysians and welcomes bouquets and brickbats at [email protected]

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.