As we previously revealed last week, Malaysian songstress Shila Amzah has been cast to voice Princess Jasmine in the Malay-dubbed of Disney’s upcoming live-action feature “Aladdin”.
Apart from voicing the character, Shila will also be singing all the music in the film including a new song called “Speechless”, known as “Raungan Suara” in the Malay version.
Furthermore, Shila will also team up with AJL-winning singer Hael Husaini to sing the Malay version of the classic “Aladdin” tune, “A Whole New World”, known as “Dunia Baru”. The 2 songs will be released on Spotify and other music platforms on 24th May.
Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” will be the first foreign live action film to be released widely in the cinemas in Malay language alongside the English version. Both versions will be available in cinemas from 23rd May 2019 onwards.
“Princess Jasmine is a character of courage and self-determination, which are qualities that Shila Amzah embodies. The Walt Disney Company continually strives to collaborate with talented local artistes to bring relevant quality entertainment to audiences in Malaysia,” Said Tom Batchelor, Vice President of Studio, Live Entertainment and Music (South Asia).
Before Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” is released in nationwide cinemas on 23rd May 2019, Hype Malaysia managed to have a quick chat with multi-award winning songstress Shila Amzah on her experience in voicing Jasmine and dubbing for the first time.
Always wanted to act
Shila Amzah has been singing her whole life, but she has always wanted to act. However, the right opportunity never knocked on her door – until Disney came along and offered her the role of Princess Jasmine.
“I am so proud and honoured to be given this role. It is a dream come true to be a part of the Disney family, to be part of ‘Aladdin’. This is my first time dubbing, so I really didn’t expect that I would get the role.”
Apart from Shila, other Malay voice cast on the movie include Vince Chong as Genie, Nabil Zamanhuri as Aladdin, Yazid Asril as Jafar, Fadhli B Mohd Rawi as Sultan and Aby Zarina Ahmad Roslan as Dalia.
Absolutely love musical
The singer revealed that the reason she doesn’t really act is because she found the roles that were offered to her unsuitable. However, when she was offered to play the role of Jasmine – even though it’s only voice acting, she immediately said yes due to 2 reasons; it’s Disney and she has always dreamt of doing a musical.
“I always wanted to do musicals because it’s something that’s close to my soul. So when I got the job, and knew that I get to sing all of the songs in ‘Aladdin’, I’m already so happy. My family was ecstatic as well because they know that I love these sort of things.”
“This is a new challenge for me, something new in my career. So I hope that it will be accepted by everyone and I welcome and accept all criticism.”
Dubbing for the first time
According to Shila, the recording process took around 5 to 6 days. The 28-year-old singer started by recording all the songs first before going to the dialogue. “I record the singing part first because it’s something that I’m used to but it did took me around 3 days to record the singing part while the acting was done in 2 days.”
Shila had a few acting roles in the past. She was the lead star of Astro’s telemovie “Patah Seribu” in 2012, and she had a guest role in Hunan’s “Roco Kingdom: Magic School Season 1” in 2014.
Comparing her previous acting roles with voice acting, Shila said that the two jobs are difficult in their own way. “Acting in front of camera and in studio is totally different. For me, voice-acting is really hard because you really have to sync with the character on screen.”
Would have named her baby Jasmine
After getting pregnant, Shila thought that her career would slow down a bit and she wouldn’t be getting any job during this period, but she thought wrong. “Alhamdullillah, maybe it’s the baby’s rezeki (good fortune), I’ve been getting offer after offer including the role of Princess Jasmine.”
Furthermore, when Shila found out about her role, it was back in March. At that time, she still didn’t know the gender of her baby, so she was planning on naming her baby Jasmine if it was a girl. “But turns out, it’s a boy. But I don’t plan on naming him Aladdin though. Jasmine is still acceptable, not Aladdin.”
Favourite song, “Speechless”
Playing the role of Princess Jasmine, Shila admitted that she was a bit bias when she was asked of her favourite song from “Aladdin” soundtrack. Though she noted that all of the songs in the movie are classics including the official theme song “A Whole New World”, her favourite would definitely be “Speechless”, not only because it’s a new song but also because she can relate to the song.
“I think Jasmine is similar to me in certain areas like she is quite strict, she wants to be heard and she loves to voice out her opinions. So, ‘Speechless’ is a song about voicing out your opinion and wanting people to hear you. It’s like a female empowerment kind of song about a woman who just wants to be herself.”
Shila also mentioned that “Speechless” which is known as “Raungan Suara” in the Malay version is one of the hardest songs she ever sang, especially since she needed to record it while being pregnant and the song needs a lot of energy since there are plenty of high notes. Shila recorded a total of 6 songs; 3 versions of “Speechless” and 3 versions of “A Whole New World”. We can’t wait to hear them all 😉
