4th Asia Film Pacific Festival in Tokyo (1957)
Best Male Actor-P Ramlee and Best Child Actor-Tony Castello
ANAK-KU SAZALI produced in 1956 is a famous melodrama film that sees the multi-talented actor P Ramlee taking on the unique dual roles as the father, Hassan and the son, Sazali. He triumphantly emerged as the Best Male Actor winner and Tony Castello, as the Best Child Actor winner in the 4th Asian Pacific Film Festival. The movie, directed by Phani Majumdar tells a story about a father’s extreme love for his son.
Hassan is an orphan who works for a rich family who has two children, Mansor and Mahani. As Hassan developed a passion for music, he saved whatever he earned to buy a violin and learn music from a violin teacher.
When all of them reaches adulthood, Mansor was sent to Singapore to study while Mahani was to be married to her father’s choice. Hassan and Mahani who are in love with each other, decides to flee to Singapore knowing that their union will never be approved by Mahani’s parents. In Singapore, with Mansor’s consent, Hassan and Mahani marries. Unfortunately, she died while giving birth to a boy, whom was named Sazali. By then, Hassan have already made a name for himself as a well-known violinist and as a composer.
As he adores his son, Hassan starts to overly pamper him until Sazali grew up to be a liar and ill-mannered. Committing various crimes have also turned him to be the leader of a notorious group of gangsters, making him one of the police’s most wanted men.
In the course of an unsuccessful armed robbery one night, Sazali is wounded and hunted by the police. Whilst he seeks refuge in his father’s house, an urgent dilemma arises. Will Hassan’s unconditional love for Sazali blind his sense of justice and protect his son as he usually does or will he now do his duty and hand his beloved son over to the authorities?
“Bapak yang bersalah dalam soal ini!” - dialogue by P Ramlee Special interview with Silver Screen legend Zaiton