It’s not enough to just have a marriage in a film — “Long Long Time Ago 2” features an interracial wedding between Ah Hee (played by Benjamin Tan) and Rani (Bharathi Rani), complete with Chinese and Indian ceremonies to boot. Although there were only hints of attraction in the first installment, their relationship becomes one of the central plot lines of this film.
The film explores both families’ reactions to the marriage, with concerns about the integration of cultures. Set in the 70s, attitudes were more conservative then, although the characters show remarkable open-mindedness in their acceptance of the relationship.
The pair were present at a press conference for “Long Long Time Ago 2” yesterday (24 March). When asked if they would consider interracial relationships, they unanimously agreed.
“If people of different races can be friends, then why not?” said Bharathi Rani. Parental concerns were also not an issue, as Benjamin Tan said “My parents would be OK, they’re quite liberal.”
Surprisingly, both Benjamin Tan and Bharathi Rani preferred the other culture’s wedding scenes in the film.
Bahrathi Rani
“Long Long Time Ago 2” is the 28-year-old actress’ first foray into non-Tamil productions. She’s no stranger to Vasantham viewers, having entered the industry since she was 17. Jack Neo called her “the Ah Jie of the Indian channel,” and they enjoy a good working relationship.
“Because he cannot sleep, he makes us all work,” joked the actress about director Jack Neo.
Bahrathi Rani plays Rani, a government official who helps Zhao Di out when her brother Ah Kun gets into trouble in the first film, and a much larger role as Ah Hee’s love interest in “Long Long Time Ago 2.”
Fireworks a real danger in the 70s
One of the conflicts on the show arises from a mishap with fireworks. Wang Lei, who plays Zhao Di’s father, said in Mandarin that a lot of people didn’t understand the dangers of fireworks in the 70s.
“They can be very inaccurate, which is why they added a tail to the end of the fireworks to help it fly better. The house next to [my childhood home] caught fire because of a misfired firework.”
Genuine slaps in the film
“Long Long Time Ago 2” sees Ah Kun (played by Mark Lee) flying into a rage and slapping his niece and nephew one after another in one of the scenes. “The slaps were real,” said Mark Lee in Mandarin.
The veteran actor was worried about accidentally hitting the ear when slapping them, as he knew that it would cause a ringing in the ears and possible loss of hearing.
“We did over ten takes for this scene. My worry was avoiding the ear, because there were two consecutive slaps [that I had to aim for].”
Long Long Time Ago 3, 4, and more?
Chief content officer of MM2 Entertainment, Ng Say Yong, said that they had planned for four installments for “Long Long Time Ago,” but production of part 3 and 4 would have to depend on the box office results of the first two films.
Jack Neo was visibly excited when he said that there were still many more stories they could explore from 1978 to 2016 if they managed to do a third and fourth installment.
“I hope we get to do this for the next generation.”
“Long Long Time Ago 2” opens in cinemas 31 March, 2016 (Thursday), with special sneak previews over this weekend.
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