PETALING JAYA, Aug 22 — Hantu Kak Limah director Mamat Khalid says the film’s success at the box office has taken him by surprise even though it was catered for a wide genre of moviegoers.

The award-winning director said he expected the latest instalment to be a hit, but had not expected it to be Malaysia’s top grossing film of all time with RM20.5 million (as of Monday) in just 11 days since its release, —– RM2 million clear of Abang Long Fadil 2 which held the top spot for two years.

“I expected it to be a hit, maybe collecting RM9 million at most, definitely not RM20 million.

“It was planned and suited for the masses which I have never done before and true enough it achieved what I wanted it to. This movie is a collective effort done by the professionals and to see it grow into a ground-breaking dimension is superb,” the 55-year-old said.

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The Ipoh-born was having Nasi Vanggey in his hometown with his wife and close friends when he received news that his movie reached the top of the charts two days ago.  

“The producer (Gayatri Su-Lin) called me up to break the good news, and I just kept on asking her whether it was real or a prank.

“I couldn’t believe it.”

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In less than two weeks, the latest extension of his Kampung Pisang series has broke four records.

On its opening day, the comedy-horror flick raked in RM1.8 million while on August 13 it amassed RM9 million.

The film also hit RM13.6 million after only a week on the big screen.

These achievements have led to several parties asking Mamat whether he would continue or end the series here, but he said fans could most likely expect another one in two years.

“The people are asking me for a continuation of the saga, and maybe there will be one in two years’ time… just maybe.”

When asked whether the success of this film will limit him to sticking to this genre, the director simply said “no”.

“I have a few films in the pipeline with different  and I hope that the audience will understand that I have a lot more to offer artistically,” he told Malay Mail via a phone interview yesterday.

Mamat won Best Director at the Anugerah Skrin 2001 for his Pinang Durian series while he picked up the same award at the 21st Malaysian Film Festival in 2008 with Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang.

Hantu Kak Limah stars Awie, Zul Ariffin, Uqasha Senrose and Deliomawati and is being shown across 146 cinemas nationwide.