PETALING JAYA, March 12 — Despite being slammed by the public, television drama producer Datuk A. Aida stands by her statement that actors must be beautiful and handsome if they are taking on lead roles.
Aida, 49 told Harian Metro that such standards have long been entrenched in the industry, based on her 20-years experience in producing TV dramas.
The Andainya Takdir producer, whose real name is Zaidah Awang also criticised fans and those who were not familiar with the ways of the industry, saying they were only good at criticising.
“Dramas have many genres. So are the types of programmes available in our country. My previous statement at DFKL (Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur) was about searching for talent to be featured in dramas while looking for the hero and heroine.
“Who wants to watch a drama if the lead actor is not beautiful or handsome? It’s a must to have good looks for a drama.
“From there, we can polish their talents, it’s not a matter of pushing them aside completely. Those who continued criticising are only good at talking.
“I’ll give an example, if a programme is looking for comedians, then no matter what you look like, I’ll accept you if you have the talent because that’s what’s required,” she told the Malay language portal.
Following her statement at the recent DFKL 2019 audition, Aida has been copping flak from artistes and the public.
She added that it was important to know what audiences want.
“I have enough experience in this field. I know what TV stations want and they make decisions based on what their viewers request. We should accept the fact. Stop blaming one party alone. This isn’t something new in our country’s drama productions,” she said.
In the interview with Harian Metro, Aida added that she wasn’t the sort who likes to give aspiring talents false hope and that it was better to be honest.
“I’ll tell them straight up that they don’t have the looks but have the talent so they can try their hands at being an extra first. If there are opportunities, they can perhaps go far,” said Aida.
She also said her fellow producers agreed with her stance.
“When I talk about this, people perceive me as mean. When my statement was misinterpreted, they disagree. This is because they too, share by opinion,” she said.
