SINGAPORE - With close to 17 million views and about 70,000 subscribers, the self-described “founding prince and princess” of Singapore’s YouTube scene — the very funny Maimunah Bagharib, aka Munah, 25, and Hirzi Zulkiflie, 24 — are definitely a comedic force to be reckoned with, thanks to the hilarious videos they put up on their channel, MunahHirziOfficial (MHO).

And they’ll talk the ears off an elephant if you let them. Here’s what happened when we put the two of them in a room with a recorder and pressed the little red button.

Q: The inspiration for one of the first MHO videos was a French movie about dares. Tell me more.

MUNAH: Well, we were watching Love Me If You Dare. It’s a French Movie. I don’t know what they call it in French.

HIRZI: Jeux d’enfants … I learnt French better than Munah.

MUNAH: Yeah, he did. He got a better grade. Anyway, that movie, what happened was the lead characters were daring ...

HIRZI: Marion Cotillard.

MUNAH: And who?

HIRZI: I only liked the female actress so that doesn’t matter.

MUNAH: Yeah, so the characters were daring each other to do crazy things. And then Hirzi and I thought “Maybe we should do that”. Because we do that on a normal basis, even school, without the camera, we do stupid things for fun - annoy people.

HIRZI: It was like watching ourselves on screen. It really spoke to us. We were like, “Wow – like this thing they have is what we do anyway”. So eventually the premise of the show structured the game but it was naturally part of who we were anyway. So that’s how Love Me If You Dare became an inspiration to 10 Dares. Oh (referring to mobile phone), it’s Guillaume Canet.

MUNAH: That’s the lead actor, if you want to know. So yeah, and then 10 Dares started.

Q: This was while you were still in polytechnic?

HIRZI: This was right after poly.

MUNAH: We were just finishing.

HIRZI: Just graduated.

MUNAH: We had ugly hair and I was wearing these ugly shades. We thought it was so cool.

HIRZI: We had ugly faces. The funny thing about it is that we assume we are good-looking now.

MUNAH: I know right?

Q: In one of the first videos, you were wearing sunglasses doing your dare.

MUNAH: Yeah.

Q: Were you embarrassed?

MUNAH: No, no, no.

HIRZI: We thought that was cool. We thought, “wow, we should wear shades”.

MUNAH: You mean, you don’t think it’s cool? Okay.

HIRZI: Note to self: Don’t wear shades.

MUNAH: But anyway, when we first shot 10 Dares and we uploaded it on YouTube, it was just meant to be shared among friends. We didn’t realise that other people were watching it as well. And when people started watching, they were asking for more and they really liked it. And we thought “Hey, okay ... This could be something.”

HIRZI: So it eventually became Episode 2. And when you name something Episode 2, people naturally expect Episode 3, 4, 5... And then it never did stop.

Q: So how many hits did you get initially?

HIRZI: The first video had 700 to 7,000 over a span of three or four months. We were like “Woah! This is going places.”

MUNAH: We were like, “People are watching it?”

Q: Was this when you thought “Wow, we’re going to be YouTube stars”? Or was it a later video?

MUNAH: It never hit us that this is a YouTube star thing.

HIRZI: Okay, the most amazing thing about our channel is that ... you see, the YouTube scene in Singapore boomed in 2011. That’s when a lot of kids started YouTubing on their own. By then, the concept of YouTubing around the world was already established. For them when they experienced overnight success, they must have had an amazing feeling. For us, throughout the years, it has always been gradual. We started at a time when YouTubing wasn’t even a thing then. It was only known to the top YouTubers today like RyanHiga. So it was still a small thing around the world then. We got on that wave pretty early. Through the years, it went by, it was very gradual. We did not feel it was an overnight success. It was super gradual.

I think the turning point was when we hit 10,000 subscribers by 2012. That was the fourth year already. That was when we were like “Oh okay”. And then this year, from 10,000 to 70,000. That is probably a stark increase but that is because the YouTubing scene generally boomed in Singapore. Can I give statistics from my producing class? Asia, especially Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, is where you have the highest use of social media. So if you are starting on that hype right now, it’s an amazing time for people with personalities who don’t mind showcasing it. It’s time to step up and show who you are.

Q: Okay, Sex Appeal and Jokes. Is it like Pride And Prejudice where it de each of you, or both of you?

HIRZI: It names each of us. So clearly she’s the sex appeal and I’m the joke. But Sex Appeal and Jokes started at a time when 10 Dares had been going on for 10 episodes already. And people said that you guys just have situational humour and slapstick-ish. There is really no written witty humour about you guys. And that’s when we thought and stopped to think: “Okay, they don’t think we can do written stuff, let’s come up with written stuff”. So the first S&J episode was on the flood. And this was because of a friend requested it. He thought I couldn’t do a video based on anything. I said, “I dare you. Give me a video and I’ll make it”. And he said, “Do it about the flood” and I did. That had a lot of hype. That went to 30,000 hits. That was the highest views we’d seen on our channel. And we were like “Wow”. I think it was cohesive with what Singapore was going through at that moment. 2011 and 2012 was a period when there were a lot of things that went on the news like the flood, the Bedok Reservoir (murder) cases; and it just went on and on and we rode on that hype. And we provided that entertainment-cum-news aspect for the public. In that sense, when people request for videos it feels like almost they’re saying: “You know what, we’re going to complain to you. You’re going to make a video about that and we’re going to be okay. Once we laugh about it, we’re going to be okay. We don’t even have to complain to the MPs.”

MUNAH: So it was nice. It was something that we just tried because of what people said but then the reaction we got from our viewers were pretty good. Because they were coming to us now, they were sending us messages saying “I am angry about this … Make a video about it.” So it became an interactive kind of relationship.

Q: I read that you described your show as ‘entertainment with a social cause’?

HIRZI: Sometimes.

Q: So is that the driving force behind your videos?

HIRZI: I think ideally our content is generally what has been said anyways. So, for example, people give us a topic, we will actually do research on our own: What are people generally saying about it. All we are doing is peppering it with satire, skits and comedy. In a programme that is bite-sized, something people can relieve stress in five minutes. So to say that we’re doing it for a social cause comes across very pretentious and we don’t want that … I think it comes along with whatever we’re doing. So with doing that, covering issues, naturally it would pick up a social cause message. But to represent flags, like we are going to do this for you all and be all Gandhi about it, I don’t think we are ever like that at all.

MUNAH: Yeah. For our videos, we always include issues and things that are happening, so people can relate to it. Because people want to know about it as well. It’s not really like we’re doing it for a social cause. It just comes along with it.

HIRZI: I think the most important thing is that we must feel about the topic as well. If it’s something that we’re not fully feeling or passionate about, then we won’t really do it. People don’t really know this but considering the amount of stuff that goes online from us, we actually do self-censor a lot. Like we’ll go through filters with each other: “Do you think this is offensive?”

MUNAH: “Do you think this is too much?”

Q: Really?

HIRZI: We do.

MUNAH: There is a point in time where you can go all the way to the limit but there’s always a point where you can’t say certain things just to upset people.

Q: So did you have this in mind when you did the Seng Han Thong one?

HIRZI: Oh no. That one came from a very passionate position from us. It was a time when a lot of issues were coming up and that incident came out and it was organic. That’s as much as I can say… Organic.

MUNAH: That’s the word.

Q: So was there any blowback from that?

HIRZI: Oh no, there was no blowback from that. I think the situation was what it was and it provided good comedy for the Malay community that felt the heat from it. They laughed about it. They appreciated that there was someone representing their voices.

MUNAH: I mean what we like to do is we take something that’s so serious and inject some comedy into it. You can’t take everything so seriously. You have to laugh at your mistakes and your whatever that happens. And that’s what we’re trying to do.

HIRZI: My motto is hang around people who want to laugh and hang around people who can laugh at themselves. Because we do that all the time with ourselves. We laugh and joke about ourselves all the time. To the point it doesn’t become funny anymore.

HIRZI: This is not funny anymore.

MUNAH: It’s actually real. But you know what I mean. Laughter is really, really the best medicine and it’s an easier way to go through something, you know, if you have a positive outlook through it.

Q: So why do you guys always like to feature foreign workers?

HIRZI: Oh my gosh! I love foreign workers.

MUNAH: Because they are the core of our country.

HIRZI: I think they are so under-represented in a lot of media. And the truth is they have such positive energy. I love it when I see foreign workers having a good day off on a Sunday. When I see them enjoying dancing on the street in front of Takashimaya or when see them parked in front of Little India with their...

MUNAH: Picnic baskets ...

HIRZI: You know, prata and stuff like that. And these are the people who are so “cohesive” with what our branding is, which is “live your life and be fun and have fun”. And the fact that they are always under-represented, we always want to pepper in because first of all, you don’t see them a lot in mainstream media. And it’s always a nice refreshing break for our audiences, the local audience especially to see them take part. A lot of times, locals would stay away but it is the foreigners that actually join us in these gags and stuff and it’s always fun.

MUNAH: And I think it really nice, the relationship we’ve built with them, like when we get them to do stupid things. They’re so sporting. They’re like “Okay, we can do it”. And then sometimes I ask one of them to kiss Hirzi and then the other will say “I also want to do, I also want to do”.

HIRZI: Yeah.

MUNAH: They’re so into it. And they always want to have fun. So I think that it’s a really nice culture that they have. Yeah, we love them.

Q: So five years… Could you describe one major hill and one major valley? Each of you.

HIRZI: Her valley would be obvious la. And the hill … (sings) the hills are alive…

MUNAH: I think for us the hill would be just that, you know, our YouTube fans…

HIRZI: Actually by hill you mean what, ah?

Q: The highs.

MUNAH: Means like the good la.

HIRZI: Oh, the high.

MUNAH: I had to think about it, you know. Hill means good. Okay. That’s why I take very long to answer that.

HIRZI: Because it would tiring to climb the hill. And then the valley… It’s more fun to go down.

MUNAH: Exactly. For us, the valley is the good one, okay? No la, for us, the hill is: We started YouTube not wanting or not thinking that it would be anything but it has evolved into a brand and we get a lot of people noticing us and wanting to work with us so we get clients or we get people in the industry who want to collaborate with us. And I think that really helps us. It just opens up a lot of doors for the both of us, because we do like to be in the performing industry and things like that. So that’s one hill for me. It opened up a lot of doors for us.

HIRZI: I think, picking up on what she said, I think one of the most amazing things is that nobody in this country yet has had a friendship as a branding. I think it is so refreshing, so interesting …. because every time you say Munah you got to finish it off with a Hirzi and every time someone sees me, they’ll be “MunahHirzi”. I’m like, “No, my name is Hirzi”.

MUNAH: “Are you MunahHirzi?” I’m like, “Uh, yeah”.

HIRZI: It is interesting. And somehow a lot of the industry people have actually utilised this friendship. 2012 would actually be my hill. Because we had a TV show, we had a stage show and that was really like, people we really capitalising on our friendship a lot. And even recently, we did First XI as a pair, and I tell myself “It’s never work when you’re doing work with your main bestie”. Yeah, so it’s never work when you’re doing it with your best friend. How is it ever work. It’s just you having a fun time. Really, really.

MUNAH: Mm.

HIRZI: If you put me in an office-hour setting with her, it’s still not work.

MUNAH: I think, yeah, that’s true. Because if you do it with someone else that you don’t know, then you keep this like ...

HIRZI: We have each other’s back to the death. Like if she wants to take a five-minute nap, I’ll be covering her work for her; her phone calls. I’ll be like “Girlfriend is taking a break. Can you chill? Thank you”.

MUNAH: Valley, ah?

HIRZI: Oh, the valley. We don’t really quite have a…

MUNAH: Or maybe we choose to erase the valley.

Q: Okay, so I understand there was some blowback from the Malay community?

MUNAH: Oh, that valley.

HIRZI: I think we chose to forget that. Well, yeah. I think to identify that period in our lives. It was a milestone. It was a learning milestone. And from that we learnt that comedy is actually a very hard language. Not everybody understands it. Just because you think it’s funny and your tribe of 70,000 subscribers thinks it’s funny. It resonates differently with different people. How you choose to deal with it is up to you. You could choose to lash back and be fiery about it like how a lot of people are with social media, or you could just keep quiet about it, accept it, reshape your art, rework your craft and approach things differently.

MUNAH: Yeah, yeah.

Q: So is that part of the self-censorship that you’ve done?

HIRZI: Oh we’ve been self-censoring from before. But from that episode, we realised we need to actually consider a little bit more.

MUNAH: Yeah, we see now the number of people who are watching us, who have their eyes on us. Yeah, I guess, we live and we learn.

HIRZI: I think the confusion from that period, that episode came about (because) people saw us, people saw our race and our association with the community versus seeing us as individuals. From the get-go we have never raised the flag saying ‘we want to represent this and that community’. We have never waved the flag and said ‘we are your spokesperson’. We’ve just been Munah and Hirzi. That’s what we’ve been. That’s what our channel’s been. That will never change. I think a lot of people saw us as a representation of successes of young Malay kids. And so whatever value that comes with us, they start to evaluate and validate: “Is this a part of us?”; “Can we reject them?”. And so, that’s the main confusion. I feel that if they see us separate then they would realise, “Okay, la. How are they related to me? Why should I feel this passionately about them?”. Also, it’s a YouTube video. You have to click it to watch it. If you don’t click it, you won’t be seeing it.

MUNAH: Yeah, so the easiest thing is if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. You can pause and then click another video.

HIRZI: Or you can click on a recommended link.

Q: So you’re experiencing greater success now, with higher viewership and you’re being roped in to do endorsements. So has this been a big boost to your bank accounts?

MUNAH: It’s something that helps. (Laughter)

HIRZI: Pays the bills.

MUNAH: It’s good, you know, that we have people coming onboard to work with us, to collaborate with us. It’s not really ‘endorse, endorse’. It’s stuff that they want to collaborate on our channel.

HIRZI: I think to us, money aside, which helps pays the bills, what’s the most impactful to me is that these brands believe in our branding. And these companies believe in our capability and our outreach. And that is what touches us. There is so much noise in social media right now. From YouTuber A to YouTuber Z, the fact that you chose Munah and Hirzi, we feel truly honoured and truly touched. I think each YouTuber in Singapore has their own branding and their own niche. And so do we. We’re working on forever sticking to our guts.

MUNAH: And a lot of times a lot of them come to us saying that they can relate to our branding and they really believe that we will bring them further. And it’s just nice when they say “Okay, this is our idea. But I don’t want to touch on the way you are produce the video the way you are”.

HIRZI: “I want you. I want you.”

MUNAH: So it’s nice that they appreciate us for the way we are and our content.

HIRZI: Sometimes we ask them what do you want to do for this video and then they’ll be like, “No, just do whatever you do”.

MUNAH: And sometimes they don’t want to give anything and they’re like, “We don’t give you anything in case it jeopardises whatever you are”. And we’re like, “No, give us ideas”.

HIRZI: “Okay, can. Let’s try.”

MUNAH: So it’s nice that they really, really appreciate the kind of content that we produce and things like that. Yeah.

Q: Okay, so how did you guys celebrate the five-year milestone?

HIRZI: I was at home.

Q: Was it crazy?

MUNAH: I also was at home.

HIRZI: The truth is there was a planning of sorts and everything was pretty much going in place but when I realised, “Hold it. I’m in my senior year. And it’s not getting funny”. When the workload started catching up on us, and FLY engages us in a lot of jobs as well, and there’s the weekly uploads, I just realised, woah, we cannot manage this thing. And if we do put it up, it would come across so half-a**, I don’t know how you are going to change that on paper.

MUNAH: Not up to standard.

HIRZI: Not up to our standard. And we don’t want that, we want the best for our audience. So until my workload subsides, what we celebrated was actually a virtual celebration. So we had this meme video submission, where fans could submit their videos and meme wishes for us.

MUNAH: And they are amazing. There are so many things they come up with. Like I wouldn’t even think of it.

HIRZI: Did you see the cute girl?

MUNAH: Yeah. They’re really, really cute. It’s just really, really nice.

Q: Which cute girl is this?

HIRZI: She did a video. She and her sisters did this video and so what they did was they took our videos and then they did voiceovers for us. There’s this one part the eight-year-old girl went: “Eventhough (inaudible celebrity’s name) is sexy-mexy mmmdap, we still watch Munah and Hirzi.”

MUNAH: And they’re like tiny little girls.

HIRZI: And she had a toothache.

MUNAH: But it’s cute. Apart from that, we had so many submissions. You could see they took time. They were so sincere and they took time to create it and upload it for us. It was really nice.

HIRZI: And what we did, during the week, was we continuously communicated with them on Twitter and had video uploads and then just reminisced certain things and just gave them certain facts of our first video, if they never really knew. That was how we celebrated virtually but in terms of a proper celebration, we’re looking forward to the day my workload subsides. So professors from Chapman University… yo, what’s good? Give your boy some break, yo.

MUNAH: But yeah, we’re definitely planning something for our followers because they really like make our passion into something great. Yeah.

HIRZI: Until further notice.

Q: So while Hirzi is studying, what are you up to?

MUNAH: At this moment, I’m working on a production (coming out) at the end of the year, which I am very, very excited for. So it’s by Teater Ekamatra. I’ve been dying to work with them. It’s like my dream.

HIRZI: It’s her dream because it was written by Alfian Sa’at.

MUNAH: Yes. It’s the whole team of Ekamatra because, honestly, I had a chance to work with them but because of school, although school is good, I was very busy. And I was very, very upset that I had to miss that chance. So it came back again and I told them, you know what, I’ll do anything for it. And so I’m starting rehearsals already … I can show you the poster.

HIRZI: We’re very arts this end of this year. Because I got to work with Boo Junfeng … He’s a Singapore darling film-maker and has a Singapore Biennale piece and that was so much work on. I worked with Ilo Ilo starlet Yeo Yann Yann as well. That was so much fun. It’s a piece he did: How he envisioned it would be if Singapore never separated from Malaysia so it’s a music video of a song that was composed in 1963. It was actually composed in 1963 for the merger but never got out. And his installation is a karaoke setting with the music video, so you can sing along. It’s already open so do come. Boo Junfeng. Singapore Biennale 2013. It’s running for four months until February. We’re very art house this end of the year.

MUNAH: Yeah, we’re very art house. So you have to come and watch.

Q: So your play is coming ... when?

MUNAH: It’s going to be at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, Dec 18 to 22. Tickets are out on Sistic. It’s in Malay but there are surtitles and things like that so you’ll understand.

HIRZI: In film, it’s called subtitles. In theatre, it’s called surtitles.

Q: So you’re heading to the United States soon right?

HIRZI: Yes.

Q: When will that be?

HIRZI: That will be in end-May, early June. Next year. Why? You want to sponsor, ah? Please la, sponsor.

Q: This is part of the Chapman University curriculum?

HIRZI: It is part of the Chapman curriculum. After you graduate, you get to do an internship in Hollywood or anywhere in the States as long as it’s media-related. So I’m quite excited for that. I just spoke to my senior who just came back from his internship. We were just chatting about the options. It looks pretty exciting. I hope I get something great.

Q: If you find something more permanent there, would you stay on?

HIRZI: I would go. I would go.

Q: And leave her?

HIRZI: Yes. Bye, b****.

MUNAH: I’d probably surprise him. Like “I’m here”.

HIRZI: But I always ask her like “What if I find something good, you want to come along?” “Yeah, I’ll come along.” “What about us?” I’m the emotional sensitive new-age guy in this friendship. I’ll be like (fake crying) “What about us? What are we going to do about us?” And she is just like, “It’s okay. You just do what’s best for you.” So sweet, right?

MUNAH: I mean like a lot of people have asked us, you know when Hirzi goes to the States for six months… is it?

HIRZI: Thereabouts. (whispers) Forever.

MUNAH: So what’s going to happen to our channel? We actually already planned it out - the year.

HIRZI: We actually have videos covered from January to December. We are out to production (this November) to shoot for the months of January to May. So that’s how efficient MunahHirzi is. We’re always six months in advance. Every single video you see, it’s from a month ago or six months in advance unless it’s something of a current issue. Usually we have advanced (ones).

MUNAH: Because our schedules are so packed.

HIRZI: People don’t know how hardworking we are.

MUNAH: Yeah, we are. But yeah, we do plan to go on. It’s just we’ll see how things how go next year. It’s still a long time more.

HIRZI: It’s going to be a different format. Next year, we are going to be our own station of sorts, our own network, our own channel. It feels like that.

MUNAH: It’s what we want to achieve next year.

HIRZI: Each month will have a different kind of programming - from narrative to mock reality shows. It’s all out in our programming schedule already in our…

MUNAH: In our plan.

HIRZI: In our programming schedule. It’s going to be fun.

Q: So you’re reconstructing MHO. And this had included bringing on new cast-mates. So when you say MHO now, do you mean all of you?

HIRZI: Munah&Hirzi started out as a brand of just the two of us. And it is the branding of the friendship that really sells and really works. So throughout the years, we’ve included friends who were immediate and direct to us like, you know, Nadiah and Hubab. They were fun to have on set and they’ve always been a nice break from the two of us. Like, you know, how you watch TV sometimes, you see Actor A all the way? To see Actor B is such a nice break and such a nice breather. So they’ve been very generous with their schedules this year and a little bit of last year as well. Right now, their schedules looks a little bit more packed with their own jobs.

Q: Nadiah is on Mata Mata, right?

HIRZI: Yeah. So the truth is, we’ve always been very guerilla about our shootings, so anytime anyone can make it. Join us onboard. But I would say Munah&Hirzi is … Ideally, when you think about the word Munah&Hirzi, you think about a friendship. You don’t see the people. You don’t care who the faces are, but you know it’s a friendship. So even when you see a Hubab and a Nadiah and us, you know what kind of friendship it is. It’s literally like watching Friends but it’s Asian. Munah is Rachel. I am Ross and Monica. Nadiah is Phoebe and Hubab is Joey. We’re just missing a Chandler.

Q: You’ve mentioned many times that you guys value studies. And you even gave up the chance to go to Streamy Awards because of it. So who inculcated this value into you – this value of education?

MUNAH: I think, for me, it’s just something I did on my own. My parents don’t pressure us because I don’t think that’s the way either. I appreciate them for doing that but it was since I left primary school … and then I started to see the importance of education, where it can take you and things like that.

HIRZI: You are looking at the top student in her O-Levels in secondary school. In Temasek Secondary.

MUNAH: I was in Sec 5 so I was top for N-Levels and O-Levels for my cohort.

HIRZI: Yes. You’re looking at someone on the Dean’s List from Temasek Poly. You are looking at a scholar. And NUS graduate.

Q: Which scholarship?

MUNAH: I didn’t take the scholarship. It was for NTU but NTU is far, lah.

HIRZI: Last time no car, you know. Have to take train from Tampines to Clementi. So a lot of people, when they see us on YouTube, they see these fools and these goons doing the stuff but they actually don’t know how much emphasis we have on education.

MUNAH: Yeah, I guess it’s just in-built.

HIRZI: I think education, for me, it came for my parents. I saw how my father and mother working had to be working parents. And we went through hardship at such a young age. So I always valued that I need to respect them and give back to them because we literally came from nothing to where we are today which is a lot more comfortable and a lot more convenient. I saw how hard my father worked and I said to myself, I have to give him back something. And getting the first diploma of my family and now being the first in college for my family, it is a sense of me giving back almost to my family. So that’s important to me. That I give something back to my parents. And the most amazing thing is right now, last time they used to be so strict… You know how parents are in secondary school, “Have you done your homework?”, and stuff like that. But now that they know me, they know how passionate I am about my own thing, it has become a part of me already. They are not even worried … They are very supportive parents especially for my education.

Q: So you’ve done YouTube, stand up and TV.

HIRZI: Feature film next please.

Q: And theatre as well, right?

MUNAH: Yes.

Q: Will you always keep your YouTube roots?

M&HIRZI: Oh yes.

MUNAH: For sure. I mean it’s something that we did out of, for fun. We grew with it.

HIRZI: It’s our baby.

MUNAH: Yeah, it’s our baby and we’ve changed so much according to it and it has changed according to us. So it is something that is just in us, so I don’t think it will ever go away.

Q: Do you think Singaporeans are funny and spontaneous?

MUNAH: Now just a bit more. We do weird things but…

HIRZI: I think Singapore has its own branding of humour. We don’t know it but we mask it as animosity. So when you see a viral video online and people are hating on these videos, they actually love it. They find it funny and they share it. When you share something, it means you like it enough. So Singapore has a very acquired brand of humour. They just need to understand that whatever they’re feeling is not anger, it’s humour…

M&HIRZI: Humoured hatred.

MUNAH: If that even makes sense.

Q: So how did you guys meet Hubab and Nadia?

HIRZI: We were stalking Hubab’s best friend, Nargis (who was featured in MHO Single Ladies parody).

MUNAH: Are we really telling this story?

HIRZI: Nargis is New Paper New Face 2006. She’s hot. Okay, we have this weird habit where we stalk hot people. Guys, girls, transgendered… we just stalk them. Animals, also. So we were stalking Nargis all the way then we realised, eh, she has this cute best friend as well, who is also very modelesque as well … So we were just stalking them. Then one day I told Munah - this was after two years of stalking already. “I’m going to add her on Facebook.” So I did. And she accepted. Then we started chatting. And the first thing I did was share our first video, which was X Commandments of a Cross-Dresser. She fell in love with it. She shared it with her best friend, whom I knew was Hubab but I pretended that I didn’t know so I went, “Ooo, who are you sharing it with?” And they fell in love with it, with that one video. And we said that we have to hang out. And we did. We started hanging out and naturally, we knew him and his humour. He’s a lot weirder than we are.

MUNAH: Really funny. Like you see him, with this front, you don’t even think anything funny can come out of him, but he’s hilarious.

HIRZI: Some people can only show that side of them with their close circle. Unfortunately for him, this circle has a camera planted. Yeah, so it’s always capturing him. He’s learnt to accept the fame that came along with it.

MUNAH: For Nadiah…

HIRZI: Nadiah was my replacement.

MUNAH: I was doing this drama on Suria. Then initially in the first season, he was the ‘assistant to the cameraman’.

HIRZI: My character was the assistant to the cameraman.

MUNAH: So in the next season, they changed his character to a girl character. An intern of sorts.

HIRZI: Because I had to go national service. So that was Nadiah. And naturally, we knew her. She (Munah) knows her better. So we started hanging out. She is such a Phoebe. Oh my gosh.

MUNAH: Really.

HIRZI: People should capture her on camera. She is so funny when she’s to herself. We’ll be having a conversation and she’ll be playing with lights. And I’ll be like “What are you doing, Nadiah?”. And she’ll be like, “I just want to see the light”. I’ll be like “Why are you so spacey, girl? Why are you so spacey?”

MUNAH: She is hilarious also. I can click with her and the whole group just coming together is just funny. It’s always just funny.

Q: Are you guys very proud of their success?

MUNAH: Yeah, definitely.

HIRZI: Oh my goodness. I am so proud of their success. I think as friends … You were with them from difficult times, from tough times. So you knew their struggles, you knew what they had to go through. And Nadiah – look at her. She’s such a household face right now. How many young Malay actresses out there can say they’ve covered Suria, they’ve covered a coming Jack Neo production, they’re doing Mata Mata onscreen. How many young Malay kids can do that? And she can. And I’m proud of her that she can do that. Really, you should put this down. I have so much love for passionate youth. I think if there’s anything our brand speaks of, it is passion in youth. You need to have passion, you need to have drive, to know your direction in life, to achieve those standards and never settle for second best. This is what I truly feel passionate about.

HIRZI: (Hubab is) having so much fun at work and we see him travelling and I remember those times and like, oh my gosh. I remember belanja-ing (treating) you for lunch and dinner. And then now, you’re just where you are. It’s really nice to see your friends progress with you at the same time. Really, really, it feels good. We’re with the right bunch.

Q: Industry veterans have had glowing praises for you.

MUNAH: Oh really?

Q: Kumar is a fan. Bobby Tonnelli believes you can make it in Hollywood.

MUNAH: We didn’t know that.

HIRZI: I knew.

Q: So how do you feel about that?

MUNAH: So sweet.

M&HIRZI: Woah!

HIRZI: Let us just bask in that moment. I… I have been talking. You talk first. As you can tell, I’m the one with the disease.

MUNAH: There was a video on it but never mind … Yeah, I think it’s really nice. For Kumar to say that and Bobby … Like we first wanted to work with Bobby, I was so excited, okay, because I watched him on Fighting Spiders and I thought like, “Who is this guy? He’s so good.” And the make-up was really good, by the way. My friend did the make-up.

HIRZI: You know how to know if Munah thinks an actor is really good? If they play the villain, and she passionately hates this person - in real life …

MUNAH: Yeah!

HIRZI: She will feel the first time, “Eh, I hate you when you scold your son.” She’s like that. She hated a girl who was acting in a narrative because that girl played that villain role very well. She hated her. She doesn’t speak to that actress.

MUNAH: I just get very sensitive about it.

HIRZI: I have to sit her down and say, “It’s a role she’s doing.”

Q: Who’s this actress?

MUNAH: We cannot disclose…

HIRZI: Until she learns to separate fiction from fact.

MUNAH: I have learnt, okay, to do it. That’s why with Bobby, I tell him. “Man, you are damn good. I hated you. You are damn good.” I was thinking, “Who is this guy? He’s so good.” And then finally when we managed to work with him, I was like, I didn’t know what to do.

HIRZI: He’s the sweetest dude in the industry, okay.

Q: So the first time you worked with him was in the Single Ladies parody?

HIRZI: No, it was the MunahHirzi drama.

MUNAH: It was for a drama, yeah.

HIRZI: So that was our first time working with him. Oh my God, he was so sweet. He’s such a passionate, intense actor. I know passionate actors in Singapore but he is one who truly understands, appreciates and has discipline for his craft.

MUNAH: He really does.

HIRZI: He delivers every single take even though it’s not on him. And that’s the mark of a true TV actor. You just have respect for that. I think anyone who hasn’t worked with him should work with him once.

MUNAH: Yeah, and you know even he is just reading, just rehearsing, he does it so well. And sometimes when he’s doing it, and he injects his little things about it, I’m like “Are we having a conversation or are we acting?” Then he’ll say, “No, I’m reading the script.” “Oh, okay!”

HIRZI: My first scene with him was this intense boardroom meeting. Okay, I stand up and he stops me here. And you know he’s not this tall, he’s much taller. So he talks down on me right. That was my first take and it was the take that actually got the cut. I did this (swallows hard). That was reaction – that was not acting. I was that intimidated.

MUNAH: He is really good.

HIRZI: And then the cameraman said, “Okay, come lah. You all look like you’re going to kiss. I was waiting for it.”

MUNAH: And everyone on set had a man-crush on him.

HIRZI: He was just so passionate.

MUNAH: He’s really nice in person. You would think some like …

HIRZI: This is just Bobby, ah. We haven’t even got to Kumar yet.

MUNAH: But actually a lot of the big actors that we’ve worked with Mastura Ahmad and people like that. You’d think that they have been in the industry for so long, they would see you as “newbie” but they won’t talk to you, but actually they’re really nice and they’re always out there to help you out. And I think that was really apparent when we did Happy Ever Laughter and we were with these big names like Najib, Kumar, Michelle Chong. Everyone. Everyone was there. We were like, “Do you think when they watch your performance, they’d think you’re good enough?” But actually they were so nice. And they have been watching us…

HIRZI: And thank God for these people in the industry. Because it is encouraging when you are young and new and someone of that caliber actually appreciates you because we’ve gotten s**t from other actors as well but these people who we look up to, who we respect feel that about us, it’s just fuel to our fire. My three biggest idols in Singapore entertainment history are Kumar, Najib and Michelle Chong. And if you if there’s anything common about the three of them is that they’re all revolutionary artists. They’ve changed the industry. Without Kumar, there would never have been a drag queen stand-up comedian in Singapore. Without Najib, he wouldn’t have pushed the boundaries. And if you read through his history, before Asia Bagus came and how he struggled, that was just inspiring to me. Michelle and her manifestations of characters. Now from acting, she’s saying, “I want to drop this and tell stories of my own and direct.” Super, super inspiring for me. And the fact that these three people feel so passionate about us… Like Michelle tweets us and Instagrams us all the time. You just feel so good. A lot of people tell me, “Hirzi, you’re such a young Najib. You’re such a young Najib.” I’m like, “Can you not?” Because I feel it’s a name that I have to live up to first and get to that stage, then it’s worthy. But they’re so sweet. Their love is just amazing. I’m like a schoolgirl around Kumar. During Happy Ever Laughter, he had his own room, right… So every time I pass by him, I’ll be like, “Hi (shyly).”

MUNAH: He’s so scared. He’s so nervous all the time.

HIRZI: Any artist who wants to do stand-up comedy in Singapore from now onwards needs to know that he paved our way. And you should always pay homage to that standard of artistry. Mad respect for Kumar. And a lot of other artists.

Q: What about yourself, Munah? Who do you idolise?

MUNAH: Oh! I like so many people, honestly. I like a lot of the veteran actors and recently I’ve been looking into theatre people. I’ve always liked Adrian Pang. He was very good on TV… I’m such a fan of him in Spring Awakening and he had like very minor scenes but his scene was just the strongest. Like when you watched him, all he did was just stand there, and then for the longest time, people are talking but he just stands there and he breaks down and cries. You just cry along.

HIRZI: It was the most beautiful standing scene ever.

MUNAH: Yeah, it is, it is. He’s so good at what he does and he’s always just so good.

HIRZI: She does love him.

MUNAH: Yeah I love Adrian. I really want to meet him and always hope when I do theatre shows…

HIRZI: And these people are not talent, these people are artists. I always say if Kumar, Najib and Michelle were to marry each other and have a love-child, I’d be the love-child. Right? Like, let’s get real. The three of them would produce me.

MUNAH: For sure, for sure. But Adrian Pang is definitely my number one. I want to see him.

HIRZI: You’ve seen him, what?

MUNAH: No, but like I want to work with him and make him watch.

HIRZI: Adrian, do you hear that? Pangdemonium?

Q: So, Hollywood is in your sights. Is there a plan to get there?

HIRZI: Yes, I want to serve coffee in Hollywood.

MUNAH: Always a plan, but you know.

HIRZI: I think Beyonce has the most beautiful quote. Guys, Beyonce moment here, okay. I always insert a Beyonce moment. She says, “If your dreams aren’t big enough, if every time you appear on stage and you don’t get chills or you don’t get the butterflies, then you’ve outgrown your career. Or your dream is never big enough.” So beautiful. So the fact that we’ve mentioned it to the universe. They always say you need to mention your ambitions to the universe. So if the universe can here, then maybe it can respond based on it. That we’ve mentioned it, now it’s like all eyes on us to achieve it. We don’t have cast-in-stone plans but now that we’ve mentioned it, we jolly well got to follow through our plan. Because people are watching and people are excited to know if we can make it. And we are excited to know if we can make it. So whatever it is we do in Hollywood, even if we serve coffee…

MUNAH: It is okay. It’s a start.

HIRZI: It is baby steps to whatever…

MUNAH: Everything happens for a reason. Everything is just a step towards the goal.

Q: You mentioned a few years ago that you’d be on Suria...

HIRZI: I did, I did. In secondary school, I was 15 and I said to my Malay classmates, “One day, I’m going to be on Suria and you guys are going to watch me while you surf your TV.” Of course, nowadays nobody surfs the TV anymore lah. People are always on the Internet. But they laughed at me and, lo and behold, I was on Suria. Then one day, we said we’re going to perform on Esplanade stage, and then it came in the form of Happy Ever Laughter. So I guess the pattern we notice is just make sure you have a dream, mention it at least once to the universe, you don’t have to mention it to people, just to the universe, and then work towards it.

Q: So five years from now. Where will you be?

MUNAH: I’ll be 30, hoping to go back to … I tell people nowadays that I am never going back to school but I actually have plans to do my master’s. I just haven’t decided in what but that’s definitely the goal. Just from young, I’ve always wanted to go up to the highest. So at 30, probably, that’s what I’ll do.

HIRZI: I have ADHD. “Oh my gosh, work is so fun.” And you give me a little more time, I’m like, “Let’s go back to school.” Then, “I want to go back to work.” So, I naturally don’t know. You have to give it two years, two years. Now I am in school. Two years’ later, I’d be at work. Two years’ later, I’ll be finishing my masters. Two years’ later, I’ll take a break. So probably, in my 30s … I’ve always set milestones … In your early 20s, you need to make sure your name is out there. And people know of your branding, which has already happened.

In your early 30s, you have to make sure that your career starts to stabilize and financially on your own, you’re capable of it all, because I don’t know if I’ll ever get married but if I do, I have this vision of adopting Palestinian kids. I’m going to name one Zara and one Armani. Yes, they’re names of clothes. I don’t know why Palestinians, but like any baby also can - but I have to fall in love with these kids. Have to look exotic. I want to do a Brad Pitt. Can?

MUNAH: So that’s him at 30.

HIRZI: Late 30s though. In my early 30s, I’m more like a James Franco. I’m making films. I’m writing stuff. I want to make sure I do everything once. On my own. Like right now we’ve done things, once, with people. Like Happy Ever Laughter was once. And then we did TV show once on Suria. I want to write one TV show. I want to write one film feature. Woah! Now, I get so scared saying all of this … I want to, which means I will work. One thing, my professor calls me is … and I’m quite proud that they call me that, I take pride in it - is, “Hirzi, you’re the tenacious one in the batch”. I’m the one if I say I will do something, it will get done, by the deadline. She would agree. I’m the kind who would sneak behind her back. If I want yellow flippers on our channel, I will make sure by the time we exit Carrefour, we will have yellow flippers on the trolley, even though you suggest our budget. I’m the artist and she’s the financial producer.

MUNAH: I’m the practical one, okay? “This is spending too much money.” He’s like, “Should we get this?” I’m like, “For what?”

HIRZI: It is beautiful in my head.

MUNAH: Yeah, but it costs too much. We don’t have enough.

HIRZI: It’s the best kind of pairing.

MUNAH: I’m like holding him back. “Wait.” But I think it works. It’s a pairing that works.

Q: So do you think there will be roadblocks?

HIRZI: In Hollywood?

Q: In general.

MUNAH: I think it was around a lot. But I think people are opening up. And it’s not very apparent right now.

HIRZI: I think right now what is apparent is the move to the East. A lot of Hollywood companies are based in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and even Kuala Lumpur. So this is Producing 101 for you. As you can tell I’m very attentive in school. So this shift in the East is an exciting period because the money is where the East is. So talent agencies are doing well. Production companies (as well). It’s an exciting period for us. There’s no longer that inferiority complex. I think Hollywood is set in stone. But they are very open to new formats. I sat down recently for a lecture with a producer of reality shows. I think it was Survivor and CBS or something … And he says, “Right now, their company is now looking to buy formats that are original in Asia”. And the reason is: These formats are easier to buy than to recreate from scratch. It’s more expensive to create a format. So you just buy the format and then you license it in your country. So that’s exciting.

In fact, the role of Sandra Oh in Grey’s Anatomy has a very impressive storyline. Because, if people don’t know, the character that she was supposed to play – Cristina – was supposed to be a Jewish character. And she was supposed to audition for Meredith. But she said, “I want to do Cristina.” She did Cristina. They fell in love with Sandra Oh and they said, “How can we make you Cristina?” So they said, “You’re going to be an Asian Jewish Cristina.” Which is so peculiar. Why would she be an Asian Jew? But that’s how America is with casting, for example. If they believe in an actress so much, they’re willing to skew their scripts just for you. And that’s one thing I’ve always been impressed with Hollywood formats. And for example, the role of Ugly Betty.

A lot of people say it is hard to write a script for Channel 5 or on an English platform for a Malay audience or for a Tamil audience because the market sizes won’t match up. But let’s looks at Ugly Betty, which revolves around a Hispanic family. Hispanics are a minority race in America. How come that’s successful? Because they don’t see separation, you see. They see content for a universal message. And I think Asians should celebrate diversity but at the same time celebrate the unity that we have. The only thing that separates us is language really. And even then, how many cult followings do we have for European films and Hispanic/Latin American films? So it’s a growing period. And I think it’s going to change and I’m hopeful that it will. I talk a lot, don’t I? You cannot ask me producer questions. I will be very passionate. I learn a lot in school. My American professors are very good.