Terbang, the Karamjit Singh film, opens for Malaysia Day on 17 September at GSC, TGV and Paragon

Two weeks from now, the day after Malaysia Day, a film about the rally driver they called the Flying Sikh opens in the country he raced for. Terbang is listed on this site for 17 September at GSC, TGV and Paragon: a Malay-language drama, by the chains' listings, from Astro Shaw.

Inspired by, not a biopic

Malay Mail, which covered the film's first-look event in April, is careful about the word: it reports that Terbang is billed not as a direct biopic but as a story inspired by real events, with Irfan Zaini playing 'Ajeet', a character based on the driver. The paper spoke to Karamjit Singh himself at the event and quotes his verdict on the casting: "He is humble, handsome, and has the right look. He is the perfect choice." He also told Malay Mail what he hopes the film says, calling it a movie about self-belief and patriotism.

Karamjit's other hope is for the sport. He told the paper the local rally scene died down around fifteen years ago for lack of sponsorship, that competitions once held six times a year now happen twice, and that he hopes the film brings the sport back into view. Filming took the crew from Sepang and Perlis to New Zealand, according to the report.

The director of Ola Bola

The director is Chiu Keng Guan, whose The Journey (2014) and Ola Bola (2016) are among the biggest Malaysian films of the last decade; both Malay Mail and Free Malaysia Today make the connection, and Ola Bola, a football story, is the obvious point of comparison for a rally one. The producers, per FMT's report of 31 July, are Astro Shaw with EJJ Films, Enotech Pictures, Aventure Space and Woohoo Pictures. The chains' listings name Irfan Zaini, Jack Tan, Zizan Razak and Namron in the cast; Malay Mail adds Shweta Sekhon and Aeril Zafrel.

Why 17 September, and why 4DX

FMT reports that the date was chosen for Malaysia Day and quotes Astro Shaw's Raja Jastina Raja Arshad on the reason: to celebrate the day and the spirit of unity, pride and Malaysian identity. FMT also reports that the film will screen in 4DX, the motion-seat format, which in Malaysia means GSC's 4DX halls; for a film about driving, the seats that move are the ones to consider. FMT's separate September watchlist, published on 2 September, has Terbang as one of eight films to see this month: a sports drama, it says, in which Ajeet battles financial pressures and the dangerous world of international rallying while chasing his dream.

When the sessions appear

Malaysia Day is Wednesday 16 September, and the film opens on the Thursday after it, the chains' usual opening day, so the first sessions should appear in the listings by the weekend before. The Terbang page will list every cinema and session as the chains publish them, usually about a week before opening; for now it carries the date and the chains that have announced it. If the wait is too long, the two local films that opened in the last fortnight, Chelot and Tikus!, are both still in cinemas, and the Chelot page shows how wide a local film's run can be in its second week.