Wednesday April 15, 2009
Come to class
By SETO KIT YAN
All those who need brushing up on their Mandarin can enrol in Mr Siao’s Mandarin Class.
NI HAO, Mr Siao! (Mandarin for “Good Day, Mr Siao”). So begins Ntv7’s latest Chinese series Mr Siao’s Mandarin Class. The multi-lingual sitcom harks back at a British comedy, Mind Your Language, a TV series dealing with cultural stereotypes, which was immensely popular in the late 1970s and early 80s.
Showing adult students from different countries learning English in a classroom setting, Mind Your Language aired in various countries including Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Singapore and Malaysia.
From Mr Siao’s Mandarin Class (from left) are: Loo Aye Kheng, Alvin Wong, director Berg Lee, Auguste Kwan, Cindy Chen and Steve Yap. The British sitcom also inspired similarly-themed shows like What a Country! (United States), Zaban Sambhal Ke (India), Zaban Sambhal Kai (Pakistan) and Second Chance! (Nigeria).
Fast-forward some three decades later, Malaysian viewers now have a Chinese version – Mr Siao’s Mandarin Class. This locally produced series shows how non-Chinese and non-Mandarin-speaking Chinese learn Mandarin with hilarious outcomes. Among the cast of a more than a dozen are even a couple of former Miss Malaysia beauty pageant winners.
Directed by indie film and theatre enthusiast Berg Lee Seng Wan, the 13-episode series is a production of Primeworks Studios. The 30-minute weekly show features dialogue that is 70% Chinese – Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka – and the balance in English and Malay. There will be a combination of Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia subtitles to help viewers understand the series better.
The story goes that the owner of Dream Big International is looking to expand his business and is eyeing the booming China market.
Kyo Chen plays Chow Siu Keong, a spy from a rival company. The successful multi-level marketing corporation has already set up factories and subsidiary offices in South-East Asian countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
He needs his “diamond-ranking” and “pearl-ranking” leaders to train and guide the China distributors and agents but most of them are not well-versed in Mandarin. So he gets a Mandarin lecturer to teach this selected group proper Mandarin within a short period of time.
Singer, actor and TV host Auguste Kwan Teik Hooi plays the central character of Mandarin teacher Mr Siao Lang, 35, a degree holder in Chinese literature. Initially excited about his new position, Siao soon discovers it is not easy dealing with the motley crew of students from all walks of life, especially since there are two warring factions in his class. Moreover, the so-called students are not interested in learning Mandarin, but each has his own hidden agenda.
Mr Siao’s Mandarin Class is Malaysian-born Kwan’s first Malaysian TV series in 10 years and happens to be the first time he is trying his hand at a sitcom.
Kwan said he accepted the project as he liked the concept of the show and the producer, Tan Boon Huat, is his long-time friend. Signed with Hong Kong Television Broadcast (HK-TVB) since 2002, Kwan has been shuttling between Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China for the past few years.
Elvanna Raine plays Chung Chor Hung, who uses her feminine wiles to get ahead. “Unlike the main characters in other comedies, mine is a calm character surrounded by chaos. The comedic situations were created by the students so it was quite a relaxing shoot for me in that sense,” said Kwan in an interview last week.
Kwan said conditions on the set behind the cameras were perhaps even more amusing. “Not everybody understands Mandarin and Cantonese so the director had to use various methods to demonstrate what he required from each performer. It was so funny that we’d spend a great deal of time laughing.
“Even Baki (Zahamin Baki), the Malay actor who is actually fluent in Mandarin, said that after filming the series, his Mandarin seemed to have deteriorated.”
Looking fitter and younger than when he first started out as a pop singer, Kwan also lent his voice to the theme song, Ni Hao, Mr Siao, which is the sitcom’s Mandarin title.
The other characters
Robert Toh: Kee Thuan Chye plays the 50-year-old owner of a successful multi-level marketing corporation, Dream Big International Group, who has branches in many South-East Asian countries and is keen to venture into the lucrative China market.
Sophia: Miss World Malaysia 2008 Soo Wincci plays Toh’s 26-year-old wife. She disguises herself as an advisor for the Mandarin class to keep an eye on the progress of the training, as instructed by her husband.
Chung Kok Keong: Loo Aye Keng plays the money-minded leader of the pearl-ranking agents and fierce rival of the diamond-ranking leader nicknamed White Shark.
Chung Chor Hung: London-born actress-VJ Elvanna Raine plays the sexy non-Mandarin-speaking younger sister of Kok Keong, who is adept at using her feminine wiles to get what she wants.
Tey Eng Jun: Actor-model Steve Yap plays handsome and naďve Tey, who’s of Peranakan descent, and is attracted to hot babe Chor Hung. He joins the Mandarin class to get close to her.
Dai Bai Sha: Nicknamed White Shark, the character is portrayed by Ling Tang. The extremely kiasu leader of the diamond-ranking agents is a legendary figure in the multi-level marketing community because she started out as a hawker with little education.
Dang Huan: Tony Ong plays the spiffy dresser who likes to call himself Don Juan and constantly bickers with Dai Bai Sha in class and invents “Hokilish” – a combination of Hokkien and English.
Tan Tai Shan: Alvin Wong plays nerdy and panicky Tai Shan, a stingy accountant of the company whose Hokkien-inflected Mandarin makes him the laughing stock of the class.
Amir: TV host-actor Zahamin Baki plays Amir, an intellectual Malay guy who is very proud of being part of a multi-racial society and is eager to learn as many languages as possible to better understand friends and colleagues from other races.
Siti: Dancer Chai Jen plays the Indonesian cleaning lady, who can speak fluent Mandarin but keeps it a secret and earns extra income from helping others with their Mandarin homework.
Shah Rukh Khan: Ramasundran Rengan, better known as Rama, plays the bubbly Shah Rukh Khan, who loves watching Hong Kong movies and TV series. He sets his mind to master Mandarin in order to further his career in China.
Chow Siu Keong: This popular figure with a sunny disposition, who is actually a spy from a rival multi-level marketing company, is played by TV host-cum-actor Kyo Chen.
Miss Q: Miss World Malaysia 2008 first runner-up Cindy Chen plays the serious-looking human resources manager.
Mr Siao’s Mandarin Class airs Wednesdays on Ntv7 at 9pm starting today.
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