After divorce, she goes straight to work

After divorce, she goes straight to work

When Erra Fazira officially ended her seven-year marriage on Feb 18 in court, she allowed herself only 10 minutes of grief.

The Malaysian actress-singer-host then told herself to snap out of it, put on a smile and headed straight to work, where she filmed an episode of talk show Primadona.

Erra, 40, told The New Paper in a phone interview from Kuala Lumpur that she had "no choice".

"I won't deny it was tough. So much happened in just one day and I was so tired. I stared into space for those 10 minutes, thinking to myself, 'What just happened?'. Then I said, 'All right that's it, time to move on'," Erra recalled.

Rumours of her rocky union with media businessman Engku Emran Engku Zainal Abidin had made the rounds in recent years, sparking speculation they were on the verge of divorcing.

The 39-year-old, whom she married in 2007, is her second husband after singer-film director Yusry Abdul Halim of popular Malaysian singing trio KRU.

The couple had been living apart for 1½ years.

Engku Emran was granted custody of their only child, Engku Aleesya, five. Despite the blow, Erra refuses to let her emotions show.

Her career is her main focus - and distraction - now.

"I have responsibilities towards my mother and daughter. Besides, I wasn't born rich so I just have to work and work until I can't. Of course I am sad, but I can't show that I am weak. If I allow myself to be overwhelmed by my emotions, I will get nowhere," said Erra, whose career kicked off after she won the Miss Malaysia World title in 1992.

She made her breakthrough in the film industry in 1994 with a lead role in iconic romance film Sembilu, opposite Malaysian singer-actress Ziana Zain and Malaysian singer-actor Awie.

Incidentally, she will reprise her role as Wati, the love interest of rock star Awie (played by Awie) in a musical theatre production, Suara Kita, in Kuala Lumpur.

It will reunite Erra with her co-stars Awie and Ziana for the first time in nearly two decades.

The trio will bring to life their much-loved characters from other iconic films from the golden age of Malaysian cinema in the 90s like Sembilu 2 (1995), Tragedi Oktober (1996), Merah (1997) and Maria Mariana 2 (1998).

When asked if she had any reservations in saying yes to the project, especially since she will share the stage with ex-fiance Awie, Erra said no.

"As long as all parties have no objections, there is no problem. Besides, my career took off with Sembilu. It was the crowning glory of my acting career so it is exciting to be able to revisit it," said Erra, who is in the running for Best Film Actress and Best Female TV Host at this year's Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian.

The Malaysian awards ceremony will take place on April 6.

ashikinr@sph.com.sg


Erra Fazira's love life: A timeline

1992: The year love blossoms between Erra and Awie.

1994: Erra and Awie star as love interests in movie Sembilu.

1996: Erra gets engaged to Awie.

1998: Erra calls off her engagement to Awie due to a reported third party.

2001: Erra is rumoured to be dating Yusry Abdul Halim of Malaysian trio KRU.

2003: Erra and Yusry tie the knot in June, three months after their engagement.

2006: Yusry and Erra divorce after living apart for a year.

2007: Erra marries then Suria FM CEO Engku Emran Engku Zainal Abidin.

2014: Erra and Engku Emran divorce. He wins custody of their five-year-old daughter, Engku Aleesya.

 


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