During the Golden Age of Malay cinema, Hussain Haniff was a prolific filmmaker who made 12 films within a period of five years. Started as an extra, escalated to editor, Hussain Haniff’s films mostly questioned the powers advocating the subject of rebellion and class injustice. Known as a rebel with modernist approaches, Hussain Haniff made films with rebellion being the theme within its narratives. This can be seen in his first directorial debut Hang Jebat (1961) that tells the story of how the warrior Hang Jebat stood up for his comrade Hang Tuah who was unjustly sent to the gallows. Hang Jebat in defying the orders of the Sultan and thinking that Hang Tuah had been executed, went into a fit of rage and as an act of rebellion ran amok while killing several villagers. In the Malay culture and Malay purbawara films, this treasonous act of rebellion known as “durhaka” is caused by an expression of “rajuk” – the sulk, or “merajuk” – the act of sulking, and occurs when a.....

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