# Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam

Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam, (English: Pontianak Scent of the Tuber Rose) is a 2004 Malaysian Malay-language horror film directed and written by Shuhaimi Baba starring Maya Karin, Azri Iskandar and Rosyam Nor. The storyline of the film revolves around a restless female ghost who wants to avenge her death.
Produced by Persona Pictures, starring Maya Karin, the film is about a restless spirit (pontianak) Meriam who seeks revenge upon those who killed her. The film was a major box office success in Malaysia. It was one of the first horror films to be released after the relaxation of 1990s censorship laws.
A sequel, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2, was released on 24 November 2005. It is about Meriam continuing her revenge on the family of Marsani until Zali, a son of Marsani dies for saving her daughter Maria.

## Plot

It tells the story of a series of mysterious events that happened in two eras, the past and the present. In the late 1940s gamelan prima donna, Meriam (Maya Karin) is caught between the love of two men, Marsani (Azri Iskandar) and Danial (Shahronizam Noor). Meriam finally chose and accepted Danial and made Marsani jealous. Meriam was later found dead while pregnant with her first child. Since then, the village is no longer safe when various scary incidents happen. Marsani lives in fear and is always haunted by the nightmares of Meriam who is thought to be a vampire. More than 50 years have passed, Marsani continues to spend the rest of his life but still remembers Meriam. Something strange happens when a girl appears, Maria (Maya Karin) whose face looks exactly like Meriam's. Coincidentally, Maria is a good friend of Marsani's grandson, Norman (Eizlan Yusof) and his fiancée, Anna (Kavita Sidhu). Once again some strange events happened and this time Maria was accused of being a vampire by Marsani. The question is, who is Maria and what is her relationship with Meriam?

## Cast

* Maya Karin as Meriam, whose death brought about the Pontianak
* Azri Iskandar as Marsani, Daniel's love rival, Meriam's killer, Zali's father, Asmadi's adopted son, Yuli's husband
* Rosyam Nor as Asmadi, Marsani's adopted son
* Ida Nerina as Sitam, Meriam's caretaker
* Kavita Sidhu as Anna, Norman's wife
* Eizlan Yusof as Norman, Asmadi's adopted son
* Nanu Baharuddin as Laila, Meriam's cousin, Maria's aunt and foster mother, Sitam's friend
* Shahronizam Noor as Daniel, Meriam's husband
* Sharifah Aleya as Rafiah, Asmadi's girlfriend (dead)
* Aziz Sattar as Tok Selampit, Meriam's dance teacher
* Adam Hamid as Man, Meriam's servant
* Yusmal Ghazali as Sarjono, Marsani's bodyguard
* Nadia Mustafar as Yuli, Marsani's wife and Zali's mother
* Adam Corrie as Chong, Marsani's bodyguard
* Soffi Jikan as Amang
* Afdlin Shauki as Penghulu Madura
* Bob Azrai as Orang Madura
* Azwan Ali as Tengku Mahkota Sultan
* Sophia Ibrahim as Datin
* Wahid Satay as Pembesar Istana I
* Aimi Jarr as Pembesar Istana II
* Shah Rezza as Pembesar Istana III
* Sandra Sodhy as Tetamu Istana I
* Rueben Oas as Tetamu Istana II
* Hushairy Hussein as Kassim
* Haiza as Zai, Anna's employee and Asmadi's wife

## Themes

Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam is, according to film scholar Rosalind Galt, a feminist version of the pontianak film genre in Malaysia.