The director of a new Malaysian television series about dishonest students has rejected comments that it copied Thailand’s successful teen-thriller Bad Genius.
Director Razaisyam Rashid said today that the Malaysian series Projek: Anchor SPM, which is also about students planning to cheat on their exams, is not the same as the award-winning Thai movie that was inspired by real-life events. Judging by the series’ trailer, however, we find it hard to believe that the Malaysian show is not at all inspired by Bad Genius.
“Bad Genius is more like a heist or a thriller movie while Project Anchor SPM is about friendship and coming-of-age,” Razaisyam told a press conference. “They are not the same.”
The cast includes Aedy Ashraf as high school athlete Aizat, singer-songwriter Daiyan Trisha as high-achiever Aaidaa, and Adlin Aman Ramlie as the teacher who tries to catch the students.
In Projek: Anchor SPM, the trailer begins with Aizat telling someone off-camera his plans on how to help someone cheat during the exam. The scene then cuts to Aizat dropping a pencil and a piece of paper in the examination hall.
The trailer is definitely less thrilling than Thailand’s Bad Genius but you can’t help but notice the resemblance in their plots. Perhaps there is more to this series than cheating, but we’ll have to find out when we watch it.
Projek: Anchor SPM goes on air Monday on Astro Citra channel 108. Major high school leaving examinations in Malaysia take place Feb. 22 to March 25 this year, after they were postponed due to the pandemic.
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