Irfan Zaini, born Muhammad Irfan Mohamed Zaini, is a 30-year-old actor from Kuala Lumpur with a clear mission — to connect Malaysia’s film industry to the global stage. He stepped into acting at just 12 years old, making his debut in the Tamil movie Kuruvi. Since then, he has starred in films like Greatest of All Time (GOAT) alongside the famous Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay.

His path to India’s film industry was far from easy. Irfan spent nearly five years flying back and forth for auditions and faced fraudsters who lured him in with empty promises that never came true. He credits his patience and perseverance for pushing him through times when giving up seemed easier.

Acting in India opened Irfan’s eyes to the industry’s professionalism and scale. He noticed that while Malaysian sets often run with just a few assistant directors, Indian productions can have over 20, each with clear roles — from managing massive shooting sites to handling thousands of extras for big action scenes. He also highlighted India’s strong film unions that safeguard workers’ welfare, even covering injuries or deaths on set.

Despite Malaysia’s smaller budgets, Irfan believes local filmmakers deliver equally good camera work and compelling stories. He hopes Malaysia will embrace more international collaborations, much like India’s pan-language films that unite talent across Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Malayalam cinema. By working with creatives from countries like Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia, Irfan dreams of Malaysian cinema reaching bigger audiences and earning the global recognition it deserves.

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