Shaheizy Sam
Badak
Overview
A deaf single dad's life with his daughter changes when she becomes a hip-hop star. Meanwhile, another father faces ongoing challenges communicating with his deaf son.
Cast
9 people
Reviews
5 min readThe Rhino in the Room
I keep thinking about the moment in Badak when Badak—played by Shaheizy Sam, who gained and then lost thirty kilograms for this role—stands in the wings of a Kuala Lumpur hip-hop club, watching his daughter Mirah perform. The camera lingers on his face, not in close-up but in medium shot, so we see the whole body: the slump of his shoulders, the way his hands hover near his chest as if trying to catch the vibrations of the bass through the air.
He doesn’t sign. He doesn’t speak. He just watches, and in that silence, the film does something rare—it lets a deaf character’s interiority exist without translation, without apology.
That’s the paradox at the heart of Badak: a film about communication that understands the power of not communicating. Raihan Halim, the director, has said this isn’t a story about deafness so much as it’s about Badak’s refusal to change. But the film’s genius lies in how it frames that refusal—not as a flaw, but as a kind of quiet resistance.
Badak isn’t just a man who can’t hear; he’s a man who has built a life around the things he can control: the sizzle of the grill at his burger stall, the rhythm of his daughter’s hands when she signs, the weight of his own body as it moves through the world. When that control starts to slip—when Mirah’s hip-hop dreams pull her away from the stall, when his own father’s death forces him to confront a lifetime of unspoken words—the film doesn’t rush to fix it.
It sits with the discomfort, the way a rhino might sit in the middle of a highway, unmoved by the honking around it.
This is where Badak distinguishes itself from the films it’s most often compared to, like CODA or Sound of Metal. Those films, for all their strengths, are ultimately about hearing characters learning to understand deafness. Badak flips the script: it’s about a deaf character learning to understand hearing. The difference is subtle but crucial.
When Mirah raps, the film doesn’t just show us the performance—it shows us Badak’s perspective, the way the music becomes a series of vibrations through the floor, the way the crowd’s energy feels like a pulse against his skin. The sound design here isn’t just a technical achievement; it’s a narrative choice. In one scene, the audio cuts out entirely as Badak walks through a market, the world reduced to a muffled hum.
Audience Opinions
Audience 7.5/10
"A heartfelt and authentic portrayal of deaf families, elevated by strong performances and a fresh hip-hop twist."
The film resonates with audiences for its sensitive depiction of deaf characters and their struggles, particularly the father-daughter dynamic. Shaheizy Sam’s performance and the integration of hip-hop culture are widely praised, though some find the pacing uneven and the secondary storyline less compelling. latestnetflix.com's read is that Early feedback suggests it’s a moving but imperfect exploration of communication barriers.
What viewers praise
- Authentic representation The portrayal of deaf characters and their experiences is praised for its sincerity and depth.
- Strong lead performance Shaheizy Sam’s acting as the deaf single father is highlighted as a standout element.
- Hip-hop integration The incorporation of hip-hop into the narrative adds a fresh and engaging layer to the story.
- Emotional impact Many viewers find the father-daughter relationship deeply moving and relatable.
Common complaints
- Uneven pacing Some scenes drag, disrupting the flow of the story and emotional engagement.
- Weaker secondary plot The subplot involving the other father and son feels less developed and less compelling.
- Predictable moments A few key story beats follow familiar tropes, reducing surprise for some viewers.
Recommended for
Fans of emotional family dramas Advocates of authentic representation Hip-hop and music lovers Shaheizy Sam admirers Stories about overcoming barriers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBadak (2025): The Surprisingly wholesome “Scandal” Behind Southeast Asia’s Saddest Burger Daddy
Family drama on screen, zero public meltdowns off screen? For a movie this emotional, you’d expect at least one feud, one leaked DM, ONE chaotic breakup. latestnetflix.com's view is that instead, Badak quietly rolled in with method acting, TikTok research and a production so squeaky-clean it’s almost suspicious.
Let’s dig into the juiciest real bits of behind‑the‑scenes tea this film actually gave us.
On-Set Drama (Except… There Wasn’t Any)
- Industry coverage of Badak’s production reads like a brochure for Functioning Adults: director M. Raihan Halim reteams with his La Luna collaborators for a Singapore–Malaysia–Indonesia co-production, backed by Clover Films, Golden Screen Cinemas, Papahan Films and others, with official support from the Singapore Film Commission
. - No public blow‑ups, no “creative differences,” no last‑minute director swaps reported anywhere.
- The “drama” stayed exactly where it belonged: in the script.
IGInstagram·Amazing news from Netherlands! Badak will be mak… https://www.instagram.com/p/DSl42NVkcYq/Loading Instagram post…
https://www.instagram.com/p/DSl42NVkcYq/- The film’s international roll-out — Malaysia, Singapore, festival runs and a European premiere at Rotterdam — also happened without any reported boycotts, bans or political outrage, which in today’s film climate is almost headline-worthy in itself .
Cast Feuds & Tea (The Calm Before, During, and After the Shoot)
- Coverage and fan posts repeatedly highlight how well the cast gelled, especially Shaheizy Sam, Aida Amron, Wan Hanafi Su, and Kahoe Hon:
- Viewers who revisited the film on Netflix specifically praised “the chemistry between the cast” and the subtle, lived‑in performances . That’s the sort of line you get when nobody’s subtweeting each other in real life.
- Promo reels show the gang doing media together, laughing, joking, and teaching each other sign language for the film, with no hint of side‑eye or frosty body language
. - If there was tension, they hid it better than half of Hollywood.
- Director Raihan Halim openly gushes about Shaheizy Sam’s “discipline and dedication” to the role, saying he felt there was basically only one actor who could pull off Badak the way he envisioned .
- That’s director worship, not beef.
Romance Rumors: The Ship That Never Sailed
You wanted messy hookups, secret flings, and premiere‑night hand‑holding? The Badak team said: Not on our watch.
Shaheizy Sam
- Public record and mainstream coverage elsewhere make it clear Sam is stably married with kids; his press around Badak is laser‑focused on his role transformation and craft, not his love life .
- No gossip outlets or fan posts tied his Badak promo to any cheating scandals or new “mystery” partners.
Aida Amron & Kahoe Hon
- Clips of them at events and interviews show them in pure co‑worker mode — joking about the film, the emotional scenes, and the learning curve of sign language .
- No viral shipping threads, no “are they/aren’t they?” TikTok conspiracy edits specifically about them surfaced in the coverage checked.
Fans’ angle:
- Where online fans do rave, it’s about Aida’s underrated performance and her on‑screen dynamic with Sam, not any off‑screen romance . The discourse is “give her more roles,” not “are they dating?”
In short: Badak is a romance‑rumor desert. The spiciest thing here is the sambal on the burger.
Scandals & Controversies (Or, The Dog That Didn’t Bark)
For a film dealing with disability, class, and family conflict, you’d expect at least one social‑media pile‑on. Instead:
No casting controversy:
- There are no reports of deaf community backlash against casting Sam, a hearing actor, as a deaf character. On the contrary, coverage emphasizes how seriously he and the team took sign‑language training and representation .
- Posts from deaf community spaces shared Badak as a recommended watch, not as a “do not watch” cautionary tale .
No Oscar‑submission drama:
- While other countries’ submissions often spark fierce debate, Badak’s status around awards and festival recognition is framed as a quiet triumph — not a scandal . No angry op‑eds, no “this should have been our pick instead!” uproars specifically centered on Badak surfaced.
No lawsuits, no walkouts, no censorship fights:
- Searches around production issues, lawsuits, and scandals turn up… other people’s films. Badak politely stays out of trouble.
Basically, if you were hoping for a “Badak Backlash,” you’ll have to write fanfic.
Wild Trivia: The Actually Juicy Stuff
Okay, this is where Badak secretly does behave like a prestige drama with Big Actor Energy.
Extreme body transformation:
- Shaheizy Sam gained 30kg in five months to embody Badak’s bulk — going from a much leaner frame up to a full “rhinoceros” silhouette .
- How he did it:
- A diet deliberately rich in sugar, fat, and fast food, with four meals a day .
- Ice cream before bed.
- Burgers doctored with extra mayonnaise .
- An anecdote from the director’s recollections: during prep, Sam was spotted at an Italian restaurant knocking back a quattro cheese pizza and seafood aglio olio to go, already 8kg up, treating weight gain like a full‑time job .
Six-month production pause just for his body:
- After shooting the present‑day scenes, production waited six months so Sam could slim back down to shoot flashbacks of Badak’s younger years .
- For the weight loss phase, he reportedly:
- Used OMAD (One Meal A Day).
- Cut to around 800 calories a day, mostly red meat, to shed the weight quickly .
- Translation: the schedule literally bent around one actor’s transformation. Messy? No. Extreme? Very.
TikTok as research lab:
- Director Raihan Halim openly credits TikTok — specifically Deaf creators — as a huge research source for understanding deaf people’s daily lives and communication .
- Instead of mimicking CODA, Raihan designed Badak to tell the deaf parent’s side of the story, and framed Badak’s problems as stemming from his stubbornness and refusal to change, not from his deafness itself .
- It’s not scandalous, but it is a very 2020s way to research a film: scroll first, then write.
Real-life deaf-family insight baked into the script:
- Raihan has cited an interview with the Malaysia Federation of the Deaf, where he learned that the head’s son is also deaf — and that when the baby was born, the father wished the child would be deaf too, to share his world .
- That complex emotional reality helped shape Badak’s focus on three generations and the painful spaces between them .
Festival darling in quiet clothing:
- Despite its modest marketing, Badak secured a European premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), which the producers celebrated proudly on social media as “amazing news from Netherlands” .
- Fans revisiting it on Netflix called it a film that “still feels fresh” on second viewing, praising its humor, emotion, and cast chemistry .
Leaks & Secrets (The Non-Chaotic Version)
No leaked cuts or alt endings:
- No reports of different endings surfacing, no “director’s cut vs theatrical cut” wars, no secretly edgier version hidden in a vault.
- Reviews and festival coverage describe the same story structure and key emotional beats .
Marketing that actually matched the movie:
- The teaser trailers promise a heartfelt, quiet drama about a deaf father and his hip‑hop‑obsessed daughter — and that’s exactly what audiences got . No bait‑and‑switch, no “this isn’t the movie we advertised” backlash.
If Badak has any secrets, the team is guarding them tighter than a festival screener password.
So… Where’s the Gossip?
Here’s the real twist for Badak fans: The film is full of tension, arguments, heartbreak and generational trauma — on screen. Off screen, what we have is:
- An actor who wrecked his metabolism for the role.
- A director who doom‑scrolled TikTok for research.
- A cast who learned sign language together.
- A production that stayed out of scandal, delivered a moving film, then quietly went to festivals and Netflix.
In a gossip landscape built on chaos, Badak’s biggest “scandal” is that everyone showed up, did the work, and didn’t publicly implode.
Honestly? That might be the most shocking plot twist of all.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.