The safety and welfare of the cast were the top priorities during the production of Duyung: Lagenda Aurora, leading to significant changes in the mermaid costume designs compared to the previous version.
The film’s director, Associate Professor Datuk Dr. Abdul Razak Mohaideen, said that due to safety considerations, the production team made several improvements to the costumes based on suitability and practicality.
“The old costume was extremely heavy to the point that Maya Karin nearly drowned twice. Additionally, we were filming on the open sea, which is naturally exposed to various dangers,” he told Boom!.
He said the decision was also made after evaluating the risks involved, especially during open-water filming.
According to him, the materials used in the previous costumes were quite stiff and heavy, causing the movement of the mermaid tail to appear unnatural.
Aside from technical factors, Abdul Razak explained that changes were also made to the color scheme to create a fresher visual impact.
“The brown color used previously was not very striking. This time, we are presenting three mermaids in red, yellow, and blue so that they look more colorful and visually appealing on screen,” he said.
He added that the storyline this time requires the mermaid characters to move and walk on land.
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Therefore, fully scaled costumes were considered impractical as they would make it difficult for the characters to disguise themselves in terrestrial environments. -Boom!
