When Singaporean filmmaker M. Raihan Halim wanted to make a movie featuring a main character who is deaf, he turned to the resource most people have in their pockets: TikTok.

“I learnt about deaf people’s everyday lives primarily through TikTok,” he says. “Watching videos where they communicated in sign language, I realised they’re just regular people living normal lives.”

Influencers who are deaf on the social media platform’s #DeafTok hashtag gave Raihan an insight that would shape his approach to the music-filled drama Badak, which he wrote and directed.

It stars Malaysian actors Shaheizy Sam and Wan Hanafi Su, who both appeared in his previous film La Luna (2024). The drama-comedy was Singapore’s submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025, but was not nominated.

“They only feel disabled when they’re around hearing people who don’t know how to interact with them,” says Raihan, 43, in an interview with The Straits Times at a press event at GV Suntec, Singapore, on Oct 17.

(From left) Badak director Raihan with his cast members Aida, Wan Hanafi, Shaheizy and Kahoe Hon at a press event in Singapore. — GAVIN FOO/The Straits Times

Many films featuring characters who have disabilities use them as devices that support the able-bodied main character on a heartwarming journey towards redemption, or they may be treated as a victim or saint.

This understanding led Raihan to create a protagonist whose problems stem from personal flaws rather than his disability.

“I wasn’t trying to represent the entire deaf community. This is specifically Badak’s story – his problems come from his refusal to change or learn, not from his deafness.”

The titular single father (Shaheizy) earned his nickname Badak – which means “rhinoceros” in Malay – due to his formidable build and stubborn temperament.

He communicates with his only child, the able-bodied Mirah (Malaysian actress Aida Amron), through sign language, and relies on her to help with customers at his burger stall in Kuala Lumpur and perform other daily tasks.

She dreams of a career in rap and hip-hop, a hope that alienates her father but draws her closer to her musician-grandfather Abah (Wan Hanafi).

Tensions arise as Mirah is pulled between her dreams and her obligations as Badak’s daughter and helper. Badak, meanwhile, deals with the trauma handed to him by his father Abah, a man who never bothered to learn sign language for his son.

The Singapore-Malaysia production features original music and songs written by Singaporean rapper, producer and songwriter Akeem Jahat.

Raihan says that his most profound insight about deaf families came not from TikTok, but from an interview with the Malaysia Federation of the Deaf, a non-governmental organisation.

“The son of the head of the federation is also deaf. The son told me that when he was born, his father wished that he was deaf too,” Raihan adds.

“I thought, ‘Wow, that is so bizarre. Why would a father wish that?’ That was quite a wake-up call. For hearing people, when a doctor says your child is deaf, we get devastated. It’s the reverse for a deaf parent. I’d never seen that point of view before.”The interview opened Raihan’s eyes to a reality rarely portrayed in cinema. Deaf parents can experience a unique form of isolation when their children can hear, creating a communication gap.

This observation shaped how Raihan approached the story. While films like the Oscar-winning Coda (2021) tell stories from a hearing child’s perspective in a deaf family, Raihan instead chose the parent’s viewpoint.

“I’ve seen stories about children who want to achieve their dreams many times, but I haven’t seen one from a parent’s point of view,” he says.

Badak required its lead actor to undergo a dramatic physical transformation. Shaheizy gained 30kg over five months for the role, going from 65kg to 95kg.

“A character called Badak shouldn’t be skinny. We designed it so that years ago, he was more muscular, but now he has a dad body,” says Raihan.

Shaheizy’s commitment was immediate. The 43-year-old star and the filmmaker were at an Italian restaurant discussing the role.

“After we decided he needed to gain weight, he called the waiter and ordered a quattro cheese pizza and seafood aglio olio to go. The next time I saw him, he was already 8kg heavier and eating ice cream from the container,” Raihan recalls.

Shaheizy maintained a regimen of four meals daily, including ice cream before bed and burgers with extra mayonnaise. After filming the present-day scenes, production paused for six months while he lost weight to shoot flashback sequences showing Badak’s younger years.

He dropped the kilos through Omad, or One Meal A Day, limiting himself to 800 calories a day, primarily by eating red meat.

Shaheizy tells ST that when an actor has to lose or gain weight for a role, he has to understand his metabolism well enough and figure out which goal – up or down – is easier to hit to avoid delays during production.

He chose to put on the kilos first because, for him, that was the more difficult job.

“For me, it’s easier to lose weight rather than gain it because I know my own body. I had no time to waste. So, I had to force myself to gain as much as I could before the start of production.” – By JOHN LUI/The Straits Times/Asia News Network

Badak is showing at selected cinemas in Malaysia.