Watch HOOQ’s First Singapore Original Series – She’s a Terrorist and I Love Her, Launching 23 Jan

I would describe myself as a fan of anything local. So, imagine my excitement when I attended the media launch of HOOQ’s first Singapore Original Series: “She’s a Terrorist and I Love Her”.

HOOQ is Southeast Asia’s first and leading premium video-on-demand service. Think Netflix, but for Southeast Asia.

The title is pretty self-explanatory yet leaves one to be curious for more. Created by Terence Chia and Haresh Tilani. The duo from the Ministry of Funny managed to capture my attention with their brand of dark comedy and brilliant scriptwriting. The creators also mentioned that they took inspiration from sham and forced marriages.

The cast took different approaches on how they prepared for their role. Caitanya Tan who plays one of the terrorists said that she listened to podcasts while Benjamin Kheng the anti-capitalist cult leader in this series, did research on his character by watching different films.

When asked what challenges were faced during filming, Noah Yap who plays Hayden, one of the men who marries a terrorist, said that the unscripted and improv parts of filming were the hardest parts of the process.

Tilani explained that this series very much pushed the boundaries of what you would typically expect from a local made production. Things that should not be said were said.

What was really refreshing were the inside jokes and poking fun at Singapore’s culture.

As someone who studied film studies at university, I very much appreciated the use of certain camera angles to portray the power dynamics of the characters.

The media launch had 2 rooms where they displayed props that were used in the series. My colleague and I had a lot of fun going through the exhibits and were very fascinated by the anti-capitalist paraphernalia.

She’s a Terrorist and I Love Her also plays on controversial topics such as racism, sexism and nepotism in the workplace.

This series is not your typical cringey local made show, trust me, you would not have to hate-watch this.

Now I only have one question, is the kaya a metaphor for something else? Guess I’ll have to find out by watching the rest of the series!  

Catch the original series on HOOQ, with new episodes released every Friday from 31 January 2020 onwards.

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