PETALING JAYA, April 2 — The video of the woman in the red kebaya circulating all over social media last week has been revealed to be the teaser for Dukun, a local thriller inspired by the real life story of the infamous woman witch doctor known as Mona Fandey.

When production firm Astro Shaw announced its release date on its Instagram page yesterday, many thought it was an April Fool’s prank.

But good news to Malaysians raring to catch the movie completed 11 years ago. It is due out on the big screen this Thursday.

Dukun tells the story of a murder investigation involving the death of a politician at the hands of a 'bomoh', Diana Dahlan, played by actress Datin Paduka Umie Aida.

Astro Shaw completed the film in 2007 but at that time, Dukun was banned from public viewing as the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia deemed it too sensitive due to similarities shared with the story of Mona Fandey, a singer-turned-bomoh convicted and sentenced to hang for the 1993 murder of an Umno politician Mazlan Idris.

Umie herself never expected the film would finally be released after being shelved for over a decade.

“I was told last week that the movie would be finally released. To be honest, the announcement was quite a surprise to me.

“Alhamdullilah, all the hard work of the production crew has paid off. At least the viewers can now see our hardwork,” Malay daily Harian Metro quoted her saying.

The film also starred Ramli Hassan, Faizal Hussein, Adlin Aman Ramli, Nam Ron, Bront Palarae, Hasnul Rahmat, Awaa Vanja, Elyana, Sofi Jikan and Chew Kin Wah.