Funeral Scene In C.L.I.F. 5 Hit Too Close To Home For Shane Pow

We're at Novena Church on a Tuesday morning (Jul 9), and the atmosphere is heavy, sombre, and funereal - a fitting ambience, considering the fact that there was indeed a service held for the dearly departed that morning.

A crowd of about 200, half of whom are dressed in full police uniforms, have been gathered in the massive, Gothic-style auditorium since 7.30am. All eyes are on the Singapore flag-draped casket in front, as well as the photo of a handsome young man placed right beside it.

The box, however, is actually empty, and the aforementioned handsome young man is still very much alive and well. It's not actually a real funeral, but looking at the convincingly melancholic expressions in the congregation, you may honestly think that someone had really died.

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We are actually on the set of a fictitious funeral for C.L.I.F. 5

In the sea of people here, one person who seems particularly affected by all of this is Shane Pow, who is one of the pallbearers in today's scene. We spot the actor constantly wandering off to a quiet corner to collect his thoughts between takes, a genuine look of distress plastered all over his face.
It was perfect for his close-up, but we can't help but be concerned for the 28-year-old, whom we suspect is getting reminded too much of the recent events in real life.
When a minder approaches him to gently ask if he's okay to do an interview, he politely declines, clearly in no frame of mind to speak to the media. We understand, and patiently wait until filming for the scene wrapped up.
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Could Shane have been thinking about Aloysius Pang?

It's close to noon when we finally catch up with Shane, and he appears to be in a slightly better mood when we greet him. However, his cheerfulness evaporates when we point out his too-real-to-be-acting grief, and ask if he's all right.
“I’m a bit affected lah, but I’ll be okay,” he assures us with a small smile. “This was an emotional scene and it was quite tough, especially with what happened a few months ago, but of course it’s different from the actual one.”
He doesn't go into specifics but it's safe to presume he's referring to Aloysius Pang, who passed away in January following a reservist accident in New Zealand. The two of them were known to be close friends, and Shane delivered a moving eulogy at Aloysius’s memorial service.
(Major spoiler coming up, by the way.)
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Gone too soon: Joel Choo’s character in C.L.I.F. 5

We learn that another poignant scene was shot the day before, where Joel Choo’s character’s ashes were scattered at sea. It was so emotionally overwhelming for Shane that he told his girlfriend, actress and 987FM DJ Kimberly Wang, that he needed “a good dinner” after work (apparently, one of his go-to comfort foods is mee goreng).
“Then today, I had to do it all over again, and it was a bit hard to concentrate [because it hits too close to home],” he admits, adding that he didn’t do anything to mentally prepare himself for the situation. “I was struggling inside, but in the end, everything turned out to be okay.”
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On to happier topics: the opening of Shane’s restaurant’s second outlet

His mood lifts when our conversation turns to his restaurant Mojo, which launched its second outlet at Republic Plaza about a week ago. The first one, which opened on Telok Ayer Street in February 2017, has broken even, leaving enough extra funds to expand.
So how have things been for Shane as an F&B boss of almost three years?
“It’s quite stressful because there are new players coming in every other week so we have to stay consistent and competitive, plus people’s taste buds change over time so we have to keep up,” he shares. “It’s a competition every day, just like the stock market. (Laughs)”
Unsurprisingly, his hectic filming schedule doesn’t exactly make things easier, but at least he has “very capable” business partners to take care of things when he can’t. “My job is to handle the marketing and PR, which I have no time to do these days, but I’m glad that [my partners] are very understanding,” he says. “It’s difficult to juggle both lah.”
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Jiayou, towkay Pow!

C.L.I.F. 5 debuts on September 23, 9pm on Channel 8 and Toggle.
Photos: Tammi Tan, Shane Pow’s Instagram