ver several
years, you
have seen him
as an introvert,
a backpacker,
a father, a
comedian
and even a gang member. He
is never the same man twice.
To say that he’s a veteran in
Indonesia’s film industry seems
fitting as he’s been acting since
1999, even though that was
not what he had in mind as a
profession. If he had his way,
he’d rather be a sailor.
He was in a middle of the
photoshoot when I arrived. This
is the second time Abimana
Aryasatya appears in DA MAN,
the last time was in 2015 with
some of his fellow entertainers.
He looks a bit tired, maybe
because his latest movie
“Gundala” is playing soon in
August and the promotion must
be at its busiest. “Gundala” is a
movie by Joko Anwar and this
long-awaited project has been
getting a lot of buzz as people
are anxious to see this one.
From what we have seen in the
first trailer, it looks promisingand could be something that
has been sorely missing from
Indonesia’s film scene.
After the shoot wrapped up,
I approached him and asked
if he’s ready for his interview.
The Jakarta-born actor is quiet
in person, even a bit serious. “I
didn’t go to bed until four or five
AM this morning; sorry if I didn’t
get your answers right, “ he said.
Talking about his upcoming
movie, “Gundala,” he play as
Sancaka, a security guard that
gets struck by lightning and
gets powers from it. Oh, did we
mention that “Gundala” is of a
superhero movie? “Gundala”
is based on a comic character
created by Harya Suraminata
(Hasmi) in 1969. And with the
movie, they hoped to create a
benchmark for the superhero
genre in Indonesia. He was
afraid when he first held the
"Gundala" script; he feels that
the responsibility was too big.
If the movie fails, there might
be no more superhero movies
in Indonesia. It is no secret that
he once refused the role due to
scheduling conflicts, but Joko
Anwar has basically made up
his mind that Sancaka has to be
played by him.
There were few preparations
needed for the role. Physically,
for one, as Sancaka was only
a simple security guard who
comes from a humble economic
background. Other than that,
he did some research on the
original character written 70
years ago and adjustments
from the script that Joko Anwar
had made. The movie script was
then adjusted and reworked
to attract the millennials and
centennials, and to better relate
to the problems we face these
days. The movie took 53 days
to shoot at 70 locations and
the most memorable moments
from the shoot for him was the
never-ending rain. “I don’t know
if it’s because 'Gundala' is theson of lightning but it rains all
the time.”
Every superhero needs a
special suit and “Gundala” is
not exception. The production
team specially ordered the
suit from a company based in
Los Angeles, California, who
worked on “Watchmen” and
“Daredevil.” Besides for the
better quality, the details are
also needed for best results. It
took the team 30-40 minutes
to help him put on the suit.
Talking about being an
actor, one might be inclined to
assume that it’s an easy thing
for him. As it turns out, it is
not as simple as that. “It’s hard
being an actor, at least for me,”
Aryasatya points out. “But the
fulfilling part is that I can try
something new, finding new
feelings and become someone
else for a moment of time.”
He admits that he won’t be an
actor forever but that he will
still be in the film industry; in
fact he already debuted as a
producer back in 2018. Many
actors decide on doing a
project by looking at the script,
but the 36-year-old actor
looked beyond that. It’s about
the team, the mindset to make
a great and even greater film.
He never picks a character or a
role, he believes that everything
that comes his way is destined.
“I have always said and believe
that the role will choose me.”
Getting into a role for him
always depends on time,
conditions and his family’s
blessings. If there’s enough time,
he will become the character
and if there’s not enough time,
he will just be pretending. And
it all depends on how extreme
a certain character needs to
be—there is a line that doesn’t
need to be crossed and having
a family to remind him is
extremely important. “If we
can’t go back to ourselves then
it’s a failure.”O
“THE FULFILLING
PART IS THAT
I CAN TRY
SOMETHING
NEW, FINDING
NEW FEELINGS
AND BECOME
SOMEONE ELSE
FOR A MOMENT
OF TIME”