Actor Tora Sudiro goes with the flow<\/p>\n
Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
For Tora Sudiro, getting from point A of the entrance of a
\nSouth Jakarta cafe to point B of his waiting table means making a
\nfew pitstops along the way.<\/p>\n
As the actor knows at least one person at each of the three
\nother occupied tables, a bit of obligatory gladhanding and jokey
\nasides are all part of his newfound brush with the fame game.<\/p>\n
He first came to prominence in late 2003 in the role of Sakti,
\nevery girl's idea of a sweet, caring male friend who is inching
\nhis way out of the closet, in the critically acclaimed film
\nArisan.<\/p>\n
An onscreen kiss with costar Surya Saputra -- and the
\nattendant \"is he or isn't he?\" question about his sexuality --
\nkept Tora's name on the front burner of smoldering gossip rags.<\/p>\n
A year later, the 31 year old has played in several television
\nsoaps, displayed his comedic talent as a member of Trans TV's
\npopular show Extravaganza and is the lead actor in the upcoming
\nBanyu Biru, a feature costarring Dian Sastro.<\/p>\n
And, of course, to the surprise of some, not least himself, he
\nwon the best actor Citra at December's Festival Film Indonesia
\n(FFI).<\/p>\n
Those fearing a bad bout of celebrity-itis can rest easy: Tora
\ndoes not seem to have lost the \"wow\" factor about all the changes
\ngoing on in his life.<\/p>\n
He also can be disarmingly funny at his own expense. About the
\nFFI awards, where he wore an understated jacket and pants,
\ndespite the dress code of \"glamorous\", he quipped, \"Well, at
\nleast I looked different from the rest\".<\/p>\n
The happy-go-lucky, almost naive quality in his answers is a
\nrefreshing contrast to the polished, infotainment-wary defense
\nmechanisms of most stars. And it may well have to do with the
\nfact that instead of having to deal with the mythical rejection
\nand hard knocks of acting, he virtually stumbled upon his career.<\/p>\n
Tora was born in Jakarta when the World War II movie Tora!
\nTora! Tora! was playing in local movie theaters, but his
\nbusinessman father and model mother divorced when he was young.
\nAlthough both subsequently remarried, Tora's mother was killed in
\na car accident when he was seven.<\/p>\n
He lived with his grandmother for a time, before eventually
\nsettling with his father. The patchwork of tattoos covering his
\narms and shoulders -- revealed in one scene in Arisan -- tell of
\nhis teenage aspirations to be in a rock band.<\/p>\n
\"When rockers get together and get drunk, it's kind of a given
\nto get a tattoo. And then you get drunk again, and again you have
\nto do,\" he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
He left for New Zealand and Australia as a teenager, spending
\nsix years there, he noted wryly, \"as a student who never
\nstudied\".<\/p>\n
Upon his return to Jakarta, Tora married and is now the father
\nof a five-year-old daughter. He was working in an advertising
\nfirm when the opportunity to act came his way.<\/p>\n
\"I got to know Teteh (director Nia DiNata) when the ad firm
\ndid some work for her film Ca-Bau-Kan. I didn't meet up with her
\nfor a long time, and then I was called in. They asked me if I
\nwould like to play in Arisan, as a gay man. I thought, great.\"<\/p>\n
Originally up for the role of Nino, the character who is more
\ncomfortable with his sexuality than timid Sakti, Tora's cinematic
\nreference point was the mincing, pouting, hilariously precious
\nEmon, originally played by Didi Petet in the Catatan Si Boy
\nmovies in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n
Instead, he was given the role of Sakti, and, with fellow cast
\nmembers, went through an intense three-month preparation.<\/p>\n
He was also told to forget about playing it for laughs.<\/p>\n
\"We would all go to a cafe together, and Teteh would have us
\nwatch people. None of the cast really knew each other before but
\nwe met every day for three months and became like old friends.
\nTeteh taught me to open my eyes, and Joko (Anwar, who cowrote the
\nscreenplay) would always tell me, 'Don't be a sissy', because
\nthat wasn't what they wanted.\"<\/p>\n
Joko, who is the regular film columnist for this publication
\nand has cast Tora in his directorial debut Janji Joni, said the
\nactor proved the right choice for the part.<\/p>\n
\"Except for the gay aspect, he was basically playing himself,\"
\nhe said, not meaning it as a backhanded compliment. \"I think he
\nhas a bright future ahead of him, because he really wants to
\nlearn more about film and acting as a craft.\"<\/p>\n
One of the most affecting scenes in the movie is when Sakti,
\nbelieving his secret is finally out, breaks down.<\/p>\n
Tora said it was not easy getting the waterworks going.<\/p>\n
\"My mood was always happy during shooting, but on that day
\nthey told me I had to cry. I couldn't do it. Rachel (Maryam)
\ntried to get me to do it using techniques she learned in theater,
\nbut I still couldn't do it. And then Teteh came, and she told me
\nto go into a corner, and think of my late mother, so I could cry.
\nAnd it worked.\"<\/p>\n
Arisan garnered mostly favorable reviews, and a lot of fans
\nfor Tora, including women drawn by his tall (184 cm), lean looks.
\nTora said that when he watches the movie now, he becomes his own
\nworst critic about what he should have done.<\/p>\n
But it was that kiss that stole the show.<\/p>\n
Screams, gasps and yelps rang out in movie theaters, leading
\nto wire service stories about the reactions to Indonesia's \"gay
\nrevolution\".<\/p>\n
\"Actually, the reaction was a bit much,\" Tora said.\"Everybody
\ntalks about the kiss, but it really wasn't anything indecent. But
\nmaybe it's because of our culture .... people have heard of gay
\npeople, but they had never actually seen it.<\/p>\n
\"And if people want to think I'm gay, that's fine. That means
\nthat I must have done a really good job of acting.\"<\/p>\n
With a Citra to his name, Tora also realizes that a lot is
\nriding on Banyu Biru, due for a March release, to prove that it's
\nnot a case of first time lucky.<\/p>\n
Banyu, he said, \"... is someone disappointed with his family,
\nwith his parents, very closed. But he meets a lot of different
\npeople, and tries to face up to things\".<\/p>\n
The talent of the supporting cast is not lost on him; as well
\nas Dian, who won the best actress Citra, there is Slamet Rahardjo
\nand Didi Petet.<\/p>\n
\"So many people liked Arisan, so if the second one is just
\nordinary, yeah, how will that be? ... I know that Slamet won
\nCitras in several categories, I'm used to watching him in the
\nmovie theater, and then he's standing next to me. It's enough to
\ngive you a panic attack. But he's a calming presence.\"<\/p>\n
If fame is measured by having a fried tempeh seller shout out
\nSakti's name on the street as you pass by -- even if he had
\nwatched the pirated version as the movie was still in theaters --
\nthen Tora has arrived.<\/p>\n
Tora argues that success has not changed him.<\/p>\n
\"I just go on with my life. The Tora of yesterday is the same
\nas today. I don't want to become arrogant, because then I
\ncouldn't act anymore. ... Sure, I've lost my privacy, but I enjoy
\nit.\"<\/p>",
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