Bobby Sandy's TV serial 'Senandung' to air next week<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Starting Saturday, Aug. 19, private TV station
\nIndosiar will air its new 43-episode serial titled Senandung
\n(Humming).<\/p>\n
It is worthwhile to note that this new serial, directed by
\nBobby Sandy, an old hand in film-making, took three and a half
\nyears to make, a period likely to be the longest ever in TV
\nserial-making in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
So long was the time taken to make it that the production crew
\noften joked about it, saying that Senandung took three Indonesian
\npresidents to complete. Production of the serial began in 1997,
\nwhen Soeharto was still in power, and was completed during
\nAbdurrahman Wahid's presidency. Following Soeharto and preceding
\nWahid, it was Habibie that was in the presidential seat.<\/p>\n
Senandung has marked a new stage in Bobby Sandy's career as a
\nfilm director. He is Indonesia's latest film director to try his
\nhand at making a TV film. He is following in the footsteps of
\nother directors such as Teguh Karya, Nasry Cheppy, Nurhadie
\nIrawan, the late Arifin C. Noer, Slamet Rahardjo, Sophan
\nSophiaan, Hadi Purnomo, the late Wahyu Sihombing, Imam Tantowi
\nand Agus Elias.<\/p>\n
Bobby is well-known as a maker of quality films. Critics
\npraise his beautiful and artistic cinematography as a strong
\npoint of his work. A film that won widespread acclaim was Selamat
\nTinggal Jeannette (Good-bye Jeanette), which is set in Surakarta.<\/p>\n
Bobby is fond of shooting beautiful sites. No wonder Senandung
\nis like a promotional film for tourism. He has not missed any of
\nthe interesting cultural events in Yogyakarta and Bali for the
\nsetting of the serial. During the scenes shot in Bali, for
\nexample, the audience will see the serial's main character
\nattending grand Balinese rites, such as Galungan and Ngaben.<\/p>\n
The serial has not only been shot in Indonesia. The setting
\nalso features the imposing Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
\nAccording to the storyline, the character is in Paris on
\nbusiness. The romantic scenery of Paris with cafes along the road
\nbecomes part of the serial's setting.<\/p>\n
As a film director, Bobby is also noted for his
\nmeticulousness. El Manik, one of the actors in Senandung, said
\nthat the crew of the TV film, particularly those in the artistic
\ndivision, understand Bobby's fastidiousness. If any of the crew
\nmembers failed to do their job properly, they would be
\nreprimanded.<\/p>\n
\"Just imagine how Bobby pays attention to detail. He must know
\nwhat the interior of a house is like and whose paintings decorate
\nthe walls. Then he will also check the tablecloths, the
\nbedcovering, the make of the car and the clothes. In the
\nproduction of an ordinary film or in TV film-making, the artistic
\ndesign crew usually deals with this matter and they will simply
\nmove the vases to other places or change the paintings,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, Bobby apologized to the entire crew and cast of
\nSenandung and thanked them for their willingness to stay with him
\nto the end. He also expressed gratitude to model Okky Asokawaty,
\nwho was persuaded to join the cast. Senandung marks Okky's first
\nappearance in a TV film. Previously, she was well-known only as a
\nmodel and presenter.<\/p>\n
On location, Okky often burst into tears because she felt her
\nacting fell short of what Bobby wanted. And El Manik, who cannot
\nsing, plays the role of a singer of semi-classical or classical
\nsongs, exactly the way that Bobby wanted him to appear in this TV
\nfilm. To be successful in this role, El Manik had to study how to
\nsing songs of this kind.<\/p>\n
El Manik never objected to the long period it took to make
\nthis TV serial, believing that what mattered most was that the TV
\nfilm was satisfactory. \"I trust Bobby's directing skills and I am
\ngrateful to him for giving me an excellent role,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Okky acknowledged that it was hard work to play in a TV serial
\ndirected by someone of Bobby's caliber.<\/p>\n
\"This is my first TV film and I will think twice before I take
\nanother offer to play in any more. To me, playing in a TV film
\nmeans being another person and to be that other person is a
\nreally tiring job,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The cast of Senandung includes, among others, Okky Asokawati,
\nEl Manik, Devi Permatasari, Dian Nitami, Ricky Johannes, Ghaleb
\nHusein and Joseph Ginting. Alex Suprapto wrote the script while
\nthe cinematography was put in the hands of Berti RPM. The musical
\narrangement was first handled by Billy Budiarjo, but since his
\ndeath Dian HP has taken over. (Tuti Gintini)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bobby-sandys-tv-serial-senandung-to-air-next-week-1447893297",
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