Journalist Rudy Badil, Warkop's 'mystery man'<\/p>\n
Amir Sidharta, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
At the funeral of Dono, a member of the famed WarKop (Warung
\nKopi) comedy group who died of cancer at the end of December, the
\ngroup's spokesman, Indro, reminded the public that WarKop
\nconsisted of Nanu, Kasino, Dono, Indro and Rudy Badil.<\/p>\n
The first three members of the group have died. Now, Indro,
\nwho we know has always been the leader of the group, and Rudy
\nBadil are the only survivors. But who is Rudy Badil?<\/p>\n
Question: What is your current profession?<\/p>\n
Answer: Since 1979, I have been a journalist working for the Kompas
\ndaily. (Every Saturday, Rudy Badil's witty column on social
\nissues, Sana-sini, is published in the newspaper).<\/p>\n
Q: What was your involvement with the WarKop group?<\/p>\n
A: I founded Warung Kopi (WarKop) as a radio program for Radio
\nPrambors Rasisonia, along with Nanu Mulyono (who passed away in
\n1983), Kasino Hadiwibowo (who died in 1998), then Dono Wahjoe
\nSardono, and Indrojoyo.<\/p>\n
Q: When was the program aired?<\/p>\n
A: The program was aired every Thursday night from 1973 until
\naround 1979, before Warkop made its first feature film (Mana
\nTahan, 1979). The group's members played the role of radio
\nstation \"anchormen\" in a two-hour talk show, aired between 8 p.m.
\nand 10 p.m. They criticized the situation in various cities and
\ncountries, often even touching on New Order politics. The
\nanchormen were Acing (played by Kasino), and his uncle Ubay
\n(Indro), while I played the role of Bang Kholik, the father of
\nTulloh (Nanu). The others were the discussion friends of Mas Bei
\n(Kasino), Koh Acong (Kasino), John Batak (Nanu) and Mas Slamet
\n(Dono).<\/p>\n
Q: How did you get involved with the group?<\/p>\n
A: The other members of the group were my friends who studied at
\nthe School of Social and Political Science at the University of
\nIndonesia (UI), Rawamangun campus. I studied at the School of
\nLiterature, and I was also their senior in UI's Mapala (Student
\nNature Lovers) group. We used to join in student gatherings,
\nespecially during orientation week, on camping trips or other
\nfestivities that involved \"books, partying and love\".<\/p>\n
Q: What was so special about WarKop?<\/p>\n
A: Warkop pioneered \"brainy humor\" as opposed to slapstick
\nbuffoonery. You needed to use your brain to be able to \"get it\".
\nThis group also brought campus conservation into the talk show,
\nand featured jokes and funny anecdotes that were \"intellectual\".
\nSometimes, it would mock famous songs by truncating them and
\nblending them into other songs. For example, once the group sang
\nMichael Jackson's Ben but suddenly it became Titiek Puspa's Surat
\nUndangan.<\/p>\n
Warkop's use of puns originated on campus, and so this group
\nalso became one of the mediators in the use of prokem (slang), in
\nwhich the words \"gua\" (I) was altered to \"ogut\", \"bapak\" (father)
\ninto \"bokap\", and \"tentara\" (soldier) into \"tentokar\". This
\nlanguage survives until this day.<\/p>\n
Q: What did you think of Warkop's entry onto the silver screen?<\/p>\n
A: Of course, that marked the decline of the group's original
\nstyle, which eventually did disappear, because it had to submit
\nto the requests of the director and his cheap scenario.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, the group still managed to take part in some
\nstage shows and other events, so Warkop's original form survived
\nuntil the Bagito group emerged, followed by other urban and
\ncampus comedians.<\/p>\n
Q: Was there any friction between those who did not take part in
\nthe film and those who acted?<\/p>\n
A: Not at all. Instead, I always received an honorarium from each
\nfilm as a goodwill gesture, as I was one of the group's founders.
\nI also received a minicab, a CJ7 jeep and an expensive watch, in
\naddition to cash.<\/p>\n
Q: But you eventually joined Kompas? Was that after or before the
\nfirst Warkop film?<\/p>\n
A: I did take a look at the first scenario of Warkop's \"scary\"
\ncomedy film, Mana Tahan, which was directed by Nawi Ismail.
\nBefore joining Kompas, in 1978-79, I interned as assistant
\ndirector for Teguh Karya's November 1828 and Slamet Rahardjo's
\nRembulan dan Matahari in 1980. Therefore, my mind continued to be
\n\"idealistic\", and frankly I was afraid of playing in films
\nbecause I felt I did not have the talent and I never wanted to
\nbecome a \"movie star\". Instead, I always wanted to take part in
\nadventures in forests, crossing rivers and climbing mountains!<\/p>\n
Q: How was your relationship with the members of the group before
\nNanu, Kasino and Dono passed away?<\/p>\n
A: We always met, talked and exchanged ideas. Sometimes, I still
\nacted as a \"gag writer\", who were scarce in those days.<\/p>\n
Q: Does your experience with WarKop affect your work today?<\/p>\n
A: Yes, it gives me the spirit to always look for new ideas and
\npresent them in a kind of \"brainy\" humor, so that it does not
\nbecome too serious and dry.<\/p>",
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