Not just for laughs with comic actor Mat<\/p>\n
Adhi Abhiyasa, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Anyone who says that the cachet of beautiful faces is the only
\ntrick to earn high ratings and commercial benefits should stand
\ncorrected right here, right now.<\/p>\n
Turn on private TV station TransTV any night of the week from
\n6:30 p.m., and you will find the reason why we should not let our
\nairwaves become dominated by all those pretty people displaying
\ntheir ugly acting.<\/p>\n
What you get instead are healthy laughs and good times from
\nthe modest local sitcom Bajaj Bajuri, telling about the daily
\nlife of an ordinary family, consisting of naive bajaj (three-
\nwheeled motorized pedicab) driver Bajuri, his not-too-smart wife
\n(Oneng) and her meddling mother (Emak).<\/p>\n
Like all parents, Emak wants her beautiful daughter to land a
\nkind-hearted, good-looking and wealthy man. Alas, Oneng set her
\nheart on Bajuri and married the pot-bellied guy, who works as a
\nbajaj driver to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
Emak and Bajuri are embroiled in daily feuds on you-name-it-
\ntopics, from the uang arisan (contributions for the monthly
\ncommunal money pot) to a wedding party. The funny situations that
\narise from the interaction of these three main characters --
\nalong with the memorable supporting cast of characters, from a
\nvampy neighbor to one who prefaces every statement with
\n\"Sorry ...\" -- are guaranteed to keep you chuckling right through
\nto the next episode.<\/p>\n
It is safe to say the show's fans all over the nation owe
\ntheir enjoyment to achingly funny Mat Solar aka Nasrullah. The
\n41-year-old actor knows for sure how to make his comical
\ncharacter of Bajuri create humorous situations without having to
\ngrandstand or camp it up, the failing of so many other sitcoms.<\/p>\n
According to Nasrullah, serious preparation goes into each
\nepisode. During the early episodes, Nasrullah did not even mind
\nplaying the role of scriptwriter along with actor.<\/p>\n
Now that he wants to focus on delivering his best acting as
\nthe woebegotten bajaj driver, the producer has hired a team of
\neight professional scriptwriters to make sure no actor has to
\nresort to making up improvised jokes due to dull and poorly
\nwritten scripts.<\/p>\n
\"I play well as Bajuri because the script supports me in doing
\nso. It is tight and does not let the actors make too many
\nimprovisations,\" says the Jakarta-born comedian.<\/p>\n
In real life, Nasrullah has also been able to improvise and go
\nwith life's detours.<\/p>\n
Very few people know that prior to becoming a comedian,
\nNasrullah was a film actor in the mid-1970s. After a string of
\ndramatic roles, including in Mendung Tak Selamanya Kelabu (Every
\ncloud has a silver lining), he sharpened his acting by joining
\nTeater Mama, which regularly performed comedy plays on state-
\nowned TVRI television station from 1978-1982.<\/p>\n
\"That was one of the most exciting periods of my career,\"
\nrecalled Nasrullah.<\/p>\n
He and his fellow members of Teater Mama introduced a new kind
\nof comedy by having a studio audience giving their comments and
\nreactions to the jokes. We at home guessed that all the actors
\nwere so good at improvising that the studio audience could not
\nhelp but laugh.<\/p>\n
The truth?<\/p>\n
\"I've told you before, I am not going to do a program with a
\nbad script. At Teater Mama, we practiced so hard, thus we managed
\nto create an ambiance that made every line and joke we deliver
\nlook smoothly spontaneous. The fact is that everything was
\nwritten in the script and the director was so disciplined,
\nimprovising was almost impossible,\" said Nasrullah.<\/p>\n
Performing regularly on the country's only TV station at the
\ntime was a rare chance. Nasrullah's career as a comedian seemed
\non the right track but it did not last. His decision to become
\nactively involved in the United Development Party (PPP) that was
\nvying against the ruling Golkar grouping effectively put a stop
\nto his rise.<\/p>\n
It was no joke when the government banned him from TV
\nappearances from 1982-1990 simply because of his political
\npreference. Worse still, no film studio offered him roles in
\ntheir productions.<\/p>\n
\"But I took everything in stride. They might ban my creativity
\nbut not my brain,\" Nasrullah said. The period allowed him to go
\nback to school and study at the University of Indonesia's School
\nof Political and Social Sciences for 10 semesters.<\/p>\n
Several years later, the end of the Soeharto regime ushered in
\na second chance for Nasrullah on the stage. He got offers to
\nperform in various TV programs, but it was the creation of Bajaj
\nBajuri two years ago that has brought his talents to the fore
\nonce again.<\/p>\n
The 30-minute sitcom is popular nationwide, showcasing
\nNasrullah as a comedian or, as he puts it, a comic actor.<\/p>\n
\"Boy, if only you knew how hard it is to become a comedian.
\nYou need an awfully big stock of funny jokes and have to be ready
\nto be spontaneous at all times. And let me tell you, I was an
\nunsuccessful comedian. Now just call me an actor who plays comedy
\ncharacters.\"<\/p>\n
This comes from a funny guy who -- with his devilish grin and
\ndevastating look every time his mom-in-law scolds him for not
\nbringing home enough money -- has managed to convince us that the
\nlocal TV scene is not dead -- and the unrelenting dose of pretty
\nfaces is much more than our recommended daily requirements.<\/p>\n
Fame has not gone to his head. He is still a happily married
\nman father of three who refuses to be interviewed on a weekend.
\nHe stubbornly keeps his lucky charm of a small faded yellow towel
\non his shoulder even during a break from filming.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, seriousness is the personal trait that
\ncontinually emerges during an interview with Nasrullah.<\/p>\n
From recounting his past of being kicked out of the film
\nindustry to his dream of making Bajaj Bajuri, everything is told
\nin an earnestness that we don't really expect from a comedy
\nactor.<\/p>\n
Most of the time, his structured sentences remind us how smart
\nhe really is. In fact, he only dipped into comedy once during the
\nwhole meeting, when telling why he married a native Jakartan
\nwoman.<\/p>\n
\"Oh, I wish I could marry a bule (Western) girl, but fate
\nbrought me a local 'product'. What can I say, singkong (cassava)
\nmeets singkong again, ha ha ...\"<\/p>",
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