Actor Tora Sudiro goes with the flow

Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For Tora Sudiro, getting from point A of the entrance of a South Jakarta cafe to point B of his waiting table means making a few pitstops along the way.

As the actor knows at least one person at each of the three other occupied tables, a bit of obligatory gladhanding and jokey asides are all part of his newfound brush with the fame game.

He first came to prominence in late 2003 in the role of Sakti, every girl's idea of a sweet, caring male friend who is inching his way out of the closet, in the critically acclaimed film Arisan.

An onscreen kiss with costar Surya Saputra -- and the attendant "is he or isn't he?" question about his sexuality -- kept Tora's name on the front burner of smoldering gossip rags.

A year later, the 31 year old has played in several television soaps, displayed his comedic talent as a member of Trans TV's popular show Extravaganza and is the lead actor in the upcoming Banyu Biru, a feature costarring Dian Sastro.

And, of course, to the surprise of some, not least himself, he won the best actor Citra at December's Festival Film Indonesia (FFI).

Those fearing a bad bout of celebrity-itis can rest easy: Tora does not seem to have lost the "wow" factor about all the changes going on in his life.

He also can be disarmingly funny at his own expense. About the FFI awards, where he wore an understated jacket and pants, despite the dress code of "glamorous", he quipped, "Well, at least I looked different from the rest".

The happy-go-lucky, almost naive quality in his answers is a refreshing contrast to the polished, infotainment-wary defense mechanisms of most stars. And it may well have to do with the fact that instead of having to deal with the mythical rejection and hard knocks of acting, he virtually stumbled upon his career.

Tora was born in Jakarta when the World War II movie Tora! Tora! Tora! was playing in local movie theaters, but his businessman father and model mother divorced when he was young. Although both subsequently remarried, Tora's mother was killed in a car accident when he was seven.

He lived with his grandmother for a time, before eventually settling with his father. The patchwork of tattoos covering his arms and shoulders -- revealed in one scene in Arisan -- tell of his teenage aspirations to be in a rock band.

"When rockers get together and get drunk, it's kind of a given to get a tattoo. And then you get drunk again, and again you have to do," he said with a laugh.

He left for New Zealand and Australia as a teenager, spending six years there, he noted wryly, "as a student who never studied".

Upon his return to Jakarta, Tora married and is now the father of a five-year-old daughter. He was working in an advertising firm when the opportunity to act came his way.

"I got to know Teteh (director Nia DiNata) when the ad firm did some work for her film Ca-Bau-Kan. I didn't meet up with her for a long time, and then I was called in. They asked me if I would like to play in Arisan, as a gay man. I thought, great."

Originally up for the role of Nino, the character who is more comfortable with his sexuality than timid Sakti, Tora's cinematic reference point was the mincing, pouting, hilariously precious Emon, originally played by Didi Petet in the Catatan Si Boy movies in the late 1980s.

Instead, he was given the role of Sakti, and, with fellow cast members, went through an intense three-month preparation.

He was also told to forget about playing it for laughs.

"We would all go to a cafe together, and Teteh would have us watch people. None of the cast really knew each other before but we met every day for three months and became like old friends. Teteh taught me to open my eyes, and Joko (Anwar, who cowrote the screenplay) would always tell me, 'Don't be a sissy', because that wasn't what they wanted."

Joko, who is the regular film columnist for this publication and has cast Tora in his directorial debut Janji Joni, said the actor proved the right choice for the part.

"Except for the gay aspect, he was basically playing himself," he said, not meaning it as a backhanded compliment. "I think he has a bright future ahead of him, because he really wants to learn more about film and acting as a craft."

One of the most affecting scenes in the movie is when Sakti, believing his secret is finally out, breaks down.

Tora said it was not easy getting the waterworks going.

"My mood was always happy during shooting, but on that day they told me I had to cry. I couldn't do it. Rachel (Maryam) tried to get me to do it using techniques she learned in theater, but I still couldn't do it. And then Teteh came, and she told me to go into a corner, and think of my late mother, so I could cry. And it worked."

Arisan garnered mostly favorable reviews, and a lot of fans for Tora, including women drawn by his tall (184 cm), lean looks. Tora said that when he watches the movie now, he becomes his own worst critic about what he should have done.

But it was that kiss that stole the show.

Screams, gasps and yelps rang out in movie theaters, leading to wire service stories about the reactions to Indonesia's "gay revolution".

"Actually, the reaction was a bit much," Tora said."Everybody talks about the kiss, but it really wasn't anything indecent. But maybe it's because of our culture .... people have heard of gay people, but they had never actually seen it.

"And if people want to think I'm gay, that's fine. That means that I must have done a really good job of acting."

With a Citra to his name, Tora also realizes that a lot is riding on Banyu Biru, due for a March release, to prove that it's not a case of first time lucky.

Banyu, he said, "... is someone disappointed with his family, with his parents, very closed. But he meets a lot of different people, and tries to face up to things".

The talent of the supporting cast is not lost on him; as well as Dian, who won the best actress Citra, there is Slamet Rahardjo and Didi Petet.

"So many people liked Arisan, so if the second one is just ordinary, yeah, how will that be? ... I know that Slamet won Citras in several categories, I'm used to watching him in the movie theater, and then he's standing next to me. It's enough to give you a panic attack. But he's a calming presence."

If fame is measured by having a fried tempeh seller shout out Sakti's name on the street as you pass by -- even if he had watched the pirated version as the movie was still in theaters -- then Tora has arrived.

Tora argues that success has not changed him.

"I just go on with my life. The Tora of yesterday is the same as today. I don't want to become arrogant, because then I couldn't act anymore. ... Sure, I've lost my privacy, but I enjoy it."