Deddy giving a fresh look to oldtime religion

Joko Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta

In a modest editing room, Deddy Mizwar sang along to a rock song featured in the closing credits of his big-screen directorial debut.

It wasn't clear whether he really liked the song (it sounded like bad local rock from the 1980s) or he was singing out of nervousness while awaiting the response from his test audience.

The 48-year-old actor has been inviting small groups of film reviewers to separate previews, which is a good strategy because it provides a more intimate setting to see what the movie is all about.

Plus, with the potentially risky title of Kiamat Sudah Dekat (Doomsday is Near) and the publicity blurb touting it as a "religious romantic comedy", he needs as many opportunities as he can get to dispel the suspicion it's all fire and brimstone.

"The way young people date according to TV shows and movies today has become monotonous. I'm just trying to give something different," he said as way of explanation.

It is different, indeed. In accordance with Islamic teachings, the young couple do not have any premarital physical contact.

"I want people to acknowledge that there are people who still date this way," he added.

It's an interesting premise in this age of cheesecake-filled tabloids and salacious tales of celebrity goings-on, but it also runs the risk of scaring away prospective viewers.

Fortunately, the story works and the movie managed to impress the test audience on the day. It has its shortcomings, but, overall, it is good-natured, unpretentious and witty.

And it seems only Deddy, onetime leading man and now the religious everyman, could pull it off.

Born in Jakarta and a native son of the capital, Deddy ranks among the best actors in the country. A college dropout with a theater acting background, he went on to star in some of the most memorable films of the 1980s, including the satirical war/comedy hit Naga Bonar, the ambitious ensemble drama Opera Jakarta and Kejarlah Daku Kau Kutangkap, arguably the best Indonesian comedy ever made.

He was the winner of four Citra acting awards in the now- defunct Indonesian Film Festival.

When the local movie industry collapsed amid the onslaught of Hollywood movies in the early 1990s, Deddy moved into acting in TV series, as well as producing and directing.

He also made the transition from leading man roles to a character role, typecast today as the wise, upstanding, devout middle-aged man.

The native Betawi community is known for their strong Islamic beliefs, and it has made it into his works. With next to none of the scandal that plagues other celebrities, Deddy is also a favorite advertising spokesman for products during Islamic holidays.

In the ongoing TV series Lorong Waktu (The Time Tunnel), he plays a time-traveling hajj encountering various sinners and helping them find a way to seek God's forgiveness.

In Kiamat Sudah Dekat, he again plays a hajj, this time one who is reluctant to let a rock musician date his daughter.

"If an Indonesian movie does not have a religious element, it is simply not being honest," Deddy said. "Our society is very close to religious things.

His TV series have received good ratings, but it cannot be assumed that more sophisticated movie-going audiences will have the same reaction.

The new generation of local filmmakers understandably avoid religious issues because they are associated with old-fashioned Indonesian movies that became extinct by natural selection: People simply did not buy tickets.

"I believe religious themes can still be commercial. It just depends on how you present the idea to the audience so as not to make it a cliche," Deddy said.

In Kiamat Sudah Dekat, Deddy does try to buck the stereotype of the holier-than-thou religious man. He makes mistakes and also envies the cool attitude of young people.

"And I don't cite the Koran in my movies," he quipped.

The local film industry has began making a resurgence since 2000, but it's still in search of an identity. It continues to look to Hollywood for ideas, even though the latter is exploring Asia's potential.

The jury may still be out on whether Deddy is hopelessly naive about audience tastes -- "I made the film with the audience in mind" -- or a visionary, but the vehicle is still an alternative to the mainstream offering.

It will come as no surprise that Deddy's next project will be a comedy with religious nuances. More interesting news to many will be that he is also planning to make a sequel to Naga Bonar.

He sees himself on a mission to remedy the ills affecting the local film world.

"The Indonesian film industry died because the trash far outnumbered the good," Deddy said. "It can happen again anytime now if we don't do something about it. We have to make more good movies. We are in a race now."