Indra's trademark camp stage persona takes a backseat

By Bruce Emond

JAKARTA (JP): Like many entertainers known for their high humor quotient, Indra Safera keeps a subdued presence off stage.

He politely answers a pat round of feeling-out questions, but there is the conspicuous absence of his trademark camp stage persona, so familiar from commercials, his stint as host of the gossip magazine show KISS and as an MC and deejay. No staccato asides or high-pitched laugh interrupt the conversation; he initially proves to be a thoughtful interview if not a dynamic one.

His guard only comes down when he talks about his goals in life and, pointedly, about being burned by the media.

Now 31, he longs to set up his own talk show in the mold of successful U.S. programs -- "I learned my English from watching Sally Jessy Raphael, Oprah and Geraldo" -- but his first venture into the domain was short-lived. He is a self-confessed perfectionist with a short attention span; when a project is not working or becomes stagnant, he chooses to move on to try his talents at something new.

He is also passionate in protesting the media's intrusions into his private life. It may appear a disingenuous grievance from a man who hosted a gossip show, but his ire mainly seems to stem from reporters' heavy-handed tactics. To his detriment, he does not suffer fools gladly, even when they are armed with the considerable might of a pen.

In an interview conducted almost exclusively in English at his office at Hard Rock FM, Indra talked about his roundabout path to a career in entertainment, his future plans and the nagging question which will not go away.

Question: Did you always want to become an entertainer?

Answer: No, I never planned to be an entertainer, it just happened that way. I went to college in Hawaii studying management, and after that I went to San Francisco. I worked at Nieman Marcus (department store) for about 10 months. I loved it, but my friends kept on telling me to come back to Indonesia. I came back and worked at an advertising agency for about three months and didn't like it very much. I moved onto a tour agency and worked there, maybe because it would make my parents happy.

But I had always done things like perform on Independence Day, so I was used to being in front of people. And then I was asked to emcee a show, it was for (private airline) Sempati, before it went out of business. And I remember it was Rp 500,000, which was a big payday. And it all went from there.

Q: Then you went into television...

A: I bumped into a friend, Harry de Fretes, who asked me if I wanted to be on his comedy show. I did segments with us reading bits of humorous news, me with Becky (Tumewu). I did that for a year. Nearly everybody who has worked with Harry, like from the show Lenong Rumpi, has become successful.

I also did Catatan Si Boy (he played Emon, a fey, spoiled Jakarta rich kid, in a character made famous by actor Didi Petet in a series of movies in the 1980s). But I hated the slowness of it and how uncertain it was. And I hated it when construction workers would shout after me "hey, Emon!". I was pissed off and so I quit.

I went to Indosiar and originally they wanted me to be somebody to compete with (TV chef) Rudy Chaeruddin. But I hate copying other people. And then I did KISS, and I loved that show.

Q: Why did you leave?

A: After a while, there was no more challenge. There was the conflict with the station, the vision of what the show could be. I don't want to stay in something that I don't like, I can't do it.

Q: What do you think of the new host, Eko? Are you friends?

A: Well, we don't go bowling together, if that's what you mean. I've met him but I don't know him well. We don't like to criticize people in Indonesia, but some people say he is copying my style. But a lot about the show has changed, like the creator of the show is also gone.

Q: You also did the talk show Korek. What was your aim with that project?

A: It was to deliver a message, to educate people, especially the younger audience. But you cannot do these things alone. You have to have a marketing team behind you which can conduct evaluations and things like that, which can put the program out there for the audience.

The station wasn't really serious about a talk show. They would ask "why are you having (female impersonator) Tato Daddo on the show, he's a banci (fairy) and "(actress) Inneke Koesherawati, she has such a terrible reputation". They didn't see that they were interesting. Korek was acceptable to the audience, and other stations put on good shows to compete against it. But it wasn't going anywhere and I couldn't force it. We were only a small group.

My plan is to see how it's done in the U.S. I don't want to do something that is just regular. My idols are people like Tantowi Yahya, who is so good at what he does. There is an art to it all. A show like Ricky Lake's has about 18 cameras in the studio; we had about three. But I will have to sacrifice a lot if I want to come back with the skills.

Q: How do you see your role as an entertainer?

A: My job is to deliver messages. If I am doing a show, I like to be involved in all aspects of it, which can mean the planning, decorations, etc. Sometimes my clients are surprised that I'm such a perfectionist, that I want to have a hand in making the show right. My job is to keep everything smooth -- I cannot just do only what I'm supposed to do and go home.

My job as an entertainer is to learn, learn, learn. You have to adjust to your audience, to fit in with what they want. For instance, I've done a show for new military graduates, and the jokes went off fine. If I do a show for secretaries, I know they like a lot of dirty jokes because it is so different from their regular lives with the boss.

But not all of my shows are the best. I fail when people go home before the show is over, because they somehow haven't got the message. I'm most afraid when people don't laugh.

I am proud that I can be a bilingual entertainer. I'm setting up an artists' management firm so we can have professional entertainers who perform to a particular standard. We still lack singers who can communicate in English, and some of them are very shy.

Q: What do you think of the outcry over comedy group Bagito lampooning President Abdurrahman Wahid?

A: Well, it was so cruel because it was so physical, the phone on the head. I think it will take time for them to come back. My market is very segmented, but theirs goes across the board, so what they do reaches more people.

Sometimes I go physical, but I always read what is happening. If I'm on stage, I'll do it, but if the performance is being televised, then no. You have to think about the person, and that the family and friends would also be watching at home.

Q: But your stage persona is very camp, and your jokes can be cutting. Are there subjects you will not get into?

A: I won't touch private things, like sexual preference.

Q: It seems like the media is always asking you if you are gay...

A: Yes. And I think that if I answer "yes I am", what good does that do, because it only hurts my family and friends, and if I say I'm not, there's lot of people who will just say I'm lying.

Aren't there more important questions the media can ask me? I've done interviews with magazines for what I thought were going to be profiles, but they always ask me the same question: "Are you gay?" Or they will use a headline like "Indra Safera talks about gay life". Those things hurt.

And if people don't like me or my style, I always say, then just switch channels.