Inul back on screen with a vengeance

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Who these days does not know of Inul Daratista, that woman from Pasuruan, a small town in East Java, who has enthralled the nation with her famously gyrating hips?

Criticism of her "erotic" dancing by the Indonesian Council of Ulemas and Rhoma Irama, the chairman of the Indonesian Association of Malay Music Artists, only served to fuel Inul's skyrocketing fame.

After a two-month "leave of absence", Inul is back on the nation's TV screens with a vengeance.

Not only does she appear in television commercials for an energy drink, a soda, instant noodles and a mosquito coil, she will also star in two variety shows and have her own sinetron (TV drama) starting this June.

TransTV's Rindu Inul (Missing Inul) on June 4 marked the return of Inul to the small screen after the row with Rhoma. It was a two-hour variety show featuring well-known entertainers such as Sophia Latjuba, Titiek Puspa, Memes, Dewi Gita and Dea Mirella.

Beginning June 6, she will regularly grace SCTV's variety show Sang Bintang (The Star), which promises to have Inul not only demonstrating her famous "drilling" move, but also helping out in magic shows and collaborating with other singers.

"We have tried to make sure that Inul's movements are as aesthetic as possible, with help from Guruh Soekarnoputra and Denny Malik," SCTV public relations manager Budi Darmawan said. Sang Bintang will be aired live every Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Inul, who recently released her debut album Joget Sama-sama (Dance Together), will also star in a new sinetron by noted writer Arswendo Atmowiloto, called Kenapa Harus Inul? (Why Does it Have to be Inul?), also on SCTV.

Arswendo said the sinetron was based on Inul's own life, charting her rise to stardom and all of the controversies that have surrounded her.

It promises to explain how the Inul phenomena came about, and how a "nobody" could rise to become one of Indonesia's most controversial figures.

Kenapa Harus Inul?, produced by Lenza Film, will also star Irgi Achmad, Chintami Atmanegara, Torro Margens and Anwar Fuadi.

Kenapa Harus Inul? will air every Saturday beginning on June 28 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on SCTV