Reviving the Winatra Gang: How Reza Rahadian and Others Delved into the Characters of 'Laut Bercerita'
The adaptation of Leila S. Chudori’s acclaimed novel, ‘Laut Bercerita’, into a feature film presented unique challenges for the cast. Lead actor Reza Rahadian revealed that in developing his character, Biru Laut, he chose to remain faithful to the foundation established by the author, both in the literary work and the film script.
At the press conference for the first teaser of ‘Laut Bercerita’ in Jakarta on Tuesday (February 24th), Reza affirmed that the character’s transition from the short film version to the feature film did not involve significant changes in personality. For him, consistency is key to portraying the iconic character.
“It’s clear that from the short film to the feature film, there are no significantly different characters. I will adhere to the novel and the screenplay because the character descriptions remain the same,” said Reza.
Although the film explores the theme of a difficult and tense struggle for democracy during the New Order era, Reza employed a unique method to build rapport with his fellow cast members.
Rather than maintaining a formal demeanor, he opted for a relaxed and informal approach to create a more comfortable atmosphere on set. He admitted to often engaging in casual conversations or sharing lighthearted jokes during breaks.
This approach was taken because the emotional intensity of the film’s scenes was very high.
“I prefer to chat about various things,” he said.
He added that these casual conversations served as an important counterbalance before they returned to the serious and emotionally demanding scenes.
The story of ‘Laut Bercerita’ revolves around the Winatra gang, a group of students from different faculties who became the driving force behind the resistance. This group consists of strong characters such as Kinan, Laut, Gusti, Naratama, Sunu, Alex, and Daniel.
Dewa Dayana, who plays Sunu, believes that uniting the various characters in Winatra was not difficult.
According to him, the characters’ shared background as young people made it easier to create an authentic collective awareness through discussions during the production process.
In agreement with this, Kevin Julio, who plays Daniel Tambunan, said that he felt a very deep emotional connection during the filming process.
For him, the experience in this project created a sense of friendship that went beyond the usual professional working relationship.
“One thing I want to say is that I felt a kind of friendship that I have never felt before,” said Kevin.
Through a combination of in-depth research of the novel and personal connections between the actors, the cast hopes to present the spirit of the student activists’ struggle honestly to the audience. (Ant/Z-1)
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