The secret behind Bagito group's success

The secret behind Bagito group's success

By A. Ariobimo Nusantara

JAKARTA (JP): Many Indonesians might not know the difference
between a clown and a comedian. The line is so thin between the
two that a layman usually has problems discerning it and, for
convenience sake, just lumps it all under the title of comedian.

Comedy enthusiasts do not want to be bothered with
expressions, norms or limits. This is because comedy provides
people with a momentary escape from the problems of everyday life
through a brief glimpse at the romantic world of make-believe.

The objective of watching a comedy is to get a good laugh, to
be entertained and to enjoy the foolish cracks made by the
comedians.

Take Charlie Chaplin. Please. Viewers don't care if he is a
clown or a comedian, they just want to watch his ungainly gait in
his trademark giant Ford Sterling shoes. Viewers get a laugh from
the pantomime he made world famous by his a-size-to-small bowler,
bamboo cane and trousers several sizes too large borrowed from
Fatty Arbuckle.

However, truth has it that in an increasingly more critical
and more perceptive world, it is no longer certain that funny
stunts will draw laughter from a crowd. The number of lovers of
slapstick comedy -- the sagging moustache, spitting at one
another, or sitting on a vacuum -- is waning. Comedy consumers
are looking for alternatives that provide realistic humor while
eliminating worries and stimulating social issues.

Emanating from this phenomenon, the Bagito group, made up of
Miing, Didin and Unang, has developed their own comedy format. In
their first years they tended toward slapstick, chasing and
shoving one another, tumbling every now and then, and dressing up
in female attire. But, through constant innovation and
instruction, they finally found their own style.

The Bagito trio have become quite adept at assuming the role
of a clown or that of a humorist (when the jokes involve
themselves) and when to assume that of a joker (when the jokes
are meant for one person or persons). No more do they depend on
silly clothing or exaggerated makeup.

The Bagito team has performed everywhere. They started with
festivals, moved on to radio, the stage, cassettes, films and
then finally made it on to television. They have performed for
Indonesians in Sydney, Australia, and in Boston, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Washington, D.C.

For their international performances, the Bagito team writes
skits to suit the region. In Australia, for instance, Miing
prepared something special the day before their performance: A
hat in true Crocodile Dundee style. They were convinced that
Indonesians living in Australia would double over in laughter
when Paul Hogan introduced himself in Betawi dialect: "I would
like to introduce myself. I am Crocodile Dundee. The people of
Indonesia call me buaya (crocodile) or kadal (lizard)."

Performing abroad is not without problems. Language barriers
are found everywhere, but to the group, "such funny situations
provide us with a host of materials for future jokes. When we
tell our story on stage, the audience burst out laughing," said
Miing, the oldest member of the group.

Do they have a trick to success? What steps have they taken to
earn the billions of rupiah they have raked in so far?

A close look at their careers reveals five secrets to success.
Firstly, the Bagito group is always ready to perform, keeping a
ready store of scenarios written by gag writers.

Secondly, the group keeps up with social topics and proffers
them to the public with outrageous jokes. Thirdly, they were born
and bred in Jakarta, which makes it easy for them to touch upon
the metropolitan's daily affairs. Fourth, they use the Indonesian
language, which is understood by the whole nation and therefore
invites a quick response from local audiences. Lastly, the group
is always taking notes.

The relatively young group used their last secret to launch
their biography. They named the book BAGITO -- The Three
Merchants Of Laughter (written by Herry Gendut Janarto), which
reveals both the team's and each individual's creative processes.
Miing, representing his two partners, said that the history of
Bagito was really not ready to print, but they decided to go
ahead when news and pictures of them began to be casually
scattered around town. The group also wanted to arouse interest
in documenting artistic groups.

The latter reason needs underscoring. Biography writing is
still dominated in Indonesia by government officials,
businesspeople and heroes. The tradition is literally unknown
among artists.

"In the United States and Europe, comedians, musicians, film
and stage stars as well as painters all have their careers
outlined in books which are easily available in book shops. I'd
like to do the same in Indonesia," Miing said.

The Bagito group has moved beyond comedy to slip imperceptibly
into the category of entertainers. Just before the 1992
elections, for example, the group held a talk show at the Suara
Kejayaan radio station on political matters. During the show,
they talked with politicians, intellectuals and officials, and
accentuated the funny aspects of each topic to limit the
intensity of politics and turn it into a fresh and lively
subject.

Umar Kayam, an authority on culture from Yogyakarta, commented
that humor is necessary for bureaucrats, the people at the helm
of government.

"I would like to see at least five to 10 groups like Bagito
turn up in our country. This is important because today's
bureaucrats have a poor sense of humor. Busy with running the
government, they become tense and suffer from stress and are
always in a hurry. They are in bad need of humor to unwind, to
feel relieved," Umar said.

Bagito is the most popular, and most expensive, group of
Indonesian comedians. They charge Rp 1 million (US$432) a minute
and have moved beyond festivals to penetrate the corporate world
of business meetings and conferences.

Their biggest deal is the Rp 1 billion contract they secured
with RCTI television station in 1993 for the program Ba-Sho which
ran for two years. A fantastic figure considering none in the
group claim they ever wanted to be comedians.

"Honestly, we never dreamed of becoming comedians. We had to,
because we had no other choice. Usually people become funny when
they are cornered," Miing said.

Not everyone thinks the group is hilarious.

"Personally, I don't feel like laughing when I watch Ba-Sho. I
would have found it funny if only a part, outside the manuscript,
happened spontaneously. I can see this because I'm actually in
the film business. I can say what part has been improvised and
what has not," commented Rano Karno, the star of the TV serials
Si Doel Anak Sekolahan.

Rano added, "Their performance is good, but they have not
reached their potential, they can still raise their performance
level."

"The Cosby Show is a good example. The setting is clear, the
characters of the actors are also clear," said Rano, who won this
year's Young Pioneer of Culture award for popularizing the
television series, which he developed from the local culture of
Jakarta, among people from various ethnic groups in the country.

Bagito's progress has made Dedi "Miing" Gumelar more than just
a comedian, but a dynamic manager as well. He leads his group
professionally.

His view goes beyond income and he is not afraid to pitch his
team against foreign groups. Their expensive fees are spread
between the many hands working for Bagito under their company
logo B-Enterprise. The company strives to lift the group's social
standing to the level of other business enterprises and the
professionals such as lawyers and bankers.

"B-Enterprise is part of our effort to become professional
managers," said Miing, the managing comedian of B-Enterprise.

A. Ariobimo Nusantara is a commissioning editor for
educational multimedia in Jakarta.