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.