Anjasmara

The Jakarta Post   |  Thu, 01/24/2008 11:31 AM  |  Firm Favourites

When the going gets tough, Anjasmara and wife Dian Nitami go shopping. The onetime teen heart-throb finds that a stint of retail therapy can put a troubled mind at ease. “Both of us like to shop, it can get pretty crazy, but Dian can still control the finances a bit better than me,” the 31-year-old actor said at his home in Kemang, South Jakarta. He admits to maxing out a few credit cards last year, when he was in the hot seat after posing almost as nature intended for the Jakarta Biennale (the notorious pink swing used in the photograph now sits in his own special chill-out corner of his home). But his spacious house is not an ultramodern temple paying blind homage to the latest gaudy interior design trends: An Art Deco dresser fits in quite comfortably with bushels of padi used as decoration in the front room. “First, I like the durability of them, the classic quality that means they never get boring,” said Anjasmara. “And the other thing is that as an investment, they always increase in value over time.”

FRAGRANCE: I love cleanliness. I hate body odor, even my own. I particularly like the smell of lavender, it helps me get rid of stress, feel more peaceful. I always use it when I get home at the end of the day. My favorite cologne is Lolita Lempicka, I’ve used it for the past four years. It’s not too strong yet it’s sweet.

BIKE: This type of bike is very strong, it’s the kind used by farmers to carry their crops from the field. I found it in Blok M. And when I was dating Dian, one day I really wanted to meet her, so I rode my bike from my home in Cilandak (South Jakarta) to her house in Grogol (West Jakarta). It took me an hour to get there.

BATIK: It’s part of our cultural identity, but young people today don’t wear it, they think it is old people’s clothes. I believe we do not have to wear it only to formal occasions, it can be casual, too. When I wear it, I’m trying to remind people that, “This is Indonesia you know!”

WATCH: It was a gift from my step-mother, a Rolex GMT Master, and it was a pretty expensive possession for me when I was young and did not have much money of my own.

RING: In 1993, when I was still modeling, and doing shows in the regions, one of my friends bought a gold ring from the Majapahit era. I couldn’t afford one; all I could do was look at it and say how good it looked. But I saved up to buy one. I wear it on my travels; it’s been with me to South Korea and Malaysia.

BAG: I made it myself, from an idea by (batik designer) Edward Hutabarat. He made it for women only, and I kept on asking him when he would make one for men. He never got around to it. Eventually, I decided to do it myself.

BOOKS: At the end of shooting Koper, (producer-director) Richard Oh gave me The Actor’s Survival Handbook. He told me, “Here, an actor needs this”. It’s been really useful for me, invaluable in assisting me in my work and in building my self-confidence. As for Ramadewa, I love all the stories of the Ramayana. I got it from one of the book vendors in Senen.

GADO-GADO: If I don’t eat gado-gado during the week, my body starts to tell me that something is wrong. I’ve always eaten vegetables and gado-gado since I was a kid. My favorite is from a food cart in Wijaya, South Jakarta, that I first tried with my father when I was about five years old.

CELL-PHONE CARD: My first cell phone was a Motorola. I have kept my first cell-phone number card. I continue to pay the basic service charge and the number is still active even though I have not used it for years. I will never throw it away.

+ Bruce Emond

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