JP/R.Berto Wedhatama

JAKARTA: After making headlines with the saga over her marriage to a Malaysian prince, model Manohara Odelia Pinot is now stepping back into the entertainment industry.

Although the half-American teenager says she still has difficulties speaking Indonesian, Manohara vows to act her best in her debut soap opera Manohara, scheduled to start on RCTI on July 20.

“I’m currently practicing Indonesian by reading all sorts of books and newspapers,” says the 17-year-old. “I don’t hesitate to ask anyone on set if I encounter any language problems.”

Manohara’s soap opera character has no bearing on the story of her real marriage to Malaysia’s Kelantan prince Tengku Mohamad Fakhry Sultan Ismail Petra, the model insists.

“I don’t appear as myself in this soap opera, but purely as a [fictional] character.” But, she goes on, “my experience of being abused [by my husband] has helped me a lot in exploring this character.”

Manohara also says she has no plans to dramatize her life experience in a film.

“I only want to entertain myself and start a new life. Acting can help me a lot.”

Manohara returned to Indonesia late May where she told media that Fakhry, 31, had held her captive and treated her as a sex slave. She claimed she was slashed with razor blades and usually kept locked in her bedroom. The Kelantan royal family has denied all those accusations. — JP

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