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span class="inline inline-left">Lead: Abimana Aryasatya stars in the just-released Sang Pialang about a group of stock brokers in the capital. (JP/Andrei Hasibuan)A film focusing on a group of friends living an upper-class lifestyle with a Wall Street feel is set to entertain audiences.

Abimana Aryasatya, Christian Sugiono and Kamidia Radisti are leading the cast of well-known actors in Sang Pialang. Abimana, previously known as Robertino, plays the role of Mahesa, a successful broker who lives a simple life.

He works as a broker in the same company as one of his best friends, Kevin (played by Christian Sugiono), whose father owns the firm. The film’s major conflict revolves around their competition at the firm and for the girl (played by Kamidia Radisti).  

First-time director Asad Amar, who previously assisted with such films as Mendadak Dangdut and Otomatis Romantis, directed the film. He previously worked with directors Rudi Soedjarwo and Monty Tiwa. Interested in bringing new color to Indonesian film, Asad chose the world of stockbrokers as the theme.

“For me the idea of making a film with fresh themes is important, that is why when a friend brought the idea up, I was really enthusiastic […] This is the first Indonesian film that illustrates the lives of people in the financial world, especially the stock market. The dramatic storyline and the conflicts of friendship and love are also related closely with the profession of each of the characters in the film,” said Asad.

Situated mostly in the Kuningan area, the film was shot in about 21 days. One of the main locations for the film is an actual stock exchange firm.

Written by Anggoro Saronto (Seandainya) and supervised by Titien Wattimena (Tentang Dia), the plot focuses on Mahesa and Kevin, who each have issues with their father, are interested in the same girl, and work at the same firm. But, they have different approaches in their work. One then gets into big trouble with a rich investor played by Ferry Salim.

The film that embodies the urban lifestyle of an upper-class community spent around Rp 4 billion (US$410,000) on the production. The director admits to having a lot of help from people who were enthusiastic about making the film. That assistance included obtaining shooting locations for free to props for the film borrowed from his acquaintances.

The director said he expects the film to do great because of its ability to attract a particular audience.

“The film I think has the capability to attract audiences outside of the regular ones. So, people that work closely in the financial world I hope will be interested in seeing this film. But I don’t really know, cause film usually is hard to predict right,” said Asad.

Sang Pialang opened nationwide on Thursday.