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Carissa Putri Back on screen after some family time
While some people may not like change, Carissa Putri says that she enjoys how her life has shifted her focus from work to family
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While some people may not like change, Carissa Putri says that she enjoys how her life has shifted her focus from work to family.
However, the actress said that she could not resist the temptation to return to the silver screen after giving up acting for several years to raise her child.
Carissa made a comeback recently, acting in Hanung Bramantyo's latest film, Hijab, which follows up her last screen appearance in Catatan Harian Si Boy (Boy's Diary) in 2011.
'I missed acting so much, but I was not ready to leave my family for work. When my son was 1 year old, I received the offer, and I thought it was the right time to go back,' she said. 'In addition, my husband also supported me to make movies again so I wouldn't get bored.'
The 30-year-old said that she was anxious at first when she was offered a role in Hijab.
'Hijab is my first movie in four years. I was very nervous, because I never dealt with anything related to film during that period,' she said.
Carissa plays Bia in the movie, a motivator and a designer who marries a famous sinetron (local soap opera) actor. She wears a hijab in the movie, but she said she was not ready yet to cover her body for real.
'I want to (wear a hijab), but not now. I want to cover my soul first, then my body,' she said.
Carissa said during the one-month shoot, she often got headaches, as it was too hot for her to wear veils in places without air-conditioning while surrounded by many people.
'It was a very priceless experience, though. And I really respect those who wear the hijab every day,' she said.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sept. 12, 1984, Carissa said that she never planned to become an actress.
However, as a girl, Carissa liked to accompany her mother, Lily SP, an actress in the 1980s, on set, leading producers to encourage her mom to introduce her daughter to acting.
Carissa decided to give the entertainment industry a try when she was in the last semester of her studies at Pelita Harapan University.
She featured in many sinetron and music videos before making her film debut, starring in Hanung's Ayat-ayat Cinta (Verses of Love) in 2008, which became one of the biggest blockbusters in the nation's history, racking up over 3.6 million tickets at the box office.
In March 2012, she married Navies bin Abdullah Naif in a private wedding in Jakarta.
Since her marriage, Carissa has rarely made public appearances ' especially after her son, Quenzino Acana Naif, was born in 2013.
'All of my time is for him; I don't want to miss any of his development,' she said.
She sometimes brought her son to the set and was also seen carrying him almost everywhere during the Hijab premiere.
Unlike her fellow cast members in the movie who brought their kids on screen with them, Carissa did not want her son to participate in any film yet.
'Shooting is very tiring and is very long; I don't want him to be too tired to go through all that,' she said, adding that Quenzino had once featured in a product commercial.
However, Carissa said that her son seemed to enjoy being in front of the camera, as he always laughed and smiled anytime his father took his videos and photos and posted them on Instagram.
'He also likes it when we take him out somewhere ' he's not cranky unless he's hungry or sleepy,' she excitedly said.
After Hijab, Carissa said she did not have any new projects lined up.
'My focus is still on my son. And if I receive an offer, I will choose the one that allows me to go shooting in the afternoon, as I need to take care of my family first,' she said.
