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Citra Award-winning actress Nani Wijaya dies at 78
Nani featured in over 100 films and various TV soap operas throughout of her lifelong career.
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Back home: Two-time Citra Award winner Nani Wijaya (left) sits beside her husband, poet and writer Ajip Rosidi, in this undated photograph. (Tribunnews/NOVA)
I
ndonesia’s veteran actress Nani Wijaya passed away at the age of 78 on Thursday (16/03), as her daughter Cahya Kamila confirmed in an Instagram post.
“Mrs. Hj. Nani Widjaya, our loving mother, passed away peacefully on March 16, 2023 at 3:28 a.m. at Fatmawati hospital. Please forgive all [her] mistakes, whether intentional and unintentional,” Kamila wrote, starting her post with the Islamic phrase “Innalillahiwinailaihirojiun [sic]”, meaning “we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return”.
Nani got her start in acting in 1960, when she was in her early 20s and starred in her first movie, Darah Tinggi (High blood pressure) by director Lilik Sudjio. She later starred in 1978's iconic Yang Muda, Yang Bercinta (Making love is for the young), for which she won her first Citra Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She has appeared in more than 100 Indonesian movies, including one biopic of national heroine R. A. Kartini. Her turn as Kartini's mother, Mas Ayu Ngasirah, won her a second Best Supporting Actress Citra Award, often dubbed the “Indonesian Oscars”.
Some of the films featuring the Cirebon native include the classics Catatan Si Boy (Boy’s notes, 1987) and Catatan Si Boy IV (1990).
Aside from film, Nani’s also featured in numerous television soaps, or sinetron.
Some of the popular series include Pintu Hidayah (Door to guidance), an Islamic soap opera that aired on RCTI in 2004-2005, and Tukang Bubur Naik Haji (The porridge seller goes on haj): The Series from 2012-2017, in which she portrayed the character Emak Haji.
Nani is also remembered for her portrayal as a mother or grandmother in several theatrical performances.
Nani's condition had deteriorated steadily after she was admitted to Fatmawati Central General Hospital for difficulty breathing on March 1, 2023. Nina Kartika, another daughter, said her mother had found it hard to communicate regularly for the last two months due to dementia, reported Kompas.
Fans posted an outpouring of heartfelt messages on social media after learning of her passing.
The Habis Nonton Film cinephile group tweeted: “Our deepest condolences for the passing of senior Indonesian actress Nani Wijaya.”
Turut berdukacita atas berpulangnya aktris senior Indonesia, Nani Wijaya.
Emak 😢 pic.twitter.com/HkQ5eCklsi
— Habis Nonton Film (@HabisNontonFilm) March 16, 2023
