The last movies the company produced were Pelangi di Nusa Laut (Rainbow on the Island of the Sea) in 1992 and Surat untuk Bidadari (Letter to an Angel) in 1994.

Helmed by Azhar Kinoi Lubis and scheduled to be released on Thursday, Kuambil Lagi Hatiku is a joint effort of PFN in collaboration with state-owned PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur and Wahana Kreator Nusantara, a story development company co-founded by scriptwriter Salman "Aris" Aristo. Aris also serves as the movie’s producer.

Cut Mini (left) and Ria Irawan (right) are two renowned Indonesian actors featured in 'Kuambil Lagi Hatiku'. (Kuambil Lagi Hatiku/File)

“At first, I was approached by Aris when he told me he was working with PFN. I was surprised, as I knew PFN was in a state of dormancy,” Kinoi told The Jakarta Post during a phone interview on Tuesday. “I told him that was very positive. PFN should revive itself, produce films and compete with other production houses.”

Set in India and Indonesia, the movie follows Indian-Indonesian girl Sinta (Lala Karmela), who is about to marry Vikash (Sahil Shah). However, Sinta’s mother Widi (Cut Mini) suddenly disappears, returning to her hometown in Indonesia. Sinta decides to follow her mother and bring her back to India, though she does not know where in Indonesia her mother may be.

For her role in 'Kuambil Lagi Hatiku', Lala Karmela had learn to speak her mother tongue in the more formal way foreigners typically speak Indonesian. (Kuambil Lagi Hatiku/File)

Sinta stumbles across some old photos of her parents at the Borobudur temple, which she believes will lead her to Widi. She uses the photos as her guide to find Widi, but little does she know that she is embarking on a journey into her mother’s complicated past.

PFN director Mohammad Abduh Aziz said in a statement that the story had been created by PFN. “It was then developed further in cooperation with Wahana Kreator Nusantara and Taman Wisata Candi.”

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Dimas Aditya (left) also plays in 'Kuambil Lagi Hatiku'. (Kuambil Lagi Hatiku/File)

India was selected as Taman Wisata Candi had a connection to Taj Mahal in the city of Agra, though Kinoi was unable to shoot the movie inside the monument of love.

“People were celebrating a religious ceremony at the time, hence it was difficult to gain permission [to shoot inside the Taj Mahal],” said Kinoi, adding that they eventually filmed several scenes outside the monument and in Agra.

Kuambil Lagi Hatiku features Dimas Aditya, Ria Irawan, Dian Sidik, Tarzan and Ence Bagus. The movie offers a new collaboration between two renowned Indonesian actors: Cut Mini and Ria Irawan. As for the main character, the team chose Lala Karmela, as the actor-musician is said to be able to “own” the character as if it were a part of her.

Mother-daughter duo: Widi (Cut Mini, left) and her daughter Sinta (Lala Karmela, right) appear together in a still of 'Kuambil Lagi Hatiku'. (Kuambil Lagi Hatiku/File)

Kinoi said the experience of working with PFN was quite different from his previously work with production house Starvision Plus on Kafir.

“[PFN] was honest by telling me that it’s still learning to create proper production systems, as not everyone in the company is a filmmaker,” Kinoi said. “When working with Starvision, they understood their market and the industry well and gave us a deadline. PFN, meanwhile, followed [our timeline]. We said the pre-production would take five months; so they gave us five months.”

During the process, Kinoi challenged himself to make the film enjoyable to the general public but still interesting enough to be watched by other filmmakers and movie buffs.

“The film’s premise is about being grateful for anything we have and not lying about it. It’s actually a satire on the current situation as well,” said Kinoi. (kes)