Tersanjung (Flattered), which aired from 1998 to 2005, remains Indonesia’s longest-running soap opera.

Produced by Multivision Plus, the saga begins with Indah (played by Lulu Tobing), an orphan who lives with her kind but dimwitted uncle Kadir (Anwar Fuadi), his mean wife Retno (Yati Octavia) and her cousin Ratih (Novita Wibowo).

Retno kicks Indah out of the house after Indah gets pregnant by a handsome man from a rich family named Bobby (Reynold Subakti). After Bobby disappears, Indah goes to his family’s house to search for him. There, she meets Bobby’s father Suryadibroto (Robby Sutara), who tells her that Bobby is in an arranged marriage with another woman. 

That is only the beginning of a seemingly endless drama that lasts 7 seasons with at least 300 episodes.

Tersanjung arguably became the Bible for the sinetron (soap operas) that followed in its footsteps. 

Playing with topics such as class and inter-class relationships, Tersanjung has been criticized for being tedious and melodramatic with one-dimensional characters.

The main protagonist, Indah, while beautiful and kind-hearted, is often gullible and is thus an easy target for abuse. Indah either gets taken advantage of or, in some cases, relies on the kindness of others.

Tersanjung has been credited with inspiring antagonistic female characters in sinetron. Leily Sagita, who played Yona, the wicked mother-in-law of Indah’s cousin Ratih, had a breakthrough role with her character’s cruel eyes and high-pitched voice. 

Another villainess from the show was Anita (Feby Febiola), a posh character who spoke with an American accent, earning her the nickname “Tante Amerika” (Auntie America).

Lulu played Indah for the show’s first three seasons. She was then replaced by Jihan Fahira, who portrayed the main character until season five. Jihan also portrayed Indah’s long-lost twin sister, Indri. Initially the show’s new villain, Indri became Indah’s protector after finding out that they were related – until the character’s death. Jihan was replaced by Lingga Suri for the show’s sixth and seventh seasons.

As a seemingly never-ending drama that played with the audience’s emotions, Indonesians would often refer to the show to joke about something that was prolonged and complicated. “Why is this not over yet? Are we in Tersanjung?”

While many of its scenes are now considered problematic and, for some, the series might not have aged well, Tersanjung was a popular show in its time.

The series began more than a decade ago, before the rise of social media. Movements such as #MeToo, which encouraged women to speak out against sexual violence, were nonexistent. Tersanjung also aired before Machica Mochtar, a singer who had a son with New Order minister Moerdiono through an unregistered marriage, successfully pleaded with the Constitutional Court regarding her son’s legal status. Now, under a revised law, Indonesia recognizes the legal claim of children who were born out of wedlock to their biological fathers.

If Indah had gotten pregnant nowadays, she could have sued Bobby and his family for not recognizing her and the baby she was carrying. She could also post her situation on social media and, while some would still question her motives, surely some would take her side and believe her side of the story.

When Tersanjung: The Movie was released on Netflix on April 1, one of the questions was whether this adaptation existed in the same universe as the series. Another question was whether the movie would offer a new take on the iconic show. Maybe the main character would be stronger, more independent or more calculating than Indah from the series. After all, with Disney releasing movies portraying villains in a different light, such as Maleficent and Cruella, maybe this would be a golden opportunity to revise the formula.

Maybe not.

Tersanjung: The Movie is set in 1998, around the same time as the downfall of Soeharto and the monetary crisis – and, interestingly, the same year Tersanjung the series first aired. 

In the movie, Yura Puspita (Clara Bernadeth) is stuck in an arranged marriage with Bobby Sadewo (Marthino Lio), and her stepmother Indah Besari (Kinaryosih) owes Sadewo’s mother Bu Sadewo (Djenar Maesa Ayu) tons of money. Indah (not to be confused with Indah from the series) is stuck in debt because Gerry Hartono (Nugie), Yura’s father, cannot support the family after experiencing a decline in his music career.

Bobby later attempts to rape Yura who, after being saved by her best friends Christian (Giorgino Abraham) and Oka Saputra (Kevin Ardilova), runs away from her family’s house and refuses to come back.

Here and in many scenes afterward, it is obvious that Tersanjung: The Movie simply follows the formula of its predecessor. Yura, as the main character, while more assertive than the sinetron’s Indah, is still defined by the men in her life.

Indeed, Indah later falls in love with one of her best friends, Christian, who turns out to be rich – like Crazy Rich Asians rich – and gets pregnant with his child. Christian later disappears, and Yura finds out he is to marry another woman of his family’s choosing. Sound familiar?

In a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, one of the movie’s directors, Hanung Bramantyo, said the idea of making Tersanjung: The Movie came from the president of Multivision Plus, Raam Punjabi.

Initially, there were other movies planned between Hanung’s production company, Dapur Film Indonesia, and Multivision Plus, but they were all scrapped because of Multivision’s lack of faith in the projects.

While he was initially reluctant to make the movie, Hanung said he did try to add a little bit of women’s empowerment – even though his position was limited during the production.

“Here [in the movie], I slipped in [moments] where [Yura] tried to be resilient, independent and refuse to depend on other people. [In the sinetron], Indah was not like that,” he said. 

Hanung said that in his initial research he found that only 10 percent of his respondents would watch the movie. With that in mind, Hanung said it was better to follow the formula of the Tersanjung sinetron to ensure that at least a small number of people would watch the movie.

“This is why I’m happy this movie has not been played in theaters. This film is indeed to be enjoyed on streaming services,” he said, adding that he was “done” and would not be involved in any sequels to Tersanjung: The Movie.

Despite it being cliché take on the iconic TV series, the directors Hanung Bramantyo and Pandhu Adji Surya managed to stay true to the show’s theme. The late 1990s atmosphere was also beautifully portrayed with the inclusion of payphones and the first-ever Nokia mobile phone, as well as old bank notes.

All in all, viewers who wish to stream the movie will probably enjoy it for nostalgic reasons. Those who wish to see a more brilliant take on the old sinetron recipe should just skip this film and watch something else.

Read also: Classic Indonesian literature to be made into soap operas, films

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