JP/Ricky Yudhistira

His face appears on almost all the local TV stations. People may be fed up with him, but for Indra Bekti, appearing on television was a childhood dream come true.

Most of the time when I interview celebrities, be they actors, emcees or singers, and ask them if they had dreams of being entertainers or not, they usually say, “I never thought about working in the entertainment industry. It’s just a coincidence.”

When I met Bekti Indratomo, popularly known as Indra Bekti, it was different.

The witty yet chatty emcee proudly said, “I dreamt of being an entertainer since I was little.”

When he was six years old, Bekti  loved spending hours in front of the television watching various programs – from music, to quiz and variety shows. One of his favorite programs was Gita Remaja, aired on state television station TVRI
with prominent emcee Tantowi Yahya as the host.

“I enjoyed how the emcees on TV hosted the shows. I thought it would be cool if I could appear on TV,” said Bekti, who was born in Jakarta on Dec. 28, 1977.

At home when he was supposed to be studying, he enjoyed pretending to be an emcee, standing and facing his bedroom wall as if it was an audience.

“Ladies and gentlemen, right now we are going to study Bahasa Indonesia. The first lesson is…,” said Bekti, re- calling how he often practiced being  an emcee.

It turned out that becoming an emcee was not his only dream. He wanted to become a professional singer too.

He often impersonated Indonesian singers who he watched on Aneka Ria Safari, a musical program on TVRI, at home with his friends.

“When there was nobody home, we would build a stage and I would sing along like a real singer.”

“We also burnt trash to make smoky effects on our stage, like the ones we usually saw on TV. This caused our eyes to hurt and fill with tears,” Bekti said, giggling.

For some random kids, it might just have been childhood play, but Bekti  really took his dream seriously. “I did  not want anything else but to be an  entertainer. I wanted to act, sing and host shows on TV.”

He found his way to the entertainment industry when he took a part-time job as  a dubber for renowned manga series Candy Candy, lending his voice to the  Archie character when he was still in junior high.

Even though he did not appear on TV, it was an exciting moment for him because his voice could be heard on the small screen. Later, he stepped into the modeling world by participating in the Abang None Jakarta (the Mr. and Miss Jakarta Pageant) in 1997, representing North Jakarta.

“Some colleagues told me not to tell the judges or journalists that i was using this contest as a stepping stone to become an entertainer,” Bekti said.

But he broke from the unwritten rule. During a press conference, he was frank. “Why not? I just wanted to be honest and be myself. It was my dream and I told them the truth. Maybe that’s the reason I did not win the competition,” he said, laughing.

He tried his luck in the entertainment industry by taking cameos in some productions and took home Rp 100,000 (US$11) per project. At other times, he performed in operettas from one shopping center to another.

One day, after finishing a play at a mall, Bekti met the producer of Tralala Trilili, a children’s music program aired by RCTI. He was offered an audition to host the program that was co-hosted by songstress and actress Agnes Monica.

“I performed tahajud [the late night prayer], asking for Him to make me an entertainer,” Bekti said.

On D-day, the producer told him he was in. Not long after that in 1999, Bekti was also chosen as a finalist in a cover boy contest organized by teen magazine Aneka, and he later won an award, favorite finalist.

His participation in the contest led him to realize his dream of becoming a singer. Along with two other finalists — Roy Jordi and Arya Wedha — they formed a boy band called FBI.

Their song “Jamrud Khatulistiwa”, created by Guruh Soekarnoputra, was included in a compilation to commemorate the birthday of founding president Sukarno.

The band, however, was never heard again due to the hectic schedules of its members. Meanwhile, Tralala Trilili marked the beginning of his emcee career and opened a door to a more promising world and a brighter future.

A year later, Bekti also joined the radio industry by working as an announcer for a morning show on MTV on Sky.

Bekti’s star shone brighter when he was offered to co-host the talk show Ceriwis (Talkative) with prominent emcee Indy Barends in 2003. What was it like to work with the senior emcee?

“At the beginning, it was like hell! Seriously,” he said, laughing again.

He said they had known each other since 2000 when they worked in the same building. “She was a radio announcer for Hard Rock FM. When I knew we were going to be partners, I thought that it was going to be fun,” Bekti said.

He was wrong. “In the first week, she was mad at me all the time. She was a perfectionist. On air, people might see me being ‘tortured’ until the producer thought of replacing me.”

Indy, however, surprisingly gave Bekti another shot. “We had a chat, a heart-to- heart about everything until there was no wall between us,” he said.

It turned out that the long conversation had broken the ice between them and smoothed their connection on the show. The show became a hit and won several trophies at the Panasonic Awards, an annual event organized by PT Panasonic Gobel Indonesia.

Indy-Bekti were also dubbed the most popular duo at that time. Bekti himself was known as a fun and humorous emcee, easily recognized by his laughs and shouts.

Meantime, after six years working together at Ceriwis, Indy decided to quit the show, following the birth of her second child.

“I lost her. I, however, completely understood her decision. The show might not have suited her anymore because the new Ceriwis was for a younger audience. It was more extreme with a lot of challenges that even tested my guts.”

Bekti revealed he finds comfort as an emcee and he wants to practice the profession for the rest of his life. He said being an emcee teaches how to be a leader, making us learn how to guide a show as well as learn how to be responsible for the smoothness of the program.

“It feels good seeing the audience enjoy my show, getting carried away by the show and laughing out loud at my jokes. For me, audience satisfaction comes first.”

“It feels great if I can please the organizer who hired me for a show. It has been satisfying.”

He was inspired by Pepeng Soebardi, widely known for hosting the interactive quiz show Jari-jari (Fingers) and who had to stay in bed due to nerve problems with his spine.

“I want to be like him. He is still hosting a show even though he is unable to move anymore,” said Bekti, who married Aldila Jelita on Oct. 10, 2010.

You will not only find Bekti’s face on the small screen and the big screen, but also on the stage. He is now busy performing in the musical Sangkala 9/10, which depicts Betawi culture and was organized by Persatuan Abang None Jakarta (an association of Mr. and Miss Jakarta beauty pageants) and is showcased at Teater Jakarta at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta, from May 6 to 8.

The musical explores the Tragedi Angke (Angke Tragedy) when thousands of Chinese descent were massacred by the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) during the Dutch colonial era.

The story revolves around the struggles of Betawi people and those of Chinese descent who join together to fight against the VOC. The show, produced by actress and former Miss Jakarta Maudy Koesnaedi, is a combination of comedy and romance also featuring silat Betawi (Betawi traditional martial arts).

In the dramatic musical, Bekti performs alongside TV presenter Tommy Tjokro and emcee Iwet Ramadhan.

“This musical is basically aimed at encouraging people not to discriminate against others. We have to set aside our cultural backgrounds and not be like the VOC that used harsh tactics to achieve its goals,” he said.

Bekti himself has been familiar with the theatrical world since he was in junior high when he joined his school’s acting club, followed by his partaking in the noted Sanggar Ananda (Ananda Studio).

“The interesting thing about acting is that we can freely express ourselves and we can be somebody else,” he said.

“As an emcee, I am who I am, while on the stage I am someone else. I feel proud to be on stage, showing the other side of me and able to entertain people with my acting.”

Emcee? Check. Singer? Check. Actor? Check. What else does Bekti want to achieve?

He said he wants to establish a school dedicated to young talent so people can express themselves. He is now on his way to achieving that goal through his very own talent management agency, Bekti Management, established four years ago.

The agency provides young talent a chance to enter the entertainment world.

“All you have to do is send photos and a CV that includes your personal data and skills. If you match our qualifications, we will recommend you to some production houses and we will inform you if there are auditions,” he said.

One thing for sure, Bekti has pledged that he will never stop entertaining people. “I don’t want to prove anything to anybody. I just want to entertain people. That’s all.”

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