Movie posters depicting a fearful young pretty oriental woman in a skimpy pink dress and stilettos have been all over the cinemas in the city for more than a week. Next to the figure, there are big words that read “Xia Aimei”.

Some might already be familiar with the woman’s face, while others might not be.

For Franda, the figure portraying the attractive woman on the poster, it does not really matter since it’s been a dream comes true to star in her first movie.

In contrast to her big screen poster, smiles were all over her face when we had an afternoon rendezvous in a shopping center in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, recently.

Casually dressed in a V-neck long-sleeved black top, newspaper-print leggings and sneakers, she excitedly told The Jakarta Post about her first flick and her experience in showbiz. A flash of fatigue was seen in her eyes, but she never complained.

In Xia Aimei, Franda, who claims to have zero experience in acting, plays Xia Aimei, a young Chinese woman who aims to help her family escape poverty and get her late father out of debt, but ends up being trapped in a women-trafficking syndicate and forced to work in a club named Le Mansion as a call girl.

In the club, Xia Aimei gets a new name, Xi Xi, and befriends the other escorts, including the one played by Shareefa Danish of Macabre.

Right after she finds out about her job, all Xia Aimei wants to do is to flee from the place. Her efforts to escape steer her into an encounter with AJ Park (Samuel Rizal of teen flick Eiffel I’m In Love), an Indonesian who works for an environmental institution.

The drama, directed by Alyandra and produced by Falcon Pictures, is released in conjunction with this year’s Chinese New Year celebration, which falls in mid-February.

“The story has an interesting plot, revolving around the attempts of a young woman who struggles to free herself from human trafficking, which is a global issue nowadays,” says Franda, whose full name is Efranda Stefanus.

Franda, who happens to be of Chinese descent, sees the Xia Aimei character as a naïve and under-educated village girl who has big dreams but, despite her innocence, is willing to fight for her own principles.

Starring in this flick posed many challenges since she acted alongside experienced actors such as Ferry Salim, Olga Lydia and Samuel Rizal. She also had to speak Chinese, which she was not fluent in.

Tutors and translators were available for the filming process to teach the actors pronunciation for their Chinese lines.

The good thing, she added, she was already used to listen to Chinese songs so she was familiar with some sounds and tones.

As for acting, she said that she learned by doing and sought advice from the other senior actors on set for tips.

“But every actor has his or her own ways and techniques to create the thoughts and emotions of their characters, so I should find approaches that fit me.”

Born in East Java’s Malang on Feb. 8, 1987, Franda revealed that Xia Aimei was not the first acting role she had been offered, as she had once been offered the lead role in a budget horror flick.

She declined the offer since she was required to expose some skin. “I am picky in terms of choosing a script. It has to be good, not relying on body-baring factors.”

“I don’t just want to take my clothes off to get on the big screen. No way! No matter how high the fee is. The most important thing is that the story has a fine moral message,” Franda stated firmly.

Even for Xia Aimei, before filming, Franda asked the filmmaker some things like how skimpy her costume would be and what the kissing scenes with her co-stars would be like.

Franda began her career in the industry by participating in a modeling contest held by a local weekly tabloid in 2007 in which she was chosen as one of the finalists. She made her way to the final and was automatically included as part of the famous MTV VJ hunt contest in the same year.

“I was actually surprised because that was a prestigious contest. To be an MTV VJ, you have to know the A-to-Zs of music, be super smart, speak English fluently as well as make jokes,” Franda said.

She added that being an emcee was never in her books for she had a passion for music. She actively joined choirs and singing courses from elementary school onward to develop her vocal techniques.

Her involuntary participation in the competition, however, bagged her a Viewer’s Choice Award and won her a nine-month job as an MTV VJ.

“I had to quickly adapt to the emcee world. In the beginning, I was not really sure that this was going to be a profession that suited me, but in the end it was fun,” she said.

She had been hosting various local programs, from music like Dahsyat and Derings and gossip shows, locally known as infotainment, to the politically-charged show Democrazy and sports programs like Lensa Olahraga (Sports Lens) and Total Football.

Franda, who studied at the London School of Public Relations in Jakarta where she majored in mass communication, is currently still presenting the three later programs and a music show called The Hits.

However, she has yet to consider a career in music. There have been some recording offers coming her way lately, but she admits that she still needs to think about them.

“Recording songs requires seriousness. In 2011, there was such a strong urge to make an album, but it had to be postponed due to the production of Xia Aimei. Well, I guess I will do things one at a time, first things first,” Franda said.

She mentioned the support of her parents, especially her father, who played a big role in paving her way in the world of showbiz. He defended her from the judgmental eyes of her extended family who told her that the entertainment industry was a “glitzy and glamor world” that would trap her in bad things.

“My father stood beside me, convincing our relatives that he put his trust in me. He fully supports what I have been doing so far. That’s my father,” she said.

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