KUALA LUMPUR, August 4 — Award-winning Indonesian actress Christine Hakim is one of the household names of South-East Asia’s film industry.
Some might know her from Joko Anwar’s 2019 horror flick Impetigore (Perempuan Tanah Jahanam) as the antagonist Nyi Misni ,while some might recognise her for her brief role as Ratna Pertiwi in HBO’s The Last of Us.
And the rest might know her as Wayan, the Balinese seller who gave Hollywood actress Julia Roberts jamu in the 2010 rom-com Eat Pray Love.
Having proven her acting prowess from the young age of just 17, Christine always gives her all in her roles which resonates with audiences.
The 67-year-old who has won more than one lifetime achievement award, with the latest one being at the 7th Malaysian International Film Festival Golden Global Awards said that everything is God's will and she was just following the path of her destiny.
Christine told Malay Mail that it was never her dream to become an actress in the first place, let alone to win awards.
In fact, she said that she was a shy and quiet girl back in junior high school who loved mathematics.
“I like to contemplate and think, I like to observe people.
“My father works in customs, but he can play a lot of music instruments like piano, accordion and flute.
“My elder brother can also play guitar and my other sister sang very well, she had a very good voice,” she said.
However, it was Christine who was to have the spotlight trained on her when film director Teguh Karya (or his real name Steve Liem Tjoan Hok) came to her home twice, looking for her to offer her a role in his film Cinta Pertama after seeing her photos in a local fashion magazine.
Christine who did modelling just for fun at that time, was reluctant at first and was ready to turn down the offer as she made her way to the studio.
Teguh however announced her as his actress of choice and she went with it — out of politeness.
She was ready to leave acting behind after her first film, but fate had different plans as Cinta Pertama made waves at the 1974 Indonesia Film Festival including and won Best Film while Christine’s debut acting performance won her the Best Actress award at the festival.
Her passion for acting didn’t come until the 1974’s Kawin Lari where she had to take up the role of an older woman in her 30, which forced her to do her research, making her realise that acting was not just about looks.
This led Christine to her most impactful role, at least in her career through the portrayal of Indonesian freedom fighter Tjoet Nja’ Dhien in the 1988 film of the same name.
The film follows the journey of Dhien who became a widow after her husband Teuku Umar, a rebel leader was killed in an ambush by the Dutch, and she continued his fight and rallied the people of Aceh against the Dutch coloniser in 1896.
According to Christine, playing that role had affected her greatly.
“For three years (after the film cpmp[leted) I couldn’t be myself 100 per cent.
“It took me three years after the film before I could talk about her without crying.
“It’s not that I was tired but I think it's (the role) heavy because I know I’m not Tjoet Nja’ Dhien, I am Christine, the daughter of Hakim, I have to come back to myself and it’s difficult to get myself back,” she said.
She said that she took a few months off in Bali and even learned the Balinese dance just to escape from the role and get her old self back.
“Whenever I get the responsibility to do a role, I will try to do my best. Because I don’t want to waste my time for nothing and I have no regrets (of going all out).
“Because anything you do in any profession, if you don’t give your best, the result will be different, the quality will be different, especially in my profession where I have to make audiences believe.
“When I get the trust from the audience, it's also important for me to keep the trust,” she said.
Christine added that she saw acting as a social responsibility for her to educate the masses as best as she could, and pointed out that film is a great tool to help give understanding to the audience.
“It’s our responsibility to not give them rubbish information, instead give them good information.
“Film should educate the society because it is a strong media and this is what I’ve been trying to do, to give the people an understanding (through my roles) because it’s a responsibility,” she said.
