New ‘Boy’ movie: An updating of iconic 1980s character

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 06/17/2011 9:58 PM

JP/Adi Wahono

Actor Ario Bayu knows he has some big shoes to fill in playing the lead role in the new movie Catatan Harian Si Boy (Boy’s Diary).

Indonesians in their 30s and 40s fondly remember the exploits of the character of Boy and his gang of teenage cohorts in Jakarta, which was made famous in a 1980s radio show and a series of movies.

But Ario said Thursday the movie is not a sequel to the original series of films starring Onky Alexander in the lead.

He also points out that his character of Satrio, a Jakarta mechanic with big dreams who finds Boy’s old diary, is very different from the affluent Boy.

 “We want to make it clear that it’s not a sequel, but a new version,” the 26-year-old told The Jakarta Post.

“This is a fresh, edgy story that will relate to the audience today in being more contemporary.”

Many of the original cast of the movie, including Onky, Meriam Bellina and Didi Petet, who played the comical sidekick Emon, are reprising their roles in cameos. The film is scheduled for release by the end of the month.

Ario spent most of his childhood in New Zealand, and studied acting as a teenager before returning to Indonesia to act and model. His film credits include Kala, Pintu Terlarang (The Forbidden Door) and Darah Garuda (Blood of Eagles).

Growing fame means that there are fewer mistakes over the spelling of his name as “Aryo”, but he has said he is more interested in acting than being famous.

“I don’t really care about celebrity,” he told the Post in 2010.

“People have a right to be whatever they want to be, but for me, my aspiration since I was a kid was to be an actor or play in a band, not to be famous. Being famous helps, but rather to be famous for my work than my status.”