LAURA BASUKI
PLAYING AS ONE OF INDONESIA’S MOST CELEBRATED BADMINTON LEGENDS ON THE SILVER SCREEN GAVE LAURA BASUKI A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON DEDICATION, WRITES LIVIANI PUTRI
In the name of love
“BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AT FIRST I SAID NO
to this movie,” Laura Basuki recalls the first time she was offered the main role in the “Susi Susanti: Love All” biopic. “I knew that it would be extremely challenging—both physically and mentally—to closely portray the legend.”
“But everything changed after I met the director, Sim F., and Daniel Mananta, who is also on board as a producer. They convinced me that together, we would work hard to make the movie happen,” the actress continues. “And after reading the script once again, I agreed to give it a try.”
In this movie, she plays opposite Dion Wiyoko as Alan Budikusuma. All in all, she underwent six months of preparation, including physical training. “Since I don’t have much experience in badminton, I did six hours of practice per day, from Monday to Friday,” Basuki elaborates. “I was fortunate enough to train directly under Susi Susanti’s coach, Liang Qiuxia. She is already 70 years old but still a badass.”
“I also had to follow strict diet in order to get in shape and build up my strength, since shooting the movie called for a lot of energy and endurance.” An extra challenge then presented itself as she had to spare extra practice time for the famous leg split scene. “I practiced for half an hour every day but I still couldn’t do it perfectly up until two weeks before the shoot,” she exclaims. “Fortunately, I was able to do it on the actual day of shooting.”
The physical challenges of the role, however, was nothing compared to the pressure of portraying the legendary Susi Susanti in a believable way. That, and being under the watchful eye of the public. “Everyone know who Susi Susanti is,” she points out. “The footage of when she won gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 is everywhere. For badminton aficionados, she is a goddess. But on the other hand, I admit that playing in a biopic when the figure being portrayed is still alive does have its advantages. I met with Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma in person several times and we talked a lot about how they felt and what they were thinking during the match. And also what motivated them to fight for Indonesia while still having to struggle to obtain citizenship.”
Spending time with the iconic badminton couple shaped her perspective about dedication through the eyes of an athlete. “Ci [sister] Susi is an introvert,” Basuki confides. “She doesn’t speak much but is a hard-working and ambitious person. When other athletes would ask for 100 ball services, she asked for 500. She took notes of the strengths and shortcomings of her rivals before matches. On the other hand, koh [brother] Alan is the complete opposite. He is more of an extrovert and loves to talk. But I must say that ci Susi plays a big role in pushing him to win.”
“The biggest lesson that I took away from all this is her love for Indonesia. That’s why the title is ‘Love All.’ In badminton, when a match begins with the scores set at 0-0, the referee will say ‘love all.’ It also means love for everything: badminton, the country we fight for, family and God. Ci Susi once said that when we are on the field, nothing would help us except God and our spirit to fight. She was part of a minority group who still fought again and again on behalf of Indonesia, won a lot of medals, yet she wasn’t recognized as an Indonesian citizen. She sincerely loved the country without asking for anything in return. That’s how a real hero is for me.”
Looking back at her journey so far as an actress, Basuki mentions that every role she played is precious. “I never stay the same as before because I always take something away. Acting is a form of therapy for me, where I can release all of my emotions and feel everything—especially things that I haven’t personally experienced. For instance, I now know how it feels to be a lesbian without judging the character; I know how to be strong and resilient when playing a character who struggles with a multitude of problems. It enriches my feelings and makes me more emphatic towards others.”
“ACTING IS A FORM OF THERAPY FOR ME, WHERE I CAN RELEASE ALL OF MY EMOTIONS AND FEEL EVERYTHING” –
LAURA BASUKI