Exclusive, Wafda Saifan Lubis: Maximizing Opportunities from Music to Acting

JAKARTA - Actor Wafda Saifan Lubis will return to grace the big screen with his latest horror film entitled Di Ambang Kematian. In this film, Wafda will play the role of Adult Yoga who will have to go through a lot of terror in his own house because of his father's mistake in choosing the path to perform pesugihan (allied with the devil).

Having starred in horror films several times has not stopped Wafda from creating something new in each film. He explained the character deepening he did to make his role more real and integrated with the film's depiction. For this reason, Wafda was willing to not wash his hair during the filming process as a result of his own idea.

"Then what is it called? I try to make at least one sacrifice that is at least close to Yoga's sacrifice. So, I chose at that time not to wash my hair, because the situation in the house was more or less dusty, it was still as if it had been built like that. Because the father's alliance with the devil was the type of Kandang Bubrah at that time, the one who didn't finish building the house, the mother's blood was never cleaned, which was so close to being dirty, like that," said Wafda Saifan in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, last September 4.

In this film, Wafda explains that the toughest challenge he had to undertake was not when playing the role of Yoga. But the conditions during filming which were carried out during the month of Ramadan. Where he had to fight weakness and mood swings.

But this is not an obstacle for Wafda to carry out the filming process. Having a weak body condition was used as an opportunity and even an advantage for him so that later the audience could truly feel the despair felt by the figure of Yoga in this film.

"Actually, what's more, in terms of stamina, we maintain our mood because what's called, the situation is when we're fasting, our mood can easily go up and down, and our bodies are really weak, but I use it precisely because I really need that in a scene where we might be hopeless, as if there's no hope anymore, he actually knows this is over," he continued.

"So, how do we set it up? This means that these situations actually support us when we are fasting, we are feeling weak, maybe we are really sleepy, for example, but we have to keep trying, 'Okay, I have to do this', so that's what I'm trying to apply. What I mean is, I apply it," he said.

Returning to star in a horror genre film does not make Wafda take her job lightly. For this 33-year-old man, every horror film he plays in always has its own experience of fear that he wants to share. Playing from one character to another is considered a character tour by Wafda.

Apart from that, every story told in a horror film becomes a magical lesson for Wafda. For him, horror films provide a new atmosphere that he has never experienced in everyday life, which ultimately means he never gets bored playing this genre.

"Not really, because I think the horror genre has everything, that means there's drama there, there's action there, right, and there's something truly magical. Say, for example, in an action-fighting film, 'Oh, like this, like this' or you get shot or something. "Well, in horror it's different, sometimes it's magical, you're torn apart, for example by a creature, that's something that we can't have in our lives, there's no such thing," he said.

Admitting that he never gets bored with the horror genre, Wafda still wants to continue trying new things in his career in the world of acting, especially in the film genre. Already having experience in the action and horror genres, he admitted that he would really like to try entering the musical or comedy genre. Although he himself admitted that he was not yet confident about playing in that genre.

"What I really want is actually a musical, which means, hopefully, yes, I also really want a comedy, but it's scary for me. The pressure was intense when filming, right? There was an expectation of 'This person is funny', right? It turns out not, for example, it's scary, you know, even though the genre is a comedy, right? "I also want a comedy like that and a musical," he said.

Maximizing Opportunities from Music to Acting

Wafda Saifan Lubis started his career not as a model or immediately entered the world of acting. He admitted that at first, he had dreams of becoming a football player which he took seriously until he was in high school, until finally his father rejected him and became his first heartbreak. Trying to follow his father's wishes actually brought Wafda into the world of music, which at first he only did to fill his spare time.

"In the beginning, the dream was to become a football player, at first it was, 'Okay, keep practicing', but in high school, there was one problem, so there was a debate between me and my father. My father wanted me to study academics, so I wanted to be an athlete, I argued, in the end, I gave in, and I went along with my father. My father told me to go to school, and college, that was the first time my heart broke. I really want to be a football player," he explained.

“Until the end, I'm at college. I didn't find it, I don't think I'm here, because I chose that major because my father was an accounting lecturer. Well, never mind, I'll just go into accounting, but if I have assignments, I'll have Dad like that, right? I was bored at college, 'What are you doing?' A friend asked me to join a band, in the end, I was a vocalist, I couldn't play musical instruments, I just hung out on guitar," he said.

Unexpectedly, starting from just playing music for fun, Wafda and his band called Volume entered the recording kitchen and were invited to appear on music programs on television. From here, Wafda finally received an offer to enter the world of acting by a director. Where his first role in this soap opera was in line with his career in the world of music.

"Until finally, it turned out, 'Wow, you're serious about this music,' that's how it was. Let's go to the music label. Well, there, it was still a TV show, in the past there were all music shows like that, you played on music shows, after that, a producer at one of the TV stations asked me to, like to chat, our meeting had a musical program, that's what I was talking about earlier, do you want it or not? 'I can't', 'I can't really sing', because my role is a cafe singer. Then oh okay okay interesting. In the past, there were weekly soap operas like that, before now it was like a series," he explained.

It turns out that Wafda's career in the world of acting was not always smooth, because from 2015 to 2017, he did not receive another filming offer. This made him think about working in the office while continuing to create works that were uploaded to his YouTube account and until finally he was called back to play in a film.

At first, Wafda admitted that he never thought about becoming an actor. However, he felt that it was destined for him to enter the world of acting, judging by his life journey, which was always in line with the roles he got when playing films.

"At the moment when I didn't do anything for 2 years, my first soap opera was Tendangan Si Madun, in which I played football so I felt like 'Eh, I played a soap opera for the first time because of football, my first time filming because of music'. Coincidentally, from kindergarten I also did karate until now, thank God, I'm a black belt, so I can play all kinds of roles and actions. It seems like God prepared me with these components to act. So it was like, 'Okay, I'll choose this' and all this time what has supported me is acting," he continued.

This ultimately made Wafda feel more comfortable in the world of acting. Because for him, the world of acting seemed to teach him about the lives of other people that he had never known before. In fact, he admits that the world of acting has made him understand life better, appreciate himself, and become better organized.

“(I prefer) acting, because so far acting has been what has supported me. This means that I can get to know life because of acting. Previously, Wafda was a person who was probably really stupid, and careless. The more I come here, the more I feel like I have empathy, I know what's called, 'That's crazy, it's not easy, you know', being a fried rice cooker who might only make a profit of two or three thousand rupiah per portion, but he can cook it, wow, he has a high spirit, wiped his sweat, because someone was waiting for the money at home, so that's where he thought now," he continued,

"This means we can't judge people from what we see. The results are different for different people, some may be successful, 'It's a good thing I didn't choose this before', 'It's a good thing I didn't choose this before', that's true success, not based on whether you have this now, have this or not. But if you make the wrong choice, it's like 'You're devastated, you're not here today', which is like that, you know. It's a success that makes me appreciate myself. Previously, maybe I didn't accept all kinds of situations, there were lots of protests, but when I entered the world of acting, I came to know that, so thank God my life is in order," he explained.

After 12 years of working in the world of acting, Wafda is still not satisfied with his work. However, this time he admitted that he did not want to work in the acting world forever because he had told his friends, wife, and family that at the age of 40 he would try a new profession as a developer. This has been Wafda's dream for a long time, so he has started saving to make his dreams come true.

“I always say that, like with friends, or with my wife at home, with my mother, when I'm 40, I think I want to be a developer. That means buying and selling property. It's like I always say that I imagine I want to be like Mr. Haji, who just wears a glove at home, then 'Where to?' 'Oh yes, there's land here', so that's what I want. So now we are trying to get there, saving, accumulating, there are assets that can be bought, buy," he said.

However, Wafda explained that he would not leave the world of acting which had made his name. In fact, he felt that he would be freer to create because he no longer had any burdens to think about. Apart from that, he felt that it would be better if there were other elements that could help support him apart from working in the world of acting.

“In fact, the more freedom we play. For me, this is important for artists, I don't know what that means, sorry if I'm wrong. But in my opinion, it seems that if we do art, there are still things that bother our minds, about the kitchen, all kinds of things, it seems like we won't be free when we play, we won't be free. Say, for example, a painter, if you can, you can stay in that room for days, maybe months, without thinking, 'Oh, the child hasn't eaten yet', 'Oh, I'll pay the installments tomorrow'. I think that will disturb the work," he said.

"Well, that's why I want to find something that I can think about, I'm busy outside of acting to support me in acting. This means that I can play freely, I can look for projects that maybe in terms of payment, for example, it doesn't match the rate, for example, it's okay, but the story, what the mission is, I can convey all sorts of things, the mission is really good, that's it," he concluded.