Ananta Rispo's Story Gets a Tampar from Dodit Mulyanto at the Moment of Shooting the Film Ketok Mejik

JAKARTA - Actor and comedian Ananta Rispo brought a big surprise in his latest film project, Ketok Mejik. Usually known as a mood destroyer with his fresh jokes, this time Rispo is actually challenged to take off his comedy robe and switch completely to the realm of drama.

"So friends, this is my first experience too. Yes, it can be said that the first time, I played a movie but not comedy like that. So, usually what ruins this story is having to run the story," said Ananta Rispo when met in South Jakarta, Monday, July 13.

Rispo admitted that he had difficulty restraining his desire to joke, especially since he was surrounded by fellow comedians.

"So there are quite a few gestures, but my director Mr. Yogi always reminds me of that. His gestures are a little wrong, 'Oh this is still a comedy', 'Okay, ready, sir'," he continued.

The hardest challenge for him was when he had to show intense emotions such as anger and sadness seriously.

"If you are angry, you have to be angry. If you are angry in a comedy, that's it because the target is to be funny, not to make people tense like that. But now here, the anger has to make it tense," said Rispo.

In order to get a real angry reaction, Dodit Mulyanto who played Saget as well as acting coach Rispo, was forced to take physical action.

"Here there is a drama that has to fight, and Rispo is wrong all the time. Finally, I slapped him really," said Dodit Mulyanto.

Dodit explained that the action was taken so that the filming process would not be delayed due to Rispo's less natural reaction.

"Let's finish it soon. Nights rather than not being finished, and it was nampar that was told to pretend that I finally slapped it. Sorry, Rispo," Dodit added jokingly.

Rispo also confirmed the incident and admitted that Dodit's slap helped her emotions.

"Until I was slapped, that's right, because Dodit should have been slapped from the beginning, so that my reaction was really angry. He was slapped but it was hard to get angry," said Rispo.

Apart from the slap, Dodit Mulyanto himself felt that his acting ability had significantly improved in this film.

"Besides in other films, I usually act as myself, but in this film my acting ability has grown. In this film I am more mature, wiser," said Dodit.

Even though he had to hold back his laughter, Rispo was satisfied with the final result of the film trailer.

"I'm really happy that this is the first time I've watched the trailer, as well as seeing the poster. And I'm smiling to myself. Wow, so good is it? It's really good, yeah," he said proudly.

Ananta Rispo is now confidently calling himself a new identity in the film industry.

"If the audience will laugh a lot, there will definitely be scenes of these friends. They are comedians, I am an actor now," concluded Rispo.

Directed by Yogi S. Calam, Ketok Mejik is a comedy drama that prioritizes the strength of the characters and the relationships between them. Presenting humor that is close to everyday life, this film also contains a layer of drama about how someone tries to improve the situation when life does not go as expected.

According to Yogi S. Calam, the trailer was deliberately made as an introduction so that the audience gets to know the characters in the film.

"We want the audience to get to know Ben, Made and Saged first. There are still many parts of their journey that we haven't shown because we want the viewing experience to remain intact when the film is released in theaters."

Producer Handoko said that the relationship between the characters was one of the main strengths of the film.

"This film starts from the story of three friends who want to improve their lives. The new official trailer shows a little of their journey. The rest will develop as the story in the film progresses," he said.

Produced by HAHA Production together with AZ Films and Kita Films, this film is supported by Show Token, Iscorpio, and EsaFX. The film Ketok Mejik is scheduled to be shown in cinemas starting August 13, 2026.