Exclusive Jessica Iskandar Urges Women To Speak Up If Harassed
Jessica Mila (Photo: WeTV Indonesia, DI: Raga/VOI)

JAKARTA - Jessica Mila had many interesting experiences when she starred in the Tersanjung series. Before deciding to join this series, Jessica admitted that she was a fan of the soap opera. After reading the adaptation story, you don't need much consideration to play Indah.

Tersanjung the Series is the work of director Anggy Umbara and played by Jessica Mila along with Rezky Aditya, and Rayn Wijaya. The series, which was adapted from a popular soap opera in the 90s, immediately caught the attention of WeTV viewers when it aired.

This series tells the life and love story of Indah, a beautiful girl alone who lives in Jakarta. After the death of her father and mother, Indah had to live at her uncle's house. He also had to work for the family without being paid. Her uncle's family did not like Indah, especially her male cousin who often teased her, until one night Indah tried to fight back.

With full wounds and bloody hands, at that time how beautiful Indah was because Bobby saw her. Since the incident, Indah and Bobby have become close to each other. They found a lot of compatibility, so they ended up dating.

Jessica Mila (Photo: WeTV Indonesia, DI: Raga/VOI)

Bobby helped Indah a lot, Indah and Bobby's relationship became more serious and they decided to get married. Their life was simple but happy, until one night Bobby was kidnapped and never came home, something happened to Bobby.

Indah is frantic, contemplating suicide. The incident brought him together with Rama, an optimistic and cheerful man who eventually changed Indah's life. Several years later, Bobby decided to look for Indah. They struggle to get Indah's love.

Meanwhile, Indah begins to realize that before she chooses Rama or Bobby, she must make peace with herself and find happiness for herself.

The girl who was born on August 3, 1992 admitted that she had no trouble playing the character Indah. It all started from liking the soap opera Tersanjung.

"Actually, I like watching Tersanjung since I was little. I know this soap opera is phenomenal and very famous. So when I was offered it, I was very happy. When I read the synopsis and the characters when offered, I was very happy," said Jessica Mila when met by VOI at the WeTV office, Central Jakarta, 17 December.

Jessica Mila (Photo: WeTV Indonesia, DI: Raga/VOI)

Indah, is a character who has a very broad story. From happy, sad, angry, disappointed, hardworking, all must be shown well by Jessica. Mood changes based on the storyline can be conveyed smoothly by this Bina Nusantara University graduate.

"For character deepening, there is a rearing process to deepen the character," he recalled.

Jessica placed this series as a new project and did not want to be closely tied to her popular soap operas. "No, it doesn't have to be the same as the old one. We tripped over our version. There was also a film, but it was a different story. There's no need to be exactly the same as the first one," he said.

Even so, Jessica admits that at first she was burdened. "Initially, yes, but I actually didn't want to make it a burden either. Trying to give my best. At first I was nervous and then we were compared. But because we explored the story and the characters were different, so it was different," he explained.

The totality of the Tersanjung cast and crew, according to him, is the key for this series to be liked by the public. "We always give our best to our co-stars, to the director. With the team at the shooting location, how can we not disappoint the people who have chosen us, and the audience who liked the old flattered. Even though it's different, we don't want to disappoint the previous fans," he said.

As a single woman, Indah's character provides a new experience for Jessica who has to become a mother. This is her first experience of being a mother.

"The challenge here is maybe the first time playing the character of a mother. And in my opinion it's not easy, because I'm not a mother yet. How can I feel it," explained Jessica Mila.

SUBMITTING SEXUAL HARASSMENTS
Jessica Mila (Photo: WeTV Indonesia, DI: Raga/VOI)

Although not clearly shown, the Tersanjung series from the beginning of the episode provides an illustration of how a woman should behave when she is abused. Indah is a complete example of difficult situations that women often experience when they are abused verbally, verbally, in action, and online.

"It's tough what happened to Indah in this story. So to be able to get her emotions, to be able to get the feeling, you have to understand the situation. What if a beautiful incident happened to me in the real world," said Jessica.

One of the things that made her even more enthusiastic was Jessica's intention to learn from Lulu Tobing. As the role of Indah in soap operas, Lulu managed to make the audience understand all of Indah's feelings. He admitted that he was happy to be asked to play the character Indah, who was previously played by Lulu Tobing.

"Obviously I'm very happy. I am grateful that I can be trusted to play the character Indah. I am proud to be equated with Lulu Tobing. It's an honor," he said.

Jessica Mila (Photo: WeTV Indonesia, DI: Raga/VOI)

Even though it is based on an old story, the storyline presented by Tersanjung is adapted to the problems faced by young people today.

"Maybe the message is for those who have experienced sexual harassment to be more courageous in speaking like Indah did too. So that they can report what their cousins have done in this Indah series," said Jessica.

In this series, Indah is often teased by cat calling men who make her uncomfortable. Her cousin even threatened her by secretly recording while Indah was taking a bath. The video is used as a threat to spread if Indah doesn't follow what she wants.

"Most victims don't dare to speak up for fear of not being heard. This Tersanjung series can show that sexual violence is happening all around us. Not in the suburbs of Saha. It also exists in Jakarta," he said.

Jessica Mila (Photo: WeTV Indonesia, DI: Raga/VOI)

"It's as simple as on the roadside if there's cat calling and making you uncomfortable, it's sexual violence. It's not just rape. There's also a scene where Indah is called beautiful and uncomfortable she says 'My name is beautiful, not beautiful'. This is a real example," he continued.

Jessica Mila hopes that what Indah does is not only a life lesson for female viewers but also for male viewers. The fight against sexual harassment, she said, could not only be a woman's job.

"This is a form of fighting against sexual violence that occurs around us. Not only women, men must also be able to learn to respect women more," he said.

"As parents, you must also be able to teach your children to grow up to be boys who can respect others. As a woman, how can you be educated to be strong. You can fight against things like that, dare to speak up," he said.

Jessica Mila even studied the facts about the emergence of domestic sexual violence in Indonesia caused by early marriage. He wants to play Indah in total in the Tersanjung series.

"I want people to be aware of this because the number of child marriages in Indonesia is ranked eighth in the world. And on average they end up experiencing sexual violence too. " concluded Jessica Mila.


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