Makmum 2 Film Reaches 1.5 Million Viewers, Sandiaga Uno Says Filming Locations Can Be Horror Tourism

Makmum 2 Film (Photo: IG @deecompany)

JAKARTA - After getting a MURI record as the first Indonesian film to get 1 million viewers during the pandemic, Makmum 2 continues to increase its audience. 23 days showing, this film got 1,508,994 viewers. This achievement received appreciation from the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy and the Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, Sandiaga Uno.

Sandiaga Uno congratulated Dee Company Producers, Dheeraj Kalwani and Titi Kamal as the main players in the live Instagram broadcast. "Congratulations on your achievement. Did you think it would be this successful from the start?" said Sandi, Sunday, January 23.

"This is above my imagination. Because initially 800 thousand like the first one was already good, the condition was a pandemic," said Dheeraj Kalwani.

Titi Kamal also felt the same way. "It's very rare, sir, for this sequel to have more viewers than the first. So I initially thought 800,000 like the first one was hard because of the pandemic. It turns out that this could be 1.5 million viewers, to me it's like magic," said Titi.

Filming for 29 days during the pandemic, Dheeraj admitted that he had to spend more on production costs. The increase can be 20-30% for the cost of the PCR test.

"It's a 20-30% increase from usual shooting. This is 29 days of shooting and requires PCR many times. The shooting costs have increased significantly. With 180 crew and players involved, quarantine is carried out in one hotel during filming in Garut," he said.

Titi Kamal gave her appreciation to Dee Company for providing health insurance for the cast and crew. "I have returned home several times. We who are outside have to do PCR again. We shoot each other, look after each other, all in one hotel like quarantine, so we are safe, all healthy until the shooting ends, there is no problem," said Titi.

Knowing this fact, Sandy was enthusiastic. "Wow, an increase of 20% for shared health, of course, this needs to be appreciated. Filming involved 180 crew and actors, so it needs to be considered because the film industry creates large jobs. Congratulations and thank you, we consider the film sector to be very strategic in reviving the economy and national identity," he said.

Dheeraj Kalwani hopes that the achievement of Makmum 2 can give optimism to Indonesian films. "I think 70% of the capacity of this cinema is really good, right. It can make films rise again. Hopefully, Indonesian films will be even more crowded. The film and entertainment industry can be lively and rise again," he explained.

Dheeraj also hopes that Indonesian films can help stimulate local tourism. "The shooting was done in a tourist village, we built a bridge there, and the bridge is still there today. So it can be used for tourism shooting locations for Makmum 2," he explained.

"Wow, that's an interesting idea to create a new tour. The Makmum 2 horror film tour," said Sandiaga Uno.