Exclusive, Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza Duet: Presenting Nostalgia in Petualangan Sherina 2

JAKARTA - Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza can be called one of the filmmakers who are the spearheads of Indonesian cinema. Petualangan Sherina, which was broadcast in 2000, became one of the successful Indonesian films that revived the industry.

Still starring Sherina Munaf and Derby Romero, they ensure that this sequel will not waste the audience's nostalgia and sweet memories.

"We always want to have the idea or the urge to make (a sequel) not long after the first film was released in 2000. But as filmmakers, we also have various ambitions, other desires, and then we don't realize it's already a dozen years later," said Riri Riza started our conversation that afternoon.

Luckily, they were still communicating with Sherina and Derby Romero so the plan began to be developed again. This coincided with when in 2018, Sherina asked to talk about another film.

At that time, Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana planned to remake the film Petualangan Sherina. Sherina Munaf was appointed as the music director considering that she was a student of the late Elfa Secioria, the music director of her first film.

"At that time, Sherina then offered, 'Why not just make a sequel?' because there were still Sherina and Derby," added Riri Riza.

"So actually the dream was 20 years later when we celebrated 20 years of Petualangan Sherina in 2020 only to encounter a pandemic so the end is only now," said Mira Lesmana.

Petualangan Sherina 2 was done by Mira and Riri with Sherina Munaf. As the main star, she intervened in the development of the story and worked on the music. Their collaboration resulted in a film that remains close to the first film but presents many new aspects.

"When we were working on the scenario, we definitely told the story of two people who are no longer children. It is impossible, for example, that what they are facing is still childish. "But we have examples of many Hollywood films, especially those with adult characters but are family films," said Mira again.

"We then adopted that concept for Petualangan Sherina 2 so that the story remains relatable for millennials who were previously small and are now Sherina and Sadam's age but also for other family members to enjoy. Family-friendly," she explained.

Petualangan Sherina 2 tells the story of Sherina (Sherina Munaf) who now works as a journalist. One day, she was assigned to cover the Kalimantan area. This job makes her meet Sadam (Derby Romero), her childhood friend who now also has a job there. The reunion takes the two of them through a new adventure that gives meaning to their relationship again.

Kalimantan is the setting and main setting of Petualangan Sherina 2. Riri Riza feels that the characterization of Sherina and Sadam supports the story of Kalimantan. They also carry a mission to introduce the area to the public.

“Firstly, the theme is because Sherina's story in this film makes it very natural for her to go to a certain place. And although Kalimantan is talked about a lot, we actually don't know much about it, but this is a place that is not widely known by Indonesian people," said Riri Riza.

"When we follow that, we become increasingly convinced that Kalimantan is the right location. Later it will also be important for us because we are moving to the capital city. "We must recognize so that we are all sensitive that this is a rich land and the environment must be well protected, of course, while going on an adventure with Sadam and Sherina," he said.

"If we imagine or ask about what Sherina's aspirations were, there is actually the possibility of becoming a journalist or even a detective because she is very brave, she has intuition, instinct in making decisions," explained Riri again.

“And Sherina's middle name M. is not a monkey but a melody. Sherina Melodi Darmawan," said Mira Lesmana.

Sherina's Behind-the-Scenes Involvement

Sherina's involvement in this film then expanded from actor to music director and story developer. Sherina's older sister, Vira Munaf, also helped develop the story with them.

Apart from acting, Sherina is also active in her career in music. She released two studio albums and was involved in the making of the Studio Ghibli film Earwig and the Witch. It is known that Sherina will work on seven songs that will appear in this film. She also worked on the score for the film Petualangan Sherina 2.

"From the start, we wanted to ask Sherina to be the music director for the remake. We are sure that what Elfa Secioria did before was for Sherina and there was no other choice. She's his student, she knows what it's like," said Mira Lesmana.

"So her experience and sensitivity in this are extraordinary even though the preparation for the film Petualangan Sherina 2 took a long time. Of course, create a song that is the main part of the film scenario and then prepare yourself by recording," said Riri Riza.

Long preparations were made to make Petualangan Sherina 2 a success, including choosing a new line-up of actors who would still bring the audience closer. They are Isyana Sarasvati, Kelly Tandiono, Ardit Erwandha, Randy Danistha, Chandra Satria, and Quinn Salman.

"What is certain is that we also conducted a survey to check, it turns out that almost all generations know what Petualangan Sherina is," said Mira Lesmana.

"The first time I went to the cinema, my father and mother invited me to watch Indonesian films and so on, so the closeness was extraordinary. But increasingly I also have a responsibility to introduce it further and we have done that in the last few months to introduce what Petualangan Sherina is so that generations who may already know but are not close to it will get to know it more closely according to the theme of the first film, taking a closer look," added Mira Lesmana.

The desire to continue to bring Petualangan Sherina closer to the public will continue. Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana felt that Petualangan Sherina could become something impactful, and iconic, but still close to fans and had the potential to be developed in other mediums.

"We once discussed the animation of Petualangan Sherina which will certainly provide the possibility that little Sherina could have a long story that could be developed into other adventures for children," hoped Riri Riza.

"Because I'm close to them, among other things, I wanted to shoot the third one next month but I'm still quite sore," concluded Riri Riza with a laugh.