Melangkah Di Atas Awan (lit. 'A walk in the clouds' or 'Walking in the clouds'; also known by its working title Melangkah Di Awan) is an Indonesian musical fantasy television series that was first aired on Indosiar for nineteen episodes between September 1997 and March 1998. Directed and co-written by Putu Wijaya, the series mainly focuses on Indra, a college student who gave his first salary and shared his feelings with his mother, Diah. Indra has a strong relationship with his wife Ayu, and his housekeeper Haryati. Overarching themes include a focus on love and relationships as well as the importance of socialisation and humanity.
| Melangkah Di Atas Awan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Melangkah Di Awan |
| Genre | |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by | Shanker RS |
| Directed by | Putu Wijaya |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer |
|
| Opening theme | "Melangkah Di Atas Awan" |
| Composer | Dwiki Darmawan |
| Country of origin | Indonesia |
| Original language | Indonesian |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 19 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Raj Indra Singh |
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Kokoq Priatmoko |
| Editor | Teddy Setyadi |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company | Starvision |
| Original release | |
| Network | Indosiar |
| Release | 11 September 1997 – 5 March 1998 |
Starvision commissioned the series alongside its cast on 6 January 1997, after the success of Mutiara Cinta, Nikita, Mentari Di Balik Awan, and Harkat Wanita. The series was dedicated to actor and singer Ryan Hidayat, who died of typhus seven months before the premiere. It was first aired on Indosiar on 11 September 1997, and featured the commercially successful musical number "Melangkah Di Atas Awan", written by Eddy D. Iskandar, composed and arranged by Dwiki Darmawan and performed by Ronny Sianturi, which received generally positive reviews and peaked at number 5 in Aneka Top 13 Indonesian Hits chart in November of that year. The series concluded on 5 March 1998, as a result of Sianturi's growing popularity and music career.
Premise
editStory
edit
Indra is a newlywed college student who works in Harun's garage and gave his first salary during his first job. He began to share his feelings with his mother, Diah. When Diah's family prohibits Indra from entering the house from the front door, he decides to stop his mother's chores. Later Haryati offers Ayu, a girl who lives in the village to succeed Indra, then she falls in love with Jaya until Haryati forbids them and Jaya will instead have a crush on Rita, a sneaky, greedy girl.
After Haryati drove Ayu away, Rita started calling her boyfriend, Yudi, to succeed Ayu. Although Yudi knew Jaya, he refused Rita to cheat in her relationship because she did not want to insult Jaya. Ayu wanted to marry Indra after her recovery. They finally married at their house, and Indra's companies began to use Ayu's name.
When Mona invited Maryam to arrive at the dinner gala, her disease fared worse, while Asrul was forced to arrive. Asrul decided to break up with Mona, and then Asrul told Jaya and Jaka were stepbrothers. At the cafe, Yudi became a singer, with Asrul, Rita, Sastro, and Tita looking at him while singing. Sastro decided that Yudi would become a successful singer because of his beautiful voice while he remembers Sastro was a successful record producer. Later, the relationship between Rita and Asrul is infidelity, resulting in Haryati being shocked when Rita returns home. At the hospital, Asrul apologized to Haryati and accused his problem.
After that, Jaya invites Danardi to live at his home, then abruptly meets Ayu, who is pregnant. Indra did not report when he was busy during the grand opening of his garage. Meanwhile, Yudi signed a contract at Sastro's record label. He notifies and invites Jaya to meet Sastro, who gave an example of a song titled "Melangkah Di Atas Awan" ("A walk in the clouds"), which Yudi finally sang and became the title track on his album. Ayu praised him when the song issued on the album cover reads "Lagu untuk Ayu" ("A song to Ayu") at the bottom. Maryam reported that Asrul and Rita would murder Jaya, although Haryati cannot believe to found it.
Themes
editThe central conflict of the series is the disconnect between the public and personal lives of Indra, and the lengths to which he must go to secure his life as a normal student.[1]
Characters
editMain
edit- Rita (portrayed by Inneke Koesherawati), Jaya's wife. She dies after the office is on fire.[2]
- Ayu (portrayed by Peggy Melati Sukma), Diah's niece and Indra's wife.
- Jaya (portrayed by Adji Massaid), an aspiring lyricist[3]
- Indra (portrayed by Ronny Sianturi), a successful businessman and garage owner, married to Ayu.
Recurring
edit- Yudi (singing voice provided by Ronny Sianturi), an aspiring singer in which Asrul and Rita praised his voice.[4]
- Sastro (portrayed by Slamet Rahardjo), a quirky musician who has poverty against Tita.
- Maryam (portrayed by Mieke Wijaya), Haryati's former housewife
- Mona (portrayed by Verrial), Yudi's girlfriend.
- Asrul (portrayed by Adipura in early episodes and Adji Massaid in later episodes), a burglar who kidnaps Mona.
- Diah (portrayed by Mien Brojo), Indra's mother and mistress who was insulted by Haryati.
- Tita (portrayed by Rita Nasution), Sastro's wife.
- Danardi (portrayed by Torro Margens), Rita's father and Sastro's songwriting friend.
- Haryati (portrayed by Dien Novita), a businesswoman who was angry at Indra and Ayu.
- Jaka (portrayed by Ryan Hidayat), Jaya's stepbrother. The series was released posthumously after Hidayat's death.
- Anita, a nurse who helps Jaya when he has illness at the hospital.[2]
Production
editDevelopment
editStarvision officially greenlit the series in January 1997, under its working title Melangkah Di Awan.[5] The series was developed by Wijaya, who had previously directed Balada Dangdut for TPI.
Wijaya cited works like Baturraden, Cinderella and Inem Pelayan Seksi as particular influences when he enjoyed leaning into the romantic fantasy as a storytelling genre. The title itself a reference to the 1995 American film, A Walk in the Clouds.[6]
Casting
editThe series and its primary cast were announced in January 1997;[7] Slamet Rahardjo and Adipura would be portraying as the supporting characters of Sastro and Asrul respectively.[8] Originally, actress Bella Saphira was cast in the series, portraying Jaya's girlfriend.[9] Rahardjo states that he was a fan of the director and was cast in the series, because he directed it.[10]
This series was dedicated to actor Ryan Hidayat, who was died because of typhus seven months before the release.[11]
Music
editThe main title theme for the series, "Melangkah Di Atas Awan", was primarily composed and arranged by Dwiki Darmawan and the lyrics were penned by Eddy D. Iskandar, marking their second soundtrack collaboration with Starvision, after Bidadari Yang Terluka. Distinctively from the series, Ronny Sianturi[12] sang the song as the characters of Indra and Yudi. The theme song received generally positive reviews and peaked at number 5 in Aneka Top 13 Indonesian Hits, dated to 15 November 1997.[13][14]
Critical reception
editMelangkah Di Atas Awan received generally positive reviews by critics, who praising its plot and characters.[15]
References
edit- ^ Post 1997, Melangkah Di Atas Awan.
- ^ a b "Rita Tewas dalam Kebakaran". Melangkah Di Atas Awan. Episode 6. 23 October 1997. Archived from the original on 7 October 1999.
- ^ "Jaya Menciptakan Lagu untuk Yudi". Melangkah Di Atas Awan. Episode 4. 9 October 1997. Archived from the original on 28 January 1999.
- ^ "Asrul Berselingkuh Dengan Rita". Melangkah Di Atas Awan. Episode 3. 1 October 1997. Archived from the original on 12 October 1999.
- ^ "Putu Wijaya Garap Sinetron 'Roman Picisan'". Berita Yudha. 6 February 1997. p. 7.
- ^ "Melangkah Di Atas Awan, Langkah Mundur Putu Wijaya". Berita Yudha. 11 September 1997. p. 8.
- ^ "Putu Wijaya dalam syukuran sinetron 'Melangkah Di Atas Awan'". Bintang. 15 January 1997. Archived from the original on 15 November 1999. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "Perannya Cocok sebagai Pemeras Wanita". Suara Pembaruan. 10 January 1997. Archived from the original on 30 January 1997.
- ^ Popular 1997, Bisikan Pria Sejati.
- ^ "Slamet Rahardjo hadir dalam syukuran sinetron 'Melangkah Di Atas Awan'". Bintang. 15 January 1997. Archived from the original on 15 November 1999. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Film 1997, Mengenang.
- ^ Liner notes for Melangkah Di Atas Awan.
- ^ Sunny 2000, Ronnie Sianturi memburu.
- ^ Aneka 1997, Top 13 Hits.
- ^ "Melangkah Di Atas Awan, Kolaborasi Model Putu Wijaya". Film. No. 295. September 1997.
- Further reading
- "Melangkah Di Atas Awan, Langkah-Langkah Cinderella" [Melangkah Di Atas Awan, steps of Cinderella]. Surabaya Post. 11 September 1997. Archived from the original on 2 March 1999.
- "Bella Saphira, Bisikan Pria Sejati". Popular. 1–31 July 1997. Archived from the original on 4 May 1998.
- "Top 13 Hits Indonesia – 15 November 1997". Aneka. 15 November 1997.
- "Ronnie Sianturi memburu angka 80.000". NewsMusik. May 2000. Archived from the original on 28 August 2002. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- "Mengenang Ryan Hidayat" [Ryan Hidayat in memoriam]. Film. 7 March 1997.
- Melangkah Di Atas Awan (liner notes). Ronny Sianturi. Musica. 1997.
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