Dhalia (Perfected Spelling: Dahlia; 10 February 1925 – 14 April 1991)[1] was an Indonesian actress active for over fifty years. She was nominated for three Citra Awards at the Indonesian Film Festival, winning one.

Dhalia
Dhalia in Lewat Djam Malam (1954)
Born	Dhalia (1925-02-10)10 February 1925 Medan, Dutch East Indies
Died	14 April 1991(1991-04-14) (aged 66) Jakarta, Indonesia
Nationality	Indonesian
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1937–1991
Spouse(s)	Raden Djumadi ​ ​ (m. 1949, died)​ Yubaar Ayub ​ (div. 1965)​
Children	1
Awards	Citra Award (1955)

Biography

Dhalia was born on 10 February 1925, at Medan, Dutch East Indies, to Karang Intan and Tengku Katam.[2] She was the only child, her father was born in Medan and worked as a stagewriter, who named his theatrical troupe Dhalia Opera after her. While her mother, worked as a stage actress and dancer.[1]

When she was a child, her mother passed away at Tuban. Dhalia spends her formal education studied at a Muhammadiyah-run elementary school then at a Muhammadiyah-run junior high school. In her spare time she focused on acting for her father's troupe.[3] By the 1940s she was already recognised for her singing prowess, although her father intended for her to continue her studies in Islam at Al-Azhar University, Cairo.[4][5]

In 1941, Dhalia made her feature film debut in Njoo Cheong Seng's musical Pantjawarna, produced by Oriental Film.[3] Her next two appearances saw her playing an orphan in Sutan Usman Karim's drama Panggilan Darah[6] and alongside Rd Mochtar in Moestika dari Djemar, an adaptation of the One Thousand and One Nights.[7] Dhalia's last two films before Indonesia's independence were completed during the Japanese occupation (1942–45): Berdjoang and Hoedjan. Both were works of pro-Japanese propaganda.[8]

Dhalia married to Indonesian soldier from Siliwangi division named Raden Djumadi in 1949.[1] They had a daughter named Ida Ariyani (b. 1958), their marriage lasted until Djumadi death.[1] Dhalia remarried to Indonesian writer Yubaar Ayub (1925–1996), they divorced in 1965.[1]

During the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949), film production almost stopped.[9] Dhalia only returned to the screen in 1952, completing three films that year. By 1955 she had completed eighteen films, taking such roles as the title character in Chandra Dewi (1952) and the prostitute Laila in Lewat Djam Malam (1954).[10] Between 1956 and 1972 Dhalia made no films. After she returned to the industry,[10] she was no longer offered leading roles, instead taking supporting roles.[3] She made her last film in 1990, with the 1980s as the most productive period in her career.[10]

Dhalia spent her last day at her rented house in Menteng, Central Jakarta, with her daughter and granddaughter. She died there on 14 April 1991, due to cancer at the age of 66.[3][11]

Awards

During her career Dhalia was nominated for three Citra Awards. Her first nomination, in 1955, was for the film Lewat Djam Malam; she won the Citra Award for Best Leading Actress for that performance. In 1981 and 1982 she received two nominations for the Citra Award for Best Supporting Actress, for the films Usia 18 and Bukan Istri Pilihan, respectively.[12]

Filmography

During her fifty-four year career Dhalia acted in some fifty-three films.[10]

References

Works cited

External links

• Dhalia at IMDb
• Media related to Dhalia at Wikimedia Commons