Farouk Afero

Afero was born Farouk Achmad in Pakistan on 4 June 1939. He was the son of Asgar Ali and Sarifah Bibi.[1] By the 1950s the family had migrated to the Indonesian archipelago. Farouk Achmad took the name Farouk Afero while working as an amateur boxer. He was later cast in the film Ekspedisi Terakhir (The Last Expedition, 1964),[2] a film produced by Ermina Zaenah and directed by Alam Surawidjaja and Sjahril Gani.[3] Over the next five years he appeared in several roles, including in Wim Umboh's Sembilan (Nine, 1967) and Laki-Laki Tak Bernama (Man Without a Name, 1969).[4]

Afero's star-making role only came in 1970, when he appeared in Turino Djunaidy's Bernafas dalam Lumpur (Breathing in Mud). This film was a commercial success, spawning two sequels,[5] and sparking the revival of the flagging Indonesian film industry.[1] Over the next decade he appeared in more than forty films – mostly as the antagonist.[2] These included roles as the titular fighter in Si Gondrong (1971), the nihilist poet Anwar in Atheis (Atheist, 1974) and the gang member Majid in Laila Majenun (1976).[6] For this last role, Afero received a Citra Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 1976 Indonesian Film Festival.[2]

Afero also actively promoted the development of the cinema of Indonesia; in 1973, for instance, he shaved his head in protest of movie theatres' lack of interest in showing domestic productions and attempted to meet Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin.[1] He was also an active member of the Indonesian Film Artists Association, or PARFI.[2]

After completing Tapak-tapak Kaki Wolter Monginsidi (The Footsteps of Wolter Monginsidi, 1982), a biopic of the revolutionary Robert Wolter Monginsidi, Arefo went on hiatus from acting.[4] He made his last feature film appearance a decade later, in Bernafas dalam Lumpur, a remake of the 1970 production.[1][7] He did not, however, leave acting, and in the 1990s he appeared in several television series, including Duren Duren (1994), Abunawas (1995), Ujang & Aeeng (1996), Biang Kerok (Troublemaker, 1996), and Di Bawah Purnama Aku Berdoa (I Pray Beneath the Full Moon, 1997).[8]

Towards the end of his life, Afero was diagnosed with lung cancer. On 13 April 2003, at 21:50 Indonesia Western Time (UTC+7), he died of cancer at the Pondok Indah Hospital in Jakarta. He was buried at Tanah Kusir Cemetery in the same grave as his mother at a funeral attended by numerous Indonesian actors and filmmakers, including the screenwriter Misbach Yusa Biran and actresses Nani Wijaya and Widyawati. He was survived by his wife, Oktorina Suryaningsih, as well as five children, and six grandchildren.[1] Speaking with Kompas, Biran described Afero:

Farouk Afero remained an antagonist of legend in Indonesia until the end of his days. People never got bored of seeing him. Nobody doubted his acting abilities. Farouk was part of the mosaic of our cinema.[lower-alpha 1]

— Misbach Yusa Biran, Kompas (2003)

Afero was nominated for best actor at the PWI Awards, held by the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Journalists Association, in 1971 and 1972, winning second and third runner-up, respectively. During the 1976 Indonesian Film Festival in Bandung he was named Best Supporting Actor for his role in Laila Majenun. At the 1979 festival he was again nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award, receiving second place (the Kompas Award) for his performance in Rahasia Perkawinan (The Secret of Marriage).[9]

During his nearly career, Afero acted in almost seventy films.[4] Biran writes that this includes starring roles in most of Indonesia's domestic productions in the 1970s.[2] He was also part of the crew of four productions, serving as story writer.[4]