Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine August 2016 | Page 80

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Explore | Interview

INTERVIEW
Award-winning comedic
creative Raditya Dika shares
with Colours his artistic
drive and process, as well
as his commitment to
continuous learning.
Known for his comedy, Raditya Dika has
donned many faces for his audience: first as
a blogger and writer, and then as a stand-up
comedian; and now he is also known as an
actor, director and producer.
“I am a storyteller,” Raditya says when asked
to describe himself. “I tell my stories in
various mediums like blogs, books, stand-up
comedy and film.”
Radit, as he is known to his fans, is the
author of six books, writer and actor in four
motion pictures, and also a producer and
director.
According to the 31-year-old, all of his
works, be they books, stand-up comedy
or films, begin in a similar way.
“They all come from things troubling
me, things I feel in my heart. This is why
I think my stories resonate well with my
audience; these stories are relatable, because
one way or another people have experienced
them also.”
Being the eldest of five, two of whom are
twin sisters, may be one of the reasons
Radit was always the class clown. When he
was a fourth grader, he came across comedy
novels that intrigued his young mind.
He studied the novels for comedic
lines and analysed the characters, the plot
and the writing style.
As he also read joke books, it wasn't long
before young Radit started writing down
his own in a special notebook and sharing
them with his classmates.
He finished high school in Jakarta and
then studied finance at the University of
Adelaide for three years before returning
home and switching his major to politics at
the University of Indonesia.
Many of his fans were introduced to him
through his first book, Kambing Jantan,
in 2005, which tells about his school and
college years, although he had been making
a name for himself in the Indonesian
blogosphere in the early 2000s.