Watch the official trailer of Ayo Balikan here.
One of Rizal Mantovani’s films—Ayo Balikan—is a teen drama genre film as a sequel to his first film, Ayo Putus. This film stars Bryan Domani and Syifa Hadju again with more complicated dynamics. According to Rizal Mantovani as the director, the hedgehog philosophy is the most memorable scene during the process of making this film. What scene is that? Check out the following special interview with Rizal Mantovani.
The Hedgehog Philosophy in Rizal Mantovani’s Film, Ayo Balikan: This Scene is the Most Memorable
From the film Ayo Putus to the film Ayo Balikan. Alma (Syifa Hadju) and Selatan (Bryan Domani) finally date, but their relationship ends in the first film. Meanwhile, in this second film, Selatan tries to get Alma’s love back. It is unthinkable that this struggle is very difficult because Selatan has to meet Eden (Ciccio Manassero), Alma’s half-brother. Automatically, Selatan has to win Eden’s heart first before advancing to win Alma’s heart back.
What does Rizal Mantovani think about the film Ayo Balikan? Read until the end of the special interview with the director Rizal Mantovani, let’s go.
How did the Ayo Balikan film project first come about?
Rizal Mantovani: “So, we once made the film Ayo Putus starring Bryan Domani and Syifa Hadju. and are very grateful because the film received quite a good response from many of its viewers. And apparently, many also wanted to continue the characters in the film Ayo Putus, namely Selatan, the naughty playboy who has a heart of gold. And also about Alma, a woman who rarely falls in love, and unfortunately falls in love with a playboy for the first time. Wanted to know the continuation of these characters, so finally the Ayo Balikan film scenario was made which is a continuation and we can see Selatan and Alma after a year of going through the events in the previous film, where they are now, and how they are towards each other.”
What is the most memorable scene according to Rizal Mantovani?
Rizal Mantovani: “The most memorable scene is the scene when Selatan and Alma talk and exchange ideas about life. Because suddenly at that time, they were talking about the philosophy of the hedgehog, where they tried to see life; tried to see their love through the lens of the philosophy that they recognize, which includes the philosophy of the hedgehog. Here, one conversation that may seem light, but is actually quite deep, is one of my favorites. The second could be when Selatan tries to win the heart of Alma’s older brother—Eden—in all his ways because Eden is very, very protective of his younger sister. So, Selatan approaches Alma’s older brother—Eden—in various ways with quite exciting results.”
Tell us about the filming process from pre-production to post-production!
Rizal Mantovani: “The process was about half a year, conceptualizing the idea, then making the script—six to eight months. From the first conceptualization of the story to meetings, discussions left and right, and finding what actually works in Ayo Putus. We want to try to recreate that again in Ayo Balikan, but of course with a different perspective. So, this is still in the Ayo Putus world, but the feel and taste still have to be something new. Until we made the script, finally met old friends again, because many of the crew who were filming Ayo Putus at that time came back in Ayo Balikan, including meeting Bryan Domani, Syifa Hadju. We started reading again, that was until we filmed.”
What are Rizal Mantovani’s three favorite sets?
Rizal Mantovani: “The first is the gym set where Eden goes. There, there’s a boxing place, weight lifting, and all sorts of things, inside a gym that’s both indoor and outdoor. The second exciting set is the Selatan’s campus. It’s exciting because there’s one of the characters—Nathalie—a campus activist who gives a speech in front of the campus, after that we have a lot of extras, scenes that are quite complicated, but exciting. And also the set that I think is very identical to Ayo Putus is the lake. The lake is one location that when we were talking at the beginning, this lake still has to be there.”
What was your impression when you were the director of Ayo Balikan?
Rizal Mantovani: “Lke meeting an old friend. So, a film where when we met, both from the crew, from all the cast members, then the places we had visited, we visited them again. So I can also feel how much the fans of Ayo Putus miss us.”
That was a special interview with Rizal Mantovani, the director of Ayo Balikan. It turns out, according to him, the philosophy of the hedgehog that Alma and Selatan talked about in one of the scenes at the lake was the most memorable scene. Apart from the set that was used in Ayo Putus, the dialogue that occurred also gave a deep impression of life.
Are you even more curious about Ayo Balikan? Watch Rizal Mantovani’s film—Ayo Balikan—on Prime Video now! Also, listen to the original soundtrack from Ayo Putus sung by Mytha Lestari entitled ‘Bukan Untuk Dimiliki’ on all digital streaming platforms.
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