Dhalia

Children1AwardsCitra Award (1955)

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

Dhalia was born on 10 February 1925 in Medan, Dutch East Indies, as the only child of Tengku Katam and Karang Intan.^[1] Her father was a stagewriter from Medan, who named his theatrical troupe Dhalia Opera after her.^{[citation needed]} While her mother, was a stage actress and dancer.^{[citation needed]}

When she was a child, her mother died in Tuban.^{[citation needed]} Dhalia spends her formal education studied at a Muhammadiyah-run elementary school then at a Muhammadiyah-run junior high school.^{[citation needed]} In her spare time she focused on acting for her father's troupe.^[2] 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.^[3][4]

Dhalia was married to Indonesian soldier from Siliwangi division, Raden Djumadi, in 1949.^{[citation needed]} They had a daughter, Ida Ariyani.^{[citation needed]} Their marriage lasted until Djumadi's death and Dhalia later remarried to Indonesian writer, Yubaar Ayub, and divorced in 1965.^{[citation needed]}

Dhalia was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and spent her last day at her rented house in Menteng, Central Jakarta, along with her daughter and granddaughter.^{[citation needed]} She died there on 14 April 1991, at the age of 66.^[2]

Dhalia started her film career by starred in Terang Boelan (1937), as a supporting role.^{[citation needed]} In 1941, she made her feature film debut in Njoo Cheong Seng's musical Pantjawarna, produced by Oriental Film.^[2] Her next two appearances saw her playing an orphan in Sutan Usman Karim's drama Panggilan Darah^[5] and alongside Rd Mochtar in Moestika dari Djemar, an adaptation of the One Thousand and One Nights.^[6] 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.^[7]

During the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949), film production almost stopped.^[8] 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).^[9] Between 1956 and 1972 Dhalia made no films. After she returned to the industry,^[9] she was no longer offered leading roles, instead taking supporting roles.^[2] She made her last film in 1990, with the 1980s as the most productive period in her career.^[9]

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.^[10]

During her fifty-four year career Dhalia acted in some fifty-three films.^[9]

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