Mohamad Mochtar

Mohamad Mochtar
Mohamad Mochtar, 1954
Born	1 July 1918 Cianjur, Dutch East Indies
Died	1 December 1981(1981-12-01) (aged 63) Jakarta, Indonesia
Occupation	Actor
Awards	1 Citra Award

Mohamad Mochtar (1 July 1918 – 1 December 1981), usually credited as Moh Mochtar, was an Indonesian film actor active from 1939 until 1981.

Mochtar was born in Cianjur, West Java, Dutch East Indies, on 1 July 1918. He dropped out of school in the first year of Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (junior high school). Sometime afterwards he was signed by the theatre company Miss Riboet's Orion for their football team; he had been a fan of the game since his youth. Mochtar was later asked to perform on stage. By the late 1930s he was skilled at the traditional martial art of silat.

In 1939 Mochtar met The Teng Chun, owner and director of Java Industrial Film (JIF), while at a barbershop. Mochtar was signed to play opposite Hadidjah in JIF's upcoming film, Alang-Alang, as two lovers who confront bandits in a jungle. The Teng Chun intended Mohamad Mochtar and Hadidjah to become competitors to Roekiah and Rd Mochtar, who had become a popular on-screen couple owing to their success in Terang Boelan (1937) and Fatima (1938).Alang-Alang was successful, and Mohamad Mochtar was dubbed the "Tarzan of Java".

This success led Hadidjah and Mochtar to be cast in romantic roles together for another five films for JIF. In 1940, Mochtar appeared in Matjan Berbisik (Whispering Tiger) as a man who fights his brother for the love of a young woman, then in Rentjong Atjeh (Rencong of Aceh) as a young man who fights pirates. In 1941 the pair appeared in another three films: Srigala Item (Black Wolf), Si Gomar, and Singa Laoet. Aside from his roles with Hadidjah, Mochtar also acted in several films for Action Films, a subsidiary of JIF, including Srigala Item and Tengkorak Hidoep (both 1941). Through these films Mochtar became one of the most famous actors in the Indies, recognised for his speed and courage. He did his own stunts — including scenes such as jumping from a moving motorcycle to a truck.