Sundul Gan: The Story of Kaskus

Two college friends, Andrew Darwis and Ken Dean Lawadinata, team up to build what becomes Indonesia's leading online discussion forum. The project starts as a campus assignment created with free software, then grows into a bustling community that connects people across the archipelago. The movie uses humor and warmth to follow how their very different temperaments collide and cooperate, turning a shared dream into a real business. As pressure to scale mounts, the pair confronts mistakes, compromises, and the cost of success. The story is as much about friendship as it is about a startup, showing how loyalty and grit can turn a rough idea into an influential digital space. The friendship is tested by pressure, ambition, and the lure of success.

Directed by Naya Anindita, Sundul Gan was released in 2016 as a dramatized look at the early days of Kaskus. The screenplay is credited to Satria, Ilya Sigma, and Priesnanda Dwisatria, with Pamela Bowie and Albert Halim among the cast.

Box office data for Sundul Gan has not been publicly disclosed, so there are no reliable figures to report officially. Industry observers have not published final grosses, and the film did not gain widely reported nationwide splits or international releases.

Even if it did not ignite a global frenzy, the film taps into a real life tech origin story that resonates with Indonesian internet culture. It depicts how a campus project can spark a community, influence digital conversations, and foreshadow the rise of home grown online platforms for local audiences.

Critics outside Indonesia are hard to gauge, but the film offers a light minded look at friendship and entrepreneurship. Its themes include collaboration despite personality clashes, risk taking, and the balance between loyalty to friends and to a business vision in a crowded market that speaks to startup life today.