# Cigarette Girl (Gadis Kretek)
**Cigarette Girl** (Gadis [Kretek](https://www.edgepedia.org/kretek)) is a 2023 Indonesian period drama miniseries released on Netflix, adapted from Ratih Kumala's 2012 novel of the same name and set against the clove cigarette (kretek) industry of 1960s and early 2000s Indonesia.[1](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2) • [2](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/cast-and-creators-share-about-indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-airing) It premiered on 2 November 2023 as Netflix's first Indonesian original series.[1](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2) • [3](https://www.dreamcatchers.co.id/gadiskretek)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | 2 November 2023, Netflix[1](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2) |
| Format | Five-episode drama miniseries, rated 13+[4](https://www.netflix.com/id/title/81476989?preventIntent=true) |
| Directors | Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah[1](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2) |
| Source | Ratih Kumala's 2012 novel *Gadis Kretek*[2](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/cast-and-creators-share-about-indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-airing) |
| Main cast | Dian Sastrowardoyo (Dasiyah), Ario Bayu (Soeraja), Putri Marino (Arum), Arya Saloka (Lebas)[4](https://www.netflix.com/id/title/81476989?preventIntent=true) |
| Setting | The kretek industry in the 1960s and the early 2000s, across two time periods[5](https://kemlu.go.id/files/repositori/80254/1730582991672699cf3985f_MI_2023___ENG.pdf) |
| Awards | Best Miniseries, Seoul International Drama Awards 2024[6](https://www.cna.id/lifestyle/gadis-kretek-best-miniseries-seoul-international-drama-awards-2024-22021) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The series follows Dasiyah, known as Jeng Yah (Dian Sastrowardoyo), a visionary woman who loves blending kretek sauce, the spice mixture that gives clove cigarettes their flavor, and her love story with Soeraja (Ario Bayu), set in the 1960s.[1](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2) Decades later, in the early 2000s, Soeraja's son Lebas (Arya Saloka) meets Arum (Putri Marino), and together they trace the family's past and the secrets long kept hidden, fulfilling the dying wish of the cigarette mogul, who asks his son to find a woman from his past.[1](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2) • [5](https://kemlu.go.id/files/repositori/80254/1730582991672699cf3985f_MI_2023___ENG.pdf) A historical event leaves a lasting mark on the characters' lives, and the story spans the two periods in interwoven threads.[2](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/cast-and-creators-share-about-indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-airing) • [5](https://kemlu.go.id/files/repositori/80254/1730582991672699cf3985f_MI_2023___ENG.pdf)
In the source novel, the dying Pak Raja, owner of the kretek brand Kretek Djagad Raja, calls for Jeng Yah, a woman who is not his wife; his three sons, Lebas, Karim, and Tegar, travel across remote Java searching for her, uncovering the origins of the family business and their father's love for Jeng Yah, who owned the local brand Kretek Gadis.[7](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56165893-gadis-kretek) An editing study of the series describes how cross-cutting between the timelines brings together personal melodrama, the political economy of the kretek industry, and the political violence of 1965–1966.[8](https://pubs2.ascee.org/index.php/viperarts/article/view/2144)
## The source novel
Ratih Kumala's novel *Gadis Kretek* was published in 2012 and reached the Top 5 in the prose category of the Khatulistiwa Literary Award 2012.[7](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56165893-gadis-kretek) It was translated into English as *Cigarette Girl* (GPU, 2015) and into German as *Das Zigarettenmädchen* (culturbooks publishing, 2015), and a translation into Arabic was underway for publication in Egypt.[7](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56165893-gadis-kretek) Kumala also took part in writing the series screenplay, together with Tanya Yuson, Kanya K. Priyanti, and Ambaridzki Ramadhantyo.[1](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2)
## Production
The series was directed by Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, produced by BASE Entertainment with showrunners Shanty Harmayn and Tanya Yuson, and took almost a year to produce, including more than 500 visual effects shots across the five episodes; period-specific matte paintings move present-day footage back to the 1960s and early 2000s.[1](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2) • [3](https://www.dreamcatchers.co.id/gadiskretek) For the role of Dasiyah, Dian Sastrowardoyo spent six months deliberately reducing her social life and setting aside modern habits, including listening only to gamelan and classical music, to match the life of most women in the 1960s.[2](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/cast-and-creators-share-about-indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-airing) The series premiered and was well received by audiences at the 2023 Busan International Film Festival before its Netflix release.[9](https://www.esplanade.com/-/media/Esplanade/Files/festival-and-series/2024/pesta-raya/house-programme-samsara.ashx?hash=4E9A2060CF122D47F3D09B90F67E7B08&rev=8d625aa577c7401ab05275adefc22e2c)
## The kretek backdrop
The story is set in an industry with deep roots in Indonesian life. Kretek, a clove-infused cigarette, emerged during Dutch colonial rule and became associated with modernity and cultivation; Kudus in Java is regarded as its birthplace, and cigarette distribution at weddings, funerals, religious ceremonies, and community meetings is a norm of male social life.[10](https://dewey.petra.ac.id/catalog/index.php/digital/get-file/466159) • [11](https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/18/2/98) Around 90 percent of the cigarettes consumed in Indonesia are kretek, and consumption surged in the 1970s after machine rolling lowered the price per stick.[12](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/liem-sioe-liongs-salim-group/scent-of-money/3B9B687D7690A9E6F6B55A38572A13D2) The kretek industry employs between 4 and 17 million people in cultivation, trading, transport, advertisement, and production, making it the second largest employer in Indonesia after the government.[13](https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/view/2466) A 2024 study of the series notes that the kretek industry has become one of the largest revenue-generating sectors for the Indonesian government, second only to oil and gas, and that kretek are regarded as a cultural heritage of Indonesia.[14](https://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/modul/article/view/63984/0)
## Reception and awards
In the week of 6 to 12 November 2023, the series entered Netflix's global Top 10 list for non-English TV at number 10, with more than 1.6 million hours viewed in a single week, and appeared in the Top 10 of six countries: two consecutive weeks at number 1 in Indonesia, third in Malaysia, and charting in Chile (#7), Romania (#8), Mexico (#9), and Venezuela (#9).[15](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/cigarette-girl-enters-netflix-global-top-10) At the 19th Seoul International Drama Awards in 2024, it won Best Miniseries in the International Competition Program category, an award received by director Kamila Andini and lead actress Dian Sastrowardoyo at KBS Hall in Seoul; the category was shared with Netflix's *[3 Body Problem](https://www.edgepedia.org/3-body-problem-tv-series)*.[6](https://www.cna.id/lifestyle/gadis-kretek-best-miniseries-seoul-international-drama-awards-2024-22021) The series also earned four nominations at the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards 2024 in Busan: Best Creative, Best Director for Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, Best Lead Actor Female for Dian Sastrowardoyo, and Best Supporting Actor Male for Arya Saloka.[16](https://www.soehannahall.com/news_and_event/gadis-kretek-earns-four-nominations-aca-g-ott-awards-2024/)
Scholarly reception has examined the series from several angles. A semiotic study reads it as a portrayal of patriarchal culture, pointing to sequences in which women work as kretek rollers and face limits on their roles in the factory.[17](https://repository.upnvj.ac.id/33823/) A 2025 reception analysis of six Indonesian viewers found most agreed the series could serve as a means of spreading popular feminism, while interpretations of Jeng Yah as a feminist hero ranged from dominant-hegemonic to negotiated and oppositional readings.[18](https://jurnal.unpad.ac.id/protvf/article/download/51866/25123)
## References
1. [Serial Drama 'Gadis Kretek' Tayang di Netflix 2 November, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-coming-to-netflix-on-november-2)
2. [Cerita Para Pemeran dan Kreator Serial 'Gadis Kretek', Tayang Hari Ini di Netflix!, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/cast-and-creators-share-about-indonesian-period-drama-cigarette-girl-airing)
3. [Gadis Kretek – 2023, Dreamcatchers Studio](https://www.dreamcatchers.co.id/gadiskretek)
4. [Gadis Kretek, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/id/title/81476989?preventIntent=true)
5. [Maravillosa Indonesia, 2023 Edition, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia](https://kemlu.go.id/files/repositori/80254/1730582991672699cf3985f_MI_2023___ENG.pdf)
6. [Indonesia bangga, Gadis Kretek menang Best Miniseries di Seoul International Drama Awards 2024, CNA Indonesia](https://www.cna.id/lifestyle/gadis-kretek-best-miniseries-seoul-international-drama-awards-2024-22021)
7. [Gadis Kretek by Ratih Kumala, Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56165893-gadis-kretek)
8. [Cross-cutting as an editing strategy for constructing narrative complexity in the original series Gadis Kretek, International Journal of Visual and Performing Arts](https://pubs2.ascee.org/index.php/viperarts/article/view/2144)
9. [House Programme: Samsara, Esplanade Pesta Raya 2024](https://www.esplanade.com/-/media/Esplanade/Files/festival-and-series/2024/pesta-raya/house-programme-samsara.ashx?hash=4E9A2060CF122D47F3D09B90F67E7B08&rev=8d625aa577c7401ab05275adefc22e2c)
10. [Undergraduate thesis introduction on the novel Gadis Kretek, Petra Christian University](https://dewey.petra.ac.id/catalog/index.php/digital/get-file/466159)
11. [Reading culture from tobacco advertisements in Indonesia, Tobacco Control](https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/18/2/98)
12. [The Scent of Money, in Liem Sioe Liong's Salim Group, ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/liem-sioe-liongs-salim-group/scent-of-money/3B9B687D7690A9E6F6B55A38572A13D2)
13. [Tobacco and Kretek: Indonesian Drugs in Historical Change, Advances in Southeast Asian Studies](https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/view/2466)
14. [The Spatial Meaning in "Gadis Kretek" Movie as a Representation of Javanese Society, MODUL](https://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/modul/article/view/63984/0)
15. ['Gadis Kretek' Masuk dalam Daftar Top 10 Global Netflix, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/id/news/cigarette-girl-enters-netflix-global-top-10)
16. [Gadis Kretek Earns Four Nominations at ACA & G.OTT Awards 2024, Soehanna Hall](https://www.soehannahall.com/news_and_event/gadis-kretek-earns-four-nominations-aca-g-ott-awards-2024/)
17. [Representasi Budaya Patriarki dalam Film Serial Netflix Gadis Kretek, Repository UPN Veteran Jakarta](https://repository.upnvj.ac.id/33823/)
18. [Reception analysis of popular feminism in the series Gadis Kretek on Netflix, ProTVF](https://jurnal.unpad.ac.id/protvf/article/download/51866/25123)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Historical and period drama*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license