feature film production in the indies recommenced in 1948, amidst the indonesian national revolution, a military and political conflict between the newly proclaimed republic of indonesia and the returning dutch colonial forces. waldy and sofia joined tan & wong bros. and made their debut together in "air mata mengalir di tjitarum"; for this film, waldy again took the role of songwriter. film scholar ekky imanjaya writes that tan & wong bros attempted to cash in on the success of their previous incarnation, tan's film. sofia was advertised based on her resemblance to tan's star roekiah, and waldy bore a physical resemblance to roekiah's husband, the comedian kartolo.