[1][2] Taking the pseudonym Astaman Jr., Lilik began his stage career as a teenager during the Indonesian National Revolution, joining the Bintang Timoer troupe with his father under the leadership of Djamaluddin Malik.

He had his last on-screen role in 1951's Surjani Mulia, directed by Mohammad Said Hamid Junid and produced by Malik's film company Persari.

[3][4] Also in 1951 Lilik had his first experience as a member of a film crew, working the clapperboard and writing scripts for the company's production Dunia Gila.

[5] However, the decision was controversial: the festival's panel was decried by film critics as having sold out to Malik, as they considered D. Djajakusuma's Lewat Djam Malam (After the Curfew; 1954) to be a much more solid work.

[1][3] This silat (martial arts) film saw Fendi Pradana as Sembara, a skilled warrior who must save his compatriots from a woman with fire for hair.