The troupe stayed in Malacca until 1945; aside from his work with Bollero, Effendi was involved with the domestic film industry and became a "culture warrior" in the press. Effendi was arrested in Singapore for refusing to support the British, but after his release he acted the 1949 film "Seruan Merdeka" ("Cry of Freedom"). He returned to Indonesia – which had declared its independence in 1945 – by 1950 and began directing several films for the National Film Company (), including "Djiwa Pemuda" ("Young Soul"; 1951), a cry for former soldiers to work towards national development.