The farmers' revolution that produced a star
At his latest concert, "40 Years of Music on the Road of Surachai Jantimatorn", the performer better known as Nga Caravan sang his famous revolutionary song "Khon Kab Kwai" ("Man and Water Buffalo").
A paean to rice farmers and their beloved beasts of burden, it famously features the sharply political line “Come, let’s go now! Carry our ploughs and guns to the fields!”
Lyricists Somkit Singson and Visa Kantap were no fans of Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, the country’s leader at the time. But there’s a charming, more personal aspect to the tune’s history as well.
“I still remember that ‘Khon Kab Kwai’ was the first song I sang in public,” Surachai said. “I sang it at a wedding – yes, a wedding – and the groom was Weeraprawat Wongpuapan, my friend from Prajan Seaw.” That was the Crescent Moon Club, a hangout for Bangkok’s young revolutionary thinkers founded in 1969.
“You know, I always wondered why Weeraprawat always put a portrait of one particular woman on his book covers,” he said, referring to the lovely lady who became Weeraprawat’s wife. “Now I know the reason. Look at their son – he is Theeradej ‘Ken’ Wongpuapan!”
Having one of television’s most successful and handsomest actors as a son is certainly a nice ending to any revolution.
Indie, as in lonely
Anyone can make an indie film, but selling tickets is a different matter, as director Nontawat Numbenchapol is learning with “Boundary” (“Fah Tam Phan Din Soon”), which squeaked past the censors only to wade into Thailand’s peculiar species of expressive freedom.
Critics of the documentary about the Thai-Cambodian border conflict leaned on Major Cineplex, resulting in Nontawat having to handle ticket sales himself and even rent screen time around the country. Commercial success is just not in the cards, especially with only four viewings slated for Bangkok this week – 7pm nightly through Sunday at the Major Esplanade.
Nontawat will have a separate spot in the lobby to sell tickets, as explained on www.Facebook/boundarymovie. “This is what the ticket booth looks like: I’ll be there, shooting, editing and selling tickets as usual.”
He’s charging Bt150, but for pity’s sake give the poor guy a few baht extra for his troubles.
