On with the show: Opal and Oak relieved after parenthood scare

Showbiz couple Smith “Oak” Arayasakul and Panisara “Opal” (nee Phimpru) had quite a scare recently after having announced in May that she’s pregnant with twins. The joyful expectations continued through a wonderful vacation in Japan in July, but then rumours went round about medical trouble. 

Contacted by the press, Oak first acknowledged only that there was a problem with the pregnancy. This week, though, he was able to fill in the details. It was clear that a big burden was off his shoulders. He said the mothertobe is now okay, through she’ll have to remain in hospital until she gives birth in about two months.

Oak – who’s also a dermatologist – said he first noticed something unusual one day when he was giving Opal a hug and thought her tummy felt “harder” than it should be at six months. He knew enough about pregnancy from his days as a medical student at Chulalongkorn University to realise there might be something wrong, so they went to get checked out and his suspicions proved correct. 

Opal was having contractions way too early and was thus at risk of miscarrying, perhaps because her petite frame is struggling to contain rambunctious twins. So, to get through this critical period, she’ll stay in hospital taking helpful medication and try to move as little as possible until she goes into labour.

Now that she’s in her seventh month, considered a safe time for both mums and babies, the couple are relieved after all the stress of the sudden emergency. It’s just a good thing that Oak’s medical knowledge alerted him to a possible problem so they could get Opal looked after quickly.

Oak said the crisis taught him a lot more – that he has to always be patient as well as being a pillar of support for his wife and the twins. “The situation reminded me of how much I love them,” he declared in tears, “and it gave me the signal that my fatherhood role has begun.”

 

So where’s “May Who?”

The GTH studio’s “Freelance ... Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More” (“Heart Attack”) is currently ruling at the box office, thus far earning Bt50 million and change, and there’s another GTH movie waiting in the wings called “May Nai Fai Raeng Fer” (“May Who?”).

“May Who?” sounds like an apt title for a film we still know very little about. The latest offering from director Chayanop Boonprakob, who succeeded so well with “Suckseed”, was supposed to have been released in May, but a couple of factors caused the studio to hold back. 

For one thing, “May Nai Fai Raeng Fer” needs far more postproduction work than any other GTH film to date. Then there was that untoward little subwaydancing incident while the cast was visiting Japan that led to the movie’s lead actress Sutatta “PunPun” Udomsilp and several other actors being suspended from working for six months as punishment. 

The movie also stars Thanapob “Tor” Leeratthanakajorn and Thiti “Bank” Mahayotharak from the TV series “Hormones” and, while they’ve been making appearances to promote the film, PunPun has been glaringly absent. 

The release is now set for October 1, but even then Pan Pan will still be on suspension. It’s no doubt made things awkward for the marketing people, but on the other hand it seems to fit the title of the movie. Folks are definitely curious right now to know who this “May” person is – and where she is.