Sexy vamps and online heroes

They riveted eyes and raised eyebrows, warmed hearts and thrilled the nation’s collective soul. These are the good and the great who made the biggest impact in Thailand this year.

 

FACEBOOK’S FIGHTING MOOD

It can be credibly argued that there would have been no massive insurrection this year had it not been for the tom-toms of the social media, and for that reason the users of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too deserve to be called the Online Persons of the Year.

It was the waves of posts, comments, likes and re-tweets – and especially the members-only organising groups formed on Facebook – that put hundreds of thousands of “whistleblowers” on the streets of Bangkok. Without them, the Amnesty Bill – already passed, for all intents and pur?poses – would have sailed through the Senate and become law. Thaksin Shinawatra would quite likely have been back in Thailand by now.

And without the social-network commandos, Thailand would not be undergoing a vast and badly needed debate about democracy, including the necessity and hazards of elections. If democ?racy’s roots need to reach deeper, the social media are providing rich soil. 

When the anti-amnesty protest was still in its infancy early last month, thousands of Facebook walls were decorated overnight with logos condemning the push to bring Thaksin back a free man. Various anti-amnesty logos replaced the official “profile photos” of countless users. Then more citizens, from university students to seasoned professionals, began setting up private groups online to promote and coordinate the rally activities. Public opinion was being mobilised in a fresh and dynamic way. 

Once the protesters were on the street, they took pictures of themselves and others and uploaded them to the social networks as well. The “selfies” became a proud statement of belief and participation, the backdrop of dramatic political upheaval taking the place of pretty travel destinations or banal self-indulgence. Suddenly Thais had taken the social media, introduced as a tool for activism in Algeria and Egypt, to bold new heights when trouble was brewing.

– Veena Thoopkrajae 

 

BIG JUMP FOR JAMES

Jirayu “James” Tangsrisuk’s role as Khunchai Puttipat, a handsome blueblood doctor in Channel 3’s hit soap opera “Khunchai Puttipat”, part of the “Suparbburut Juthathep” series, turned out to be the launch pad to superstardom for the 19-year-old.

His character was smart, gentle, brilliant and wealthy. What woman could resist? Well, fiction doesn’t quite match fact, of course – James is a humble university student, born in Phichit to a retailing family – but now he’s been recast as something of a god.

And it’s a mother’s dream come true, quite literally. She so badly wanted to see her son become a TV star that she scrutinised pictures of Western babies while she was pregnant, decided her infant should have a large nose like them, so she ate a lot of fish, which her friends assured her would accentuate his facial features. To make her baby tall, James’ mother got to bed by 10 every night. 

If the prenatal efforts sound a bit “fishy”, there’s no denying that her support for her growing son’s music lessons helped. And to get that cute face “out there”, she entered his photo in a beauty contest without asking his permission. Once called forward, teenage James was forced to participate.

But it was a picture on Facebook that caught the eye of Charnchalard “Pik” Dhaweesap, who was looking for a new actor. On meeting James, he became his personal manager. Pik took him to meet Channel 3 executive producer Somrak Narongwichai, who was casting the “Suparbburut Juthathep” series, and James ended up signing a five-year contract.

He got a crash course in acting, singing and dancing, and when the series premiered last May, James was an overnight star. Inevitable comparisons were made with Nadech Kugimiya, the hottest young actor of the moment, and photos of James as Khunchai filled the Facebook news feeds for weeks. At last count James had 900,000 followers on Instagram and had appeared on the cover of more than 20 fashion magazines. He touts Toyota, AIS and the Wutthisak Clinic in advertisements.

Modernine TV talk show host Woody Kerd Ma Khui handed James a Kerd Ma Preng (Born to Be Famous) award two weeks ago, but can all this heady success last? His new drama series, “Rak Sudrit”, hasn’t done well in the ratings.

Not to worry: Manager Pik is on the case. He’s recently had James in Seoul for an intensive training course with Cube, the same record label that groomed massive popular Korean acts as Rain and B2ST. Pik and James are thinking ahead, and they’re thinking big.

– Pattarawadee Saengmanee

 

BANJONG GETS THE GHOST

Director Banjong Pisanthanakun underlined his talent for making the kind of movies that everyone wants to see with the overwhelmingly successful horror comedy “Pee Mak Phra Khanong”. Released in time for the Songkran holidays, it earned more than B1 billion, making it the highest grossing film in Thai history.

The 33-year-old director is getting used to smashing records. His filmmaking debut alongside Parkpoom Wongpoom was the horror flick “Shutter”, which amassed Bt100 million and was the first Thai film bought by Hollywood for a remake. He reunited with Parkpoom for “Faed” (“Alone”), then went solo for the two instalments of the horror compilations “See Phrang” (“Phobia”) and “Ha Phrang” (“Phobia 2”). 

But Banjong is not just a horror specialist. His first feature-length project, the romantic comedy “Guan Muen Ho” (“Hello Stranger”), revealed a flair for witty dialogue, a talent that served him well when he joined the scriptwriting team of “Pee Mak”. 

Centred on the popular story “Mae Nak Phra Khanong”, which is constantly remade for both small and big screens, Banjong brought a new and comic twist to the plot, along with a few extra characters.

While maintaining the story line about a woman who dies in childbirth and whose ghost waits for her husband Mak to return from the military, Banjong tells the story from Mak’s point of view. He has Mak’s four friends as central characters, trying to warn their pal that his wife is a ghost without evoking her ire. The result is a combination of terror and laughter that carries the film from beginning to end.

There were worries prior to the release of “Pee Mak” that the changes to a classic tale might offend viewers. Those concerns disappeared by the first screening, with fans praising the film on the social networks and viewers flocking to the cinema in numbers not seen for a decade.

– Parinyaporn Pajee

 

COUNTRY MOVES

Once derided as music for upcountry bumpkins and those who came to Bangkok to drive taxis, luk thung made national headlines this year thanks to Suteevan “Baitoey” Taveesin. The singer on the R Siam label had eyes popping with her suggestive dance moves in the video for the 3.2.1 dance tune “Rak Tong Perd (Naen Oak)”.

Fired up by Baitoey’s success, Grammy Gold moved mor lam sing star Ying Lee Srichumpol into the luk thung mainstream, complete with tight-fitting skirts, cropped tops and sultry moves that earned her the nickname mia ngoo (snake lady). Ying Lee sailed to the top of the video charts with “Khor Jai Ther Laek Ber Tho” and knocked Baitoey off her YouTube perch.

With the music videos going viral, it was perhaps inevitable that other artists would latch on to the genre, and covers of “Khor Jai Ther Laek Ber Tho” turned up in the most unlikely places. Mainstream artist Pongsak “Aof” Rattanaphong performed it at a pop concert and rocker Jirasak “Maew” Panpoom at a recent charity cycling event.

“Khor Jai Ther Laek Ber Tho” also rang out loud and clear during the intermission in the Women’s Volleyball World Grand Prix match in August between Thailand and Russia. And it was brought in as a tension tamer when fighting broke out in September between Premier League champion Buriram United and SCG Muangthong United at the Thai FA Cup final. Remarkably, as soon as the first notes of the luk thung song were played, cheering fans of both teams stopped the aggro and instead sang along and danced to the beat. 

– Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul 

 

FORD STANDS FOR FASHION

With Vogue’s first-ever male editor-in-chief, Kullawit “Ford” Laosuksri, at the helm, Vogue Thailand made its debut last January with a sensational cover – showing a Thai chada headdress created by Phillip Treacy to introduce Thai heritage to the world of modern fashion.

The magazine whose Thai version had kept local clotheshorses waiting for decades had finally arrived. Long before the month was over, every copy was sold and the buyers had collector’s items in their hands.

Ford said he and his team deliberately set out to portray the “cheerful attitude and lifestyle” of Thai women. The idea of presenting the traditional tall coronet on the cover was inspired. The archives of master chada maker Chakrabhan Posayakrit were scoured and Phillip Treacy, the world-renowned hat designer, was recruited to re-imagine the headpiece in an altogether new way.

Ford, who’d played a big role in the success of Elle Thailand, the magazine that launched Elle Fashion Week, took a daring step with publisher and managing director Siri Udomritthiruj in unveiling Vogue Thailand amid a surge of recent fashion-magazine imports like Numero and Optimum.

Vogue Thailand has maintained its world-class standard throughout the year and continues to generate bookstand heat with stunning covers. Supermodel Naomi Campbell made a special appearance in the November issue – inadvertently controversial amid accusations that the African-American’s complexion had been rendered artificially paler in a nod to Thais’ love of skin-whitening products. Vogue’s photographer explained that it was in fact simply a result of the lighting.

Meanwhile Ford is demonstrating a gift for introducing global trends – for news of which he constantly travels the world – and at the same time boosting native designers. Every issue profiles a different Thai veteran and newcomer. He also established the Vogue Fashion Fund to support aspiring Thai designers. Its auction at the Four Seasons in June raised Bt1.44 million, which will pay for a year’s professional training and help them start their own brands.

And Vogue Fashion Night Out at CentralWorld in September was actually a two-day clothing show and “lifestyle party” that served as another successful fund-raiser. 

– Phatarawadee Phataranawik 

 

ART FOR THE MASSES

There was an admirable amount of moving and shaking on the Thai art scene this year, but Boonchai Bencharongkul continued to do the most moving and shaking. He’s the art collector who opted to instead channel his money – Bt1 billion, in fact –into building a museum. 

In 2013 Boonchai put the Museum of Contemporary Art to exceptional use with dazzling exhibitions of the surrealist art dearest to his heart.

The museum on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road is the country’s biggest private art facility. MoCa has 20,000 square metres on six floors displaying more than 400 works from Boonchai’s personal collection (and that’s just a third of what he owns) plus borrowed art seen in temporary exhibitions. 

Building the museum earned Boonchai a spot on Forbes magazine’s 2011 list of the world’s top philanthropists. Forbes estimated he spent US$8.4million (Bt2.5 billion) on it, but that seems low given the cost of the land alone.

This year and last, Boonchai demonstrated that his museum is no rich man’s “toy”. Matching world-class standards, it draws mobs of art lovers as well as plenty of people who rarely visit galleries but are thrilled to see something other than an ill-managed government museum or commercial showplace. 

With wonderful works by Thawan Duchanee, Chalermchai Kositpipat, Fua Haripitak, Hem Vejakorn, Suchao Sisganes, Thawee Nandakwang and Chalerm Nakiraks on display, Boonchai has devoted one floor to his beloved surrealist paintings. You can see the seven-metre-tall “Triphum” (“Three Worlds”) he commissioned from Sompop Buddharat and other stunning pieces by Panya Vinjinthanasarn and Prateep Kochabua.

This year there were exhibitions by two of Boonchai’s favourites. Somphong Adulyasaraphan, absent from the scene for more than two decades, was lured back from self-imposed exile on a Kanchanaburi farm, and Prateep Kochabua, who steadfastly created just 12 new paintings a year, shared his recent marvels that touched on political and social conflict.

Boonchai has branched into the book business now, too, establishing Thai Art Museum as a publishing house. So far it’s produced the English-language coffee-table book “Thai Contemporary Eye”, about the works in the museum, the Thai-language “Love Story at MoCa”, about its paintings that deal with romance.

And both of this year’s big surrealist shows resulted on book editions in Thai and English, “Destiny to Imagination” on Prateep and “Transcending Thai Surrealism” on Somphong.

– Khetsirin Pholdhampalit