Siriwimol ‘Mai’ Charoenpura
Don’t put on that red dress tonight
Actress Julajak ”Ying” Kritiyarat is apologising for the revealing dress she wore to the Thai film awards _ and taken a poke at a DJ who likened her in that dress to a prostitute.
On the red carpet at the Suphannahongse awards on Sunday, Ying, recently back from overseas, wore a red dress she bought in Milan. A see-through cutaway across the front revealed the top of her thigh, a red G-string, and if that was not enough, a small tattoo dedicated to her French boyfriend.
Spotting actresses who show the most flesh at the film awards is a national pastime. After getting flak for revealing too much on what is supposed to be a formal occasion, Ying brought out the dress in the daytime to show that, away from camera flashbulbs that illuminated her G-string and tattoo, the dress actually looked respectable.
She chose the red dress, which cost about 10,000 baht, because it was the least sexy on offer. She says it slipped, revealing more of her body than she intended, including her ”David” tattoo, which she had contemplated covering with tape, but then thought better of it.
Some reports called her ”Nong Seaweed the Second”, a reference to actress Chotiros ”Amy” Suriyawong, whose dress caused a scandal at the 2007 film awards.
Amy’s evening gown, which was split up the sides, also slipped, supposedly revealing her pubic hairs (her ‘’seaweed”).
Her horrified film company boss promptly cut her out of a movie she was making, and Thammasat University, where she was studying, called her in for a reprimand.
Ying, 30, denies she wore the dress to create a scandal. She was not some brash newcomer but had been in the industry since her teens.
”We’re supposed to wear something a little sexy on the red carpet _ but if anyone was offended, I apologise,” she said.
Still, Ying is unhappy after a DJ likened her to a woman who sells herself for a living: ”puying yang wa”.
DJ Mod Dum, who is gay, denies calling her a scarlet woman. He merely expressed surprise that she bought the dress overseas.
According to him, he said: ”Oui, tai! Where’d she get that dress _ it looks more like something you’d buy in Patpong!”
Ying says she has an education, and comes from a good family, thanks very much. She told Mod Dum to keep his big mouth under control, or she could start getting personal herself. Mod Dum has since apologised for his Patpong remarks.
Pity the beef noodle vendors
A comically gruesome horror movie by Poj Anon has a new name, at the film censor’s insistence _ though if anything, it is more blood curdling than the original, says its star Siriwimol ”Mai” Charoenpura.
The film also had to be re-edited three times and the poster changed before it was passed.
From Beef Noodles _ With Human Flesh (Kuay Theow Neua Khon), known in English as The Meat Grinder, we now have Chop Before Tasting - A Bloody Recipe So Delicious You’ll Forget You Died For It.
Mai plays a beef noodle vendor at the time of the Oct 14, 1973 student uprising. The censor says the film suggests students who went missing during the uprising ended up being turned into beef noodles.
The trailer shows Mai with a cleaver, soaked in blood. To the calming strains of Srisalai Suchartwut’s version of Saneh Ha, an old Thai love song, she washes down blood-soaked floors. We see screaming victims trapped under glass cases, others with missing limbs and an old guy holding up a bowl of noodles to inspect its strange aroma.
Actress Mai, who admits the drama-horror is gory, is baffled nonetheless by the censor’s reaction. If anything, the fuss has heightened interest in the film _ the change of name is a hot topic at the popular Pantip web forum.
Producer Poj says he was stunned by another complaint raised by the censor _ that no one would eat beef noodles after seeing what Mai puts into her recipe.
”The censor was worried that beef noodle traders would go out of business. Yet this is a work of fiction _ there probably aren’t any traders who use human meat.
”I was stunned, but had no choice but to comply, or the 20 million baht that Phra Nakorn Films spent on the movie would have been wasted, as it would not be allowed to screen.
”Still, even with the cuts, the meat of the film is still there … it is just less strong than it was before.
”I have no idea what standards they use to call themselves censors … but I just wish they’d get to appreciate the word ‘fantasy’ better.”
Ahead of the film’s release next month, outspoken Poj is holding a free screening for audiences who want to see the unedited version. Poj says he wants audiences to see the film as producers intended _ in all its bloody glory.
