Film gives a glimpse of Thais’ ‘other side’

Close on the heels of the surprise hit Thai thriller Bad Genius comes Brother of The Year, another Thai movie which opens nationwide on Oct. 10.

“It’s a romance-comedy,” said Vithaya “Bon” Thongyuyong, the movie’s director whose other works include My Girl, The Possible and The Little Comedian. “It shows the other side of Thai people. When Filipino fans watch the movie, they will know that there is more to Thailand than just elephants.”

Ranked as No. 1 not only in Thailand where it grossed 250 million Baht (approximately $7.8M) but also in other parts of Asia (but not yet in the Philippines), Brother of The Year (produced by GDH 559 Production which was behind Bad Genius) is touted to be a unique rom-com family drama that reveals how a straight-A sister (Jane, played by Urassaya “Yaya” Sperbund) lives with her older brother Chut (Sunny Suwanmethanont) who leads a wild bachelor life and who meddles in his sister’s love life. Cast as Jane’s half-Thai/-half-Japanese boyfriend Moji is Nichkhun Horvejkul, member of the Korean boy band 2PM, a Bench endorser once featured in The STAR.

Except for Nichkhun, director Vithaya with actors Sunny and Yaya were here recently for a two-day visit to promote the movie. They were interviewed by Funfare at Romulo’s Café, accompanied by an interpreter. All three speak very little English.

“When I shot Brother of The Year,” said Vithaya, “I felt the same way as when I shot My Girl because it brought me back to my first love and childhood friends. Brother of The Year made me reminisce about my family, especially when I interfered with the love life of my younger siblings. I guess that other siblings have experienced the same thing, too.”

A dead ringer for Piolo Pascual, Sunny is a favorite heartthrob in Thailand. He said that he is the youngest among three siblings, an older brother and an older sister who is 46 and unmarried.

In the movie, Sunny plays an older brother who meddles in the love life of his sister (played by Yaya), with Nichkhun Horvejkul (right, a one-time Bench model) as her boyfriend.

“Am I like my character Chut?” asked Sunny. “No, I’m not. I am a good brother who doesn’t meddle in my sister’s love life. Each of us has a unique personality. My brother and my sister are different from me but we love each other. One time, a boy courted my sister but I couldn’t do anything. She has her own life and I have my own life. We don’t talk about each other’s love life. It’s too personal.”

After doing Brother of The Year, Sunny confessed that he wanted to have a younger sister like Yaya.

“She is such a nice, lovely, sincere, well-disciplined and caring person,” shared Sunny (who has shot a Thai movie titled Shambala in the Philippines in 2012). “When we were in scenes together, I always felt like she was really my sister. The movie is memorable to me. When Bon told me that he wanted me to play a role in the film about sibling relationships, I found it interesting. And after I read the script, I knew that I could not pass up the opportunity.”

Said Yaya who, in real life, has an older brother, “There’s a seven-year gap between us. My brother is 30 and he doesn’t interfere in my love life. When a boy is courting me, he just stares at the boy and doesn’t say anything. He’s so different from my brother Chut in the movie.”

Like Sunny, Yaya said that even before she read the script, she accepted the offer right away.

“I’m a big fan of GDH films and have always wanted to work with the company. When Sunny and I were together in the scenes, I also felt like he was really my older brother. His acting is very good. As for Nichkhun, he plays a caring boyfriend and the fans will love him for that.”

It helped that before the shoot, the three actors attended workshops together.

“I did my best and put my all into this film,” admitted Vithaya. “I’m so glad that I was able to cast Sunny, Yaya and Nichkhun. They have a great chemistry together and they were able to convey the story beyond what I wrote in the script. When I watched the movie, they made me believe that they were the characters — Sunny the meddling brother, Yaya the perfect sister and Nichkhun the good-matured boyfriend.”

Asked if he had seen a Filipino movie, Vithaya smiled.

“Yes, I have. It’s called Serbis and I liked it.”

Told that its director, Brillante Mendoza, won Best Director in Cannes (for another movie, Kinatay), Vithaya’s face lit up.

“He’s a very good director,” he said.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)