Funny friends

Mum and Mai make movie magic

By Tatat Bunnag

Veteran star Petthai Wongkumlao, better known as Mum Jokmok, is continuing his string of successful movies with ninth film as director, Mai ka Mum. The film combines a story about love and friendship with Mum's trademark batch of hilarious gags.

As the film title suggests, Mai ka Mum stars Mum and popular entertainer Siriwimol Charoenpura (Mai), who will surprise filmgoers with her first comedy role in many years.

As usual, Mum also invited a whole parade of his comedy cohorts to take part in the film, including Nong Chachacha, Teng Terdterng, Kom and Anna Chuanchuen.

Student Weekly recently caught up with Mum and Mai at the Mai ka Mum press conference for an exclusive interview before the film hits theaters on June 23.

Student Weekly: What is Mai ka Mum about?

Mum: It's a romantic comedy about how a friendship can turn into a real relationship.

Mai: I play Mum's best friend. She's a beautiful party girl, but she always has bad luck with love. Mum already had a girlfriend named Krapao [Nong Chachacha], but something went wrong with their relationship.

Student Weekly: How did you come up with the plot for the film?

Mum: It's partly based on my personal experience. It's about a close female friend I had when I was a teenager. She was my best friend and we shared all our secrets with each other. She gave me the idea for the film, and the rest of story grew from there.

I also wanted to make movie about family and friendship.

Student Weekly: Why did you choose Mai to be in the movie?

Mum: She was perfect for the role. My wife is also a big fan of Mai. She always sings Mai's songs when we do karaoke at home. Something about Mai's character reminded me of my friend as well.

Student Weekly: Mai, you've mostly acted in serious dramas in recent years. Was it surprising to act in a comedy again?

Mai: Yes. It was like a dream come true. I was in a lot of romantic comedies early on in my career, but after that I mainly acted in serious dramas and thrillers. It was good to be in a feel-good movie again. I felt honoured that Mum chose me to be in his film.

Student Weekly: How did you go working together for the first time?

Mum: It was fine. We got along so well that it felt like we'd been in 20 movies together already.

Mai: It was great to work with Mum. He's a multi-talented comedian, actor and director, and his directing style is unique. There's always lots of surprises and improvisation.

Student Weekly: What was the hardest scene to film?

Mai: There's a scene where I give birth at a hospital. That scene was really chaotic. I've never had a baby, so I had to do some research about how women look while they're having a baby. But it was hard to concentrate on my acting because there were too many comedians in the room! [Laughs.]

Mum: Romantic love scenes are hard for me. It's not my thing and I always have a funny feeling when I do it. There's one part in this film between Mai and I that's a bit romantic, and it took hours to film the scene!

 

Student Weekly: How did you guys get involved in this movie?

Pitch: Director Madeaw-Chookiat Sakveerakul wanted to try producing a movie. He invited his old friend Kriangkrai Vachiratamporn to direct the film, and they came up with a story about friendship starring my band August.

Cream: This is my first movie. I'd only acted in TV commercials before. I got involved in the film after I was invited to an audition.

Student Weekly: What is Pearn Mai Kao about?

Pitch: It's about a group of friends who take an oath at a Buddhist statue. They promise to cycle from Bangkok to Lampang if one of them passes the entrance exam for Lampang University. Nut passes the exam, so the friends decide to fulfill their vows.

Student Weekly: Can you tell us about your characters in the film?

Pitch: I play Bas, who's an old friend of Nut's. Bas comes from Chiang Mai, so he knows the way to northern Thailand and is invited on the trip. He's a quiet character who seems to have a lot of secrets.

Cream: I play Om-am, a girl that the guys meet on the road. Om-am is a masseur and the boys stop at her spa on the way to Lampang. When she hears about their journey, she asks if she can tag along.

Student Weekly: Did it take long to film in so many different locations?

Cream: It only took a couple of weeks. The locations are all exactly what you see travelling from Bangkok to Lampang. We filmed in places like Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Sing Buri and Chai Nat.

Pitch: It was quite difficult. Once we finished filming in one location, we had to quickly move to another province to shoot the next scene. We didn't have time to go back and fix any mistakes.

Student Weekly: Pitch, you look different in this film, with long hair and a mustache. Do you like your new look?

Pitch: Definitely not! [Laughs.] It was annoying having long hair and a mustache. I wanted to cut my hair, but I kept it for the sake of the movie.

Student Weekly: Your band August started as a fictional band for the film Love of Siam, and now you're in another movie. Is it confusing trying to be a real band at the same time?

Pitch: Not for us, but it might be confusing for our fans. [Laughs.] Pearn Mai Kao features the band, but we play totally different characters.

Student Weekly: What would you say to recommend Pearn Mai Kao to viewers?

Pitch: The film has adventure, comedy and some serious drama. You see a group of friends travelling together, having good time and dealing with conflicts and arguments.

Cream: It's a really good film about friendship. Everybody has friends, so this movie is for everybody.