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Love story gets complicated

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb
and courtesy of Five Star

Though the new movie Yes or No 2.5: Back to Love You has a similar title and shares lead actress Suppanad Jittaleela (Tina) with the popular Thai romantic lesbian movie Yes or No, it’s not a sequel.

Yes or No 2.5: Back to Love You is about the complex relationships between four women. Wine (Tina) is a photographer who lives with her best friend, a chef named Pi (Nann Sunantha). Wine finds herself in an awkward position when she discovers that her ex-girlfriend, Pimlada (“Pekae” Pimpakan Bangchawong), is living next door. To cheer Wine up, Pi tries to hook her up with Pimlada’s room-mate, Fah (Hongyok Chansakorn). Unfortunately for Wine, Fah falls for Pi instead.

Student Weekly recently met up with 24-year-old Tina and 21-year-old Pekae at a press conference for Yes or No 2.5: Back to Love You, which is due to open at cinemas on May 28. The actresses told us all about the making of movie.

Student Weekly: What was it like playing your characters in Yes or No 2.5: Back to Love You?

Tina: It was difficult because Wine is calm and mature, whereas I enjoy playing around in real life. While playing Wine, I had to stay cool and calm.

Pekae: Pimlada grew up in a strict family, and she hardly ever expresses her true feelings. I had to act like a well-mannered person.

Student Weekly: Pekae, is it true that you lost a lot of weight for this movie?

Pekae: I didn’t expect to get a part in the movie, so I was a bit chubby. I was very surprised to get the role, so I worked hard to lose weight with dieting and exercise. When I joined the other cast members for a meal, I just ate soup. After more than a month of that, I lost about 10 kilogrammes. I’m still on a diet now.

Student Weekly: Did you enjoy working with each other?

Tina: Pekae is determined and hard-working. Losing 10 kilogrammes in a month is difficult, but she did a good job. Pekae was also great at getting into character and making the dramatic scenes run smoothly.

Pekae: I was Tina’s fan before working on this movie, so I felt overwhelmed to work with her. She’s very laid-back, and she taught me a lot about acting and camera angles. I was really thankful to work with Tina.

Student Weekly: Tina, how did you develop your acting skills?

Tina: I attended an acting workshop before filming and made friends with other actors. An acting coach helped me to interpret my character’s background so that I could understand it better and make the character more interesting.

Student Weekly: Pekae, was your experience acting in a stage play helpful when working on this movie?

Pekae: They’re different. You have to overact on stage, whereas in a movie you have to be more natural. But my stage experience helped me to not be nervous in front of the camera.

Student Weekly: What was the most difficult scene in Yes or No 2.5?

Tina: The kissing scenes were difficult. I had kissing scenes with all three leading actresses. It was especially difficult for me to act with Pekae because we’ve known each other since we were students at Rangsit University. We’re like sisters, so it was embarrassing doing kissing scenes together.

Student Weekly: Tina, what did you learn from filming your latest Chinese movie, We Are Young?

Tina: I learned to be patient. I’d never filmed continuously for 10 days in a row before. During those 10 days, we worked in a forest quite far from Beijing. I had to wake up around 4 am to be ready on the set by 6 am. The Chinese directing style is similar to Thai. But I’m still not good at Chinese language, I had to use an interpreter.

Student Weekly: Tina, can you tell us about your recent fan meetings with your band Painter in Singapore and Malaysia?

Tina: They were warm meetings. We wanted to make it like a family gathering, and our fans made us feel very welcome. The fans enjoyed our Thai songs, even though they couldn’t understand the lyrics. Some fans even flew from Taiwan and China to see us.

Student Weekly: Do you have any special message for people who plan to see Yes or No 2.5?

Pekae: I’d like to ask everybody to see this film with an open mind. All the actors and crew did their best. The movie presents various love situations that can happen in real life. It’s a light-hearted movie that people of all ages and genders can enjoy.

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