I didn’t dream of being like my dad [Dr. Amnuay Viravan, leading economist and two-time finance minister]. As a kid, all I loved to do was watch lakorn (Thai soap operas) and movies.
I was so nervous trying to convince him I wanted to change majors from economics to drama. I spoke non-stop for 15 minutes about why I needed to change. When I finished, he simply said “yes.” He told me that no matter what I study, I must be able to make a living with honesty and decency.
Theater is my first love. Studying in the US really enhanced this love for the entertainment industry. I watched everything, from TV series to major theater productions. I finally studied theater and continued to do my master’s in broadcasting.
Don’t be stubborn if the time isn’t right. I really wanted to start doing theater productions after I came back from the US, in 1990, but there was no market for it back then. So I started working on lakorn to pave the way to doing theater.
Theater and lakorn are totally different art forms. You never know what people are getting up to while watching lakorn, while with theater everyone likes to get dressed up and has to travel through bad traffic to watch the show. They are very focused on what you’re doing and expect the show to be awesome.
Lakorn can make people take a closer look at their reality. Luerd Kattiya reflects the fact that the country will be like what its leaders are like. So it depends on their vision to make the country happy. If the head of the country isn’t at peace, how can people be at peace.
Accepting the truth and being open-minded is the only way to elevate our entertainment industry. People complain that lakorn is always about a poor girl and some rich guy who we have no idea what he does for a living. But the truth is we can’t touch directly on so many issues because of the potential complaints. For example, if I came up with a scene from my own experience of a drunken cop trying to pick on me, do you think I’d be allowed to air that? No. The backlash from the police would be too much.
Censorship isn’t just a case of blocking all the bad things from the media. Sometimes showing negative aspects of our society can teach people and open their minds about issues. If I hadn’t seen Nam Phu die from a heroin overdose in the film Nam Phu (1984), I wouldn’t be as scared of drugs as I am today.
Sometimes I feel the censorship board just says no because they don’t want to get in trouble if they allow risky content to air.
A thrilling musical requires certain elements such as well-defined characters, locations and a strong storyline. That’s why not all stories can be turned into musicals. But Luerd Kattiya is perfect. It’s like some fantasy wold that really let me use my imagination.
It’s really challenging to make a period play these days. We’re living in the modern world and it’s hard to make people understand some of the issues of the past. We have to find ways to sex it up. Just take a look at the film Snow White and the Huntsman: it’s the same old characters, just a different way of telling the story.
Imperfections are charming and make every stage play unique.
Thai theater is in a much better state than when I started out a decade ago. People used to think that theater wouldn’t be fun. Now everyone has learned to share their emotions through clapping, laughing and crying.
The failure of my first movie, Kampaeng (The Wall, 1998), hit me so hard. I was carried away with the success of my lakorn and thought I could do just as well in film. But it’s a totally different art form.
Art gives people hope. When I went into hiding in Switzerland after my movie flopped, I climbed to a summit in the Swiss Alps. While taking in the stunning view of the mountain, I heard the song “Climb Every Mountain,” from The Sound of Music, and it ignited my belief that I would reach my dream.
Living without a dream must be terrifying. You can’t appreciate anything if you just live for another day.
Having high hopes doesn’t mean you’re over-ambitious. It’s about balancing your reality with your dreams.
Everyone is born with a duty. Always remind yourself to be responsible in your profession as you are also driving society.
Don’t ask what your profession can give you but how much you can give to your profession.
Dedicate yourself to any work you do and then once you see the results you will know whether it’s the right work for you or not.
