A new romantic drama from Thailand, Fan Gun Khae Wan Diaw (Fan Day), hits screens this week. That means there won't be much else for cinema-goers to choose from, since no other Hollywood blockbusters or Thai movies are willing to go in direct competition with director Banjong Pisanthanakun's latest creation. His previous movie -- the comedic retelling of old folklore Pee Mak Phra Khanong -- made history by reaching 1 billion baht at the box office in 2013, something we're unlikely to see again in a long, long time.
It's sensible for other studios to be anxious. Fan Day is the first film of Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH559), a new outfit that has risen from the former glory of GTH, the country's most commercially successful movie studio of the past 15 years. Of the top 20 highest-grossing Thai films of all time, seven are from GTH. Many of the studio's major hits such as Ai Fai.. Thank You Love You, ATM Errak Error, Freelance: Ham puay... Ham phak... Ham rak mor and Laddaland scored hundreds of million baht and contributed greatly to the health of the Thai cinema business. Pee Mak and its billion-baht status is a gigantic cherry on top of the sundae.
When news broke at the end of last year that GTH -- a joint venture of GMM, Tai Entertainment and Hub Ho Hin -- was disbanding due to partnership disagreements, it sent rabid speculation throughout the industry as to how that would affect the landscape of modern Thai films. And yet the new studio GDH559 is formed mostly by the same writing and creative team, with only a few executives of the original studio left, thus promising fans that the new bottle will contain the old, trustworthy wine.
"Nothing is really different. It's still the same team and the same company," said Fan Day director Banjong when we met at GDH559's office in Soi Taweesuk, the same place GTH's headquarters once stood. "But this change marks a new beginning for us. I think we've dared to do and try the things we wouldn't have done had we remained as GTH."
Fan Day, Banjong's first feature in three years after the successful Pee Mak, is what the director describes, a romance unlike anything GTH has done before. For one thing, it won't be as comedy-centric as his previous Pee Mak or even his other hit, Guan Muen Ho (Hello Stranger). Fan Day is more heartfelt and sentimental, centring its tale on a man and a woman pining for love in the fluttering snow of Hokkaido.
This film also reteams Banjong with his go-to co-screenwriter and leading man Chantavit "Ter" Dhanasevi, who plays Denchai -- an IT nerd who secretly admires a beautiful marketing officer like Nui (Channel 3's rising star Nittha "Mew" Jirayungyurn) from afar. And when Nui suffers from a ski injury that leaves her with a one-day amnesia, Denchai pretends to be her boyfriend.
It's always hard to live up to your own name and success, especially when you once created a record-shattering phenomenon. All eyes are on Fan Day, with many waiting to see if the film will make or break in the critics and audiences' eyes. A close scrutiny will be kept on this weekend's box office. Banjong wisely plays it safe by not expecting his latest to soar the way Pee Mak once did.
"A billion baht is hard to reach for," he admitted. "I actually try not to think much about it or I'll just put the pressure on myself. I have my own goals to be very happy about the film I make. The rest is really up to the audience."
Fan Day stars Chantavit 'Ter' Dhanasevi and Nittha 'Mew' Jirayungyurn. Photo: GDH559
"I just hope I don't make the studio lose money," he added coyly. As one of Thailand's most commercially successful film directors, Banjong acknowledges that it takes a lot of convincing to make Thai people wanting to see Thai films.
"Thais just don't feel the same about Thai films as they feel about farang films. Before settling on a Thai film to watch, people mull it over and over. They have to wait for five people to tell them it's good before seeing it for themselves. But for farang films, people have faith that at least it's something watchable," he said. This lack of trust, and the diminishing level of the public faith in Thai films, is making the industry suffer. But it also goes back to the lack of continuity in standard and quality of filmmaking. To Banjong, there is just not enough consistency as a whole to create brand loyalty in Thai films.
In certain periods, Thai filmmakers have been able to dominate the domestic market share. And with films hitting the 100-million-baht milestone, the director said it shows Thai movies do have a shot at their own market. Still, this pretty much comes and goes. At the end of the day, most audiences would still prefer Hollywood flares over homegrown tales.
"We need continuity -- a continuous string of hits. If we can make people trust in the quality of Thai movies for a continuous period, that would be good. Right now, it's just unstable."
It's a known fact that more than half of Thai films being produced each year made a loss -- whether due to bad plot, rigid acting, limited PR, etc. And each time, we would often hear cast and crew making a plea to the public, saying Thai people should help support Thai films. Banjong said he's against this statement.
"It's the audience's right to decide what to do with its money. Filmmaking is not charity work. How can you ask people to watch something if it's not good?" Quality is what everyone has to improve upon. Banjong said giving sufficient time to develop the script, as well as giving appropriate duration for shooting is necessary. What's difficult is rather the fact that there's no recipe to say what works or doesn't work, and no one can really predict what will hit the spot with the audiences.
"To reach a lot of people, you need a film with a distinct flavour and taste," suggested Banjong. "And the formula keeps on changing. What works this year may not work next year as people would've already seen it. People grow up, and they want to see something new. They may like similar kinds of films, but there has to be a story or concept they've never seen before. For me, I make films that I myself want to see. And I also try to raise my own standard each time. Put yourself in the audience's shoes. You wouldn't want to watch a sloppy work either."
