THAILAND: TRADITIONAL GHOST STORY "NANG NAK" BECOMES BOX OFFICE RECORD BREAKING FILM DEFYING THAILAND'S ECONOMIC RECESSION

Record ID: 388619

  • Title: THAILAND: TRADITIONAL GHOST STORY "NANG NAK" BECOMES BOX OFFICE RECORD BREAKING FILM DEFYING THAILAND'S ECONOMIC RECESSION
  • Date: 25th August 1999
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) WIDE SHOT OF PEOPLE QUEUING FOR TICKETS YOUNG MAN WOMAN SELLING TICKETS CLOSE UP MONITOR WITH SEATS DISPLAY PEOPLE WALKING INTO THE THEATRE
  • Embargoed: 9th September 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND
  • Country: Thailand
  • Reuters ID: LVA6NR9VEHL89ZRBCZOHTCCFBTWX
  • Story Text: The remake of a traditional ghost story is defying Thailand's economic crisis to break box office records with a tale of everlasting love.
    "Nang Nak" is the story of a woman who dies in childbirth while her husband is away at war.Her ghost returns to earth and, determined to keep her husband, uses magic to prevent him from discovering the truth.
    For more than 150 years the legend of "Nang Nak" has enthralled Thai audiences - and now an updated movie version of the story is promising to help resurrect the struggling Thai film industry.
    "Nang Nak" has already made more money in its first few weeks than some of the world's top hits in a few months in Thailand.
    After three weeks it had taken 205 million baht (5,352,480.41 US DOLLARS.It is 38.3 us Dollars to the baht) - compared to "Titanic" which took three months to hit the 213 billion baht.
    A locally-made movie has never made more than 100 million baht.
    Popular Thai actor Chatichai Plengpanich is one of the film's biggest fans.After watching the movie, Chatichai praised the production.
    Young Thai actress Indhira Charoenpura, one of the stars of the film, spent months adjusting her present life to the requirements of the old story.
    "I had to make myself believe that I lived in that period and only after I got to that point, could I act like them," she told Reuters.
    Over the last 50 years Thai film production houses have made 22 versions of the "Nang Nak" tale.
    The success at the box office has caught everyone by surprise, even the film's director.Nontri Nimitbut said the film proved that local movies would do well if they were quality productions.
    "I never thought that my film would break any records.I only wanted to make a good, dramatic movie which would be different from previous ones," said Nontri.
    The film was made for a total of 12 million baht, with a further 10 million baht spent on promoting it.
    The films producers say it could herald a new era in Thai cinema - and mark an upturn in the country's beleagured economy.
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