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| Kowit |
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| Mint |
Kowit Wattanakul says he and his daughter, Mintita "Mint" Wattanakul, have been through a media maelstrom since the inaugural Nataraja (performing arts) awards in May, when reports accused the pair of refusing to partake in the royalist grandeur of the occasion.
Reports said Kowit walked out of a nationalistic speech by yellow shirt director Pongpat "Aof" Wachirabunjong, while Mint refused to sing her part of a song commissioned by Her Majesty the Queen.
Reaction was swift. Mint was dropped from a soap opera in which she had been acting for months. She was also yanked from another production due to start filming the next day.
The family's reputation has taken a drubbing on webboards, with Thais accusing them of supporting the red shirt United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship - painted by their yellow shirt rivals as being against the monarchy.
Last week, Kowit and his daughter opened up about the affair, saying the accusations were unfounded and hard to stomach.
"I have said little, because there's nothing to be gained when people are so intent on attacking me," Mint said in tears.
"In the past, it seemed as if I had no right to speak out. But the claims are so unpleasant that I feel impelled to say just one thing: We are loyal to the King," she said.
Mint said she was asked at short notice to sing part of the song, Kwan Fan An Soong Sut.
"We were all given a part. The organiser asked me to sing only that part which I knew," she said.
"I had no problem with the function, and have never mounted the red shirt stage."
The awards were broadcast on national television. In a YouTube clip of the song, the camera pans across the faces of the singers. It shows several young performers standing mute, not just Mint.
"How many of today's young people have heard that song?" asked Kowit. "They might know the hook if they are lucky. Mint was only one of several performers that night who didn't know the words.
"The evidence is plain to see, but Mint was the only one who was attacked for not singing," he said.
Kowit said claims that he stormed out of the function in response to Aof Pongpat's speech were also wrong.
Aof, who supports the yellow shirt People's Alliance for Democracy, gave a brief speech about political divisions, the father of the nation (the King) and grumpy members of the King's household who in Aof's view were trying to tear it down.
In a strange twist, Aof has been accused of committing lese majeste in relation to the speech. A country music singer has accused Aof of offending the monarchy by referring to the King as "father" in his remarks. Police have called in Aof for questioning.
Kowit denies leaving during Aof's speech. "I left well before it started, as Aof himself and many others can testify. My wife asked me to go home, as there was no one there to look after my elderly mother and mother-in-law," he told Thai Rath newspaper.
He was speaking after the funeral last week of his mother, who has died at the age of 82. At the time of the awards, she had just been discharged from hospital, but died shortly after.
"I'm not worried about the effect on myself," said Kowit. "If my daughter is forced to leave the industry, so be it - I can still support her.
"But there's nothing in Mint's heart [which might be cause for concern], as as I have brought her up the right way," he told Matichon newspaper.
"If the media can find any evidence that I ever mounted the red shirt stage, I'd be happy to shoot myself at Sanam Luang," he told reporters.
"If Thais want to kill someone, it [accusing them of lese majeste] is the weapon of choice.
"Claims of being disloyal to the higher institution are bandied about senselessly. I've never said I represent a particular colour. I'm in the middle." -
2.
Troubled socialite/actor Mathus "Keng" Suansri knows he is a ratbag - and he doesn't need actress Panward "Peuy" Hemmanee to rub it in.
Keng's nose is out of joint after Peuy rejected his romantic advances. To add insult to injury, his abortive show of interest in the sexy actress/model was picked up by several gossip rags last week.
The saga started when Keng tried calling her. As soon as Peuy caught wind of who it was, she handed the phone to her manager - who told Keng in no uncertain terms to stay away.
Peuy, who knows Keng from media reports, claims she was merely tied up with work.
"I didn't refuse to talk to him - I was just too busy," she claimed. However, she added: "I doubt he will call back again."
Keng's reputation precedes him. The nephew of a famous likay singer, he has a history of trouble with the law, including a conviction for detaining and raping an actress. In May, he admitted threatening a security guard in Pattaya with a gun.
A third party is also involved in the Keng/Peuy saga - socialite and motor racer Pai "One Point" Lik.
Pai has also shown a romantic interest in Peuy, and was unhappy to hear about Keng's call, reports said.
The two men know each other. When Pai found out about Keng's interest in the model and actress, he asked Keng to do the gentlemanly thing and drop out of the race.
In news reports, Peuy claims to known nothing about Pai's intervention. "We know each other only on BlackBerry. I do not have his number, and haven't seen him in ages," she said.
Keng said he was happy to bow out of the race in favour of his elder friend Pai.
"I am man enough to admit I called, and tried flirting with Peuy. However, I don't think it was necessary for her manager to go psycho on me, calling me this, that and the other.
"I know I'm a bad boy, a flirt. But I would like Peuy to make up her own mind. Her responses to questions about what happened sound like she is reading from a script prepared by her manager," he said. -
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| Keng |
Keng's nose is out of joint after Peuy rejected his romantic advances. To add insult to injury, his abortive show of interest in the sexy actress/model was picked up by several gossip rags last week.
The saga started when Keng tried calling her. As soon as Peuy caught wind of who it was, she handed the phone to her manager - who told Keng in no uncertain terms to stay away.
Peuy, who knows Keng from media reports, claims she was merely tied up with work.
"I didn't refuse to talk to him - I was just too busy," she claimed. However, she added: "I doubt he will call back again."
Keng's reputation precedes him. The nephew of a famous likay singer, he has a history of trouble with the law, including a conviction for detaining and raping an actress. In May, he admitted threatening a security guard in Pattaya with a gun.
A third party is also involved in the Keng/Peuy saga - socialite and motor racer Pai "One Point" Lik.
Pai has also shown a romantic interest in Peuy, and was unhappy to hear about Keng's call, reports said.
The two men know each other. When Pai found out about Keng's interest in the model and actress, he asked Keng to do the gentlemanly thing and drop out of the race.
In news reports, Peuy claims to known nothing about Pai's intervention. "We know each other only on BlackBerry. I do not have his number, and haven't seen him in ages," she said.
Keng said he was happy to bow out of the race in favour of his elder friend Pai.
"I am man enough to admit I called, and tried flirting with Peuy. However, I don't think it was necessary for her manager to go psycho on me, calling me this, that and the other.
"I know I'm a bad boy, a flirt. But I would like Peuy to make up her own mind. Her responses to questions about what happened sound like she is reading from a script prepared by her manager," he said. -
3.
Actress/model Bongkoj "Tak" Khongmalai goes naked in her latest movie, but is urging audiences not to get carried away.
In the thriller, Pop Star, Monthon "Jay" Jira plays a pop singer with a past, and Tak his girlfriend. She takes it all off briefly, though Tak says the bare bod scene is just "seasoning" which should not get in the way of the main meal.
"Don't let it distract you from the substance of the movie," she said, adding that she actually wore a flesh-coloured stocking over her body as she filmed the scene.
"The special effects people edited it out. They also redrew the line of my breasts and my bottom. I was impressed - my breasts look good and firm.
"Jay's character takes pills and is having hallucinations. He follows me around, watching me furtively. He even spies on me while I am taking a shower - though the breasts you can see in that shot are not mine."
Tak said she is trying to ignore viewer feedback, in particular comments on her naked scene. "I am trying to block it out, because it's a sensitive matter. In the movie, I know what's real and what's not," she said.
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| Tak |
In the thriller, Pop Star, Monthon "Jay" Jira plays a pop singer with a past, and Tak his girlfriend. She takes it all off briefly, though Tak says the bare bod scene is just "seasoning" which should not get in the way of the main meal.
"Don't let it distract you from the substance of the movie," she said, adding that she actually wore a flesh-coloured stocking over her body as she filmed the scene.
"The special effects people edited it out. They also redrew the line of my breasts and my bottom. I was impressed - my breasts look good and firm.
"Jay's character takes pills and is having hallucinations. He follows me around, watching me furtively. He even spies on me while I am taking a shower - though the breasts you can see in that shot are not mine."
Tak said she is trying to ignore viewer feedback, in particular comments on her naked scene. "I am trying to block it out, because it's a sensitive matter. In the movie, I know what's real and what's not," she said.
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