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Sunday 14 July 2013

GOD'S FOLLOWERS, ORM'S REGRET, TANGMO'S TOUGH TALK

God
A university security guard who sprang to overnight fame appears to be taking the fuss in his stride.

Jakrapan ''God'' Nupor, 20, who works for the PK Lion Guard company in Chiang Mai, made the transition from internet darling to media star overnight after student admirers, unbeknown to the young man, created a Facebook page in his name.

Chiang Mai University students noticed him stationed outside the engineering faculty and posted his images on a Facebook page last Sunday called ''CMU Cute Yam'' (CMU cute security guard).

God and his fans
Later, a group of ladyboys posing as a TV crew interviewed the young guard and posted the clip on YouTube.

Such was the buzz surrounding the young man that the end of the week, it had notched up more than 227,000 views. By early yesterday, the Facebook page created in his name had more than 75,000 likes.

God, from Chiang Dao district, works the 7pm-7am shift at the university, and earns 300 baht a day. He runs his hand through his hair constantly, tries to avoid the camera and gives monosyllabic answers.

The video was picked up by media outlets including television news shows. Web boards pasted up the reports and told readers where to find him. By the end of the week, a solid crowd was mingling by his work station and keeping him company.

Media outlets ran pictures of young men and their girlfriends waiting for their turn to take pictures with God in the dimly lit driveway of the faculty entrance, as other admirers lurked under trees watching him.

''He is so good-looking that students riding past on their motorbikes come back for another look,'' Khao Sod newspaper enthused.

Some reports claimed the security company, worried the attention God was receiving was distracting him from his work, put him on leave.

The company denied the claim, but moved the slightly-built young man to the medical faculty gate in the hope it would attract less traffic.

''So many people want his picture that he is unable to direct vehicles, and other guards have to step in and help,'' one guard said.

Alone at last
God's overnight leap to fame, while taking the young man by surprise, appears to have upset some academics.

Sodsri Paoinchan, dean of the university's Faculty of Mass Communication, said she thought society was sick and the media twisted if it could fall so hopelessly for a security guard.

''I have plenty of good work of benefit to society to show the media, if only they were interested,'' she sniffed.
''Any popular craze which lacks virtue, morals and ethics is bound not to last, so I can't see the point in following it.''

Some observers suggested the ''little prince'' was too good-looking for a member of the working class.
''In the cold of night, a guard is still just a guard,'' one netizen wrote.

TV host Kachapa ''Mod Dum'' Tancharoen, who extolled God's good looks in a spot on Woody Milintachinda's morning talk show, said God still lacks what is needed to be a star.

''He's good only for eating [taking to bed],'' he said.

As public interest intensified, the administrator of the Facebook page that propelled God to fame asked fans to let him do his work in peace, as his security company employer finally consented to take the young man before the cameras.

Channel 3's morning news show ran footage of God in uniform lining up for inspection with other guards, and noted he was shy.

Meanwhile, as stardom beckoned, God found a manager.

A shareholder in a Chiang Mai beauty clinic volunteered to look after him as he navigated the dark waters of the entertainment industry. He also took him to Bangkok to be interviewed on a cable TV show hosted by Yingsak Jonglertjesdawong.

The security guard went in his uniform, though they also dressed him up as a star, complete with the requisite shades.

God, a Thai citizen who hails from the Sako Karen hilltribe, and left school in Mathayom 3, shows little animation in interviews.

''How do feel about your overnight fame?'' he was asked.

''Nothing much, really,'' he replied.

''People ask me to strike this and that pose, and when the picture is taken, they leave,'' he said. ''Most don't bother with much conversation.''

In one day, more than 100 admirers asked for his picture.

''My girlfriend, Fern, doesn't want me to be famous, and cries a lot,'' he said.

Asked if he thought he was good looking, God said he didn't know.

He would be happy to accept offers of work from TV shows and the like, but only if it didn't clash with his shifts, he said dourly. -

2.
Orm
Actress Sucha ''Orm'' Manaying is apologising to her fans after she staged a meltdown at a city department store for a confectionary ad.

Orm appears in a viral marketing ad for a chocolate bar that hit the internet early this month.

A day before the ad itself was released, scenes were posted on YouTube in which she let fly at fans in a department store. Initially, no mention of the chocolate bar was made.

In the clip, fans surround the actress who, after initially forcing a smile, grows fed up and starts laying into one with a rolled up piece of paper.

News reports treated her outburst as real, and it wasn't until the next day when the outburst finally appeared as part of the ad that her fans realised it was all a set-up.

Netizens rounded on her for resorting to such trickery, saying they did not appreciate being misled by a marketing gimmick.

Orm says she now regrets the confusion the ad caused. ''The reaction took me by surprise,'' she said last week.
''Many people thought it was real. It wasn't my fanclub in the clip, but actors. We took on the job knowing it was a viral ad.''

The advertisers had warned her to expect a potential backlash, but she was still unprepared for what followed.
Asked if it had affected her personally, Orm said she was more worried about her admirers.

''I'm more concerned about its impact on others, including my fanclub. I've come to appreciate them more through this ordeal, as we have grown closer together,'' she said, tears welling in her eyes. -

3.
Tangmo, Tono
Actress Pattarida ''Tangmo'' Patcharaweerapong is urging her new admirer, singer Pakin ''Tono'' Kumvilaisak, to stay strong amid criticism that they are ill-suited for each other. News reports last week said Tono broke down in tears in his dressing room as he prepared to front for a TV interview.

Tono, who is close to his fanclub, was not prepared for the hostile reaction which followed his news early this month that he is seeing Tangmo.

Told about his break-down, the sharp-tongued Channel 7 actress said she hoped Tono, whom she met online, could tough out the criticism.

''I find it hard to believe, as the reaction from our fans is only getting better. But if he did cry, then I would tell him to stay tough, just as he has urged me to toughen up,'' she said.

''I am sure he can do it, as he really loves his fans. They gave him much pleasure and he talks about them every day. He says he needs time to prove himself so his fanclub can love him just as much as before,'' she said at a city function.

On the good news front, superstar Thongchai ''Bird'' McIntyre called Tangmo to give her encouragement as she faced down the criticism.

On the bad news front for Tono, Tangmo is not yet ready to call him her boyfriend.

''I was delighted to get a call from Pi Bird, as he is a superstar, and it's not every day you get to talk to someone of his status,'' she enthused. ''As for Tono, I'm not ready to call him my boyfriend, as I would rather save that word for someone I am sure I will marry. Let's just say we are giving each other strength.''

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