Fah loves her dad, Num's cuffed up, Boss skirts booze test

A vacuous smile

Thanakthorn

Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit is wearing flak among the artistic set for his frank assessment of the meaning of the Thai smile, as he rides a new wave of popularity based on a line from an old TV soap.

A writer and Grammy producer have taken issue with his remarks from a magazine interview two years ago in which Mr Thanathorn, former vice-president of the Thai Summit Group, said Thais smile often because they stand for nothing and have no convictions.

“Whenever they are asked about anything, they can’t answer, all they can do is smile. That applies even to matters which people overseas agree on, such as human rights,” he said, when asked why Thailand is referred to as the Land of Smiles.

The fuss over the magazine interview comes after his well-publicised attendance at the Feb 9 traditional football game between Thammasat and Chulalongkorn Universities, where a kathoey fan called out to him, “Fah Rak Por!” (Nong Fah loves her Dad), citing a popular line from an eight year-old TV soap which quickly rose to the top of the Thai twitter rankings.

The line comes from the soap, Dok Som Si Thong, in which Fah, a poor girl looking for a quick way out of her troubles, attaches herself to a richer, older man in the hope he will help lift her out of poverty.

The soap was daring for its day, as Fah, played by actress Chompoo Araya A Hargate, was shown openly trading sex with her sugar-daddy style lover, played by Worrawut “Oat” Niyomsap, in return for the promise that he would make her an air hostess. After culture police complained, the soap was given an audience rating of 18 and above.

Fah utters the line as a way of expressing admiration for an older man who makes her feel safe and secure. Similar sentiments have spurred the dramatic rise of the hashtag, Fah Loves Por, which took off in the moments after Mr Thanathorn’s kathoey fan uttered it. 

After she called out “Fah rak por” several times, Mr Thanathorn, wearing Chulalogkorn football colours, turned to offer a puzzled looking smile as he worked the crowds.

He admitted later that he did not understand the meaning of the line, which crops up in social discourse from time to time. However, warming to the hashtag later after someone explained it, he added in a tweet: “Fah loves Dad ... and Dad loves all Thais.”

Fans say Mr Thanathorn’s policies offering an end to poverty, and his wealthy family background led to comparisons between him and the character in the soap. The fuss over the hashtag also has highlighted his popularity with the social media generation, who regard him as a net idol.

However, Mr Thanathorn’s higher profile in social media on the back of the Fah Rak Por phenomenon has also attracted flak, with some critics taking the opportunity to rehash the remarks from the magazine interview which suggests he has a less than flattering attitude to his fellow Thais.

Screenwriter Salaya “Daeng” Sukanivatt asked caustically which part of his brain he was using to think. “He has taken the smile for which we are known worldwide as a sign of our friendliness and suggested it is a sign we are stupid,” she wrote.

Referring to Mr Thanathorn’s comments, Grammy producer Nitipong Honark, no fan of Thaksin Shinawatra-aligned parties such as Future Forward, kept his remarks short and simple. “Go campaigning, promote your policies ... but don’t go limiting my right to smile. Even though I might smile a lot, I am still angry,” he said.

Media reports said some of Mr Thanathornn’s fans were worried Fah Rak Por fever had gone too far, as the party leader has a wife and family and the hashtag, while spread in fun, has sexual implications. 

Clearly unimpressed with the hashtag drama, celebrity protest leader and writer Seri Wongmontha penned a poem which criticised the social media generation for focusing only on Mr Thanathorn’s good looks rather than his policy achievements.

However, actress Yossinee “Ja” Nanakorn said the young may enthuse over their idols, but also do their homework. “With buzz this strong, and 6 million first-time voters this time around, I think you should stop judging them,” she said in a word of caution to older-generation critics.

Cuffed rocker strains at leash

Num

A rocker enmeshed in a copyright dispute over a song he no longer performs is putting a brave face on his legal battles, even as he reminds his fans he is cuffed when he goes to court.

Naphasin “Num” Sangsuwan, frontman of the band Kala, who is involved in a rights dispute over the popular 1990s hit Yam, last week posted an image of marks which a pair of handcuffs had left on his wrists after a recent court visit.

The song’s owner has attempted to have him arrested up and down the country after he performed the song on a road tour months ago, sending police to track him down at concerts even though he stopped performing the song when the fuss broke out last year. 

Owner Chanin Warakulnukhro, director of Power Treasure Co, better known as Music Bugs, started the legal cat and mouse game after laying a complaint with 44 police stations nationwide in pursuit of Num, who in theory has to visit each station as he is summonsed to answer the complaint that he performed the song without permission.

However, he says he can still see the positive side of his ordeal. “Today I went to Nakhon Si Thammarat court. Sometimes I feel I have struck really bad luck as this thing is wearing me out and shows no sign of ending. At night I hold the mike, during the day I wear handcuffs,” he wrote.

“But in every piece of bad luck there is some beauty hiding away. On my travels as I answer [the police summons], I meet only friendly people who give me encouragement. In summary I have to thank this piece of bad luck for making me stronger and allowing me to smile wider than I ever have before,” he wrote, adding the hashtag: “Suffering is scared of a smile.”

Show them who’s boss

Boss

Netizens are unhappy after a socialite whose BMW hit a power pole in a late-night collision avoided being tested for alcohol, apparently because he was admitted to hospital before police thought to ask for a test.

Kittipol “Boss” Prasertrattasopa, 28, sustained bruising but escaped serious injury when his BMW 325i hit a power pole and metal barrier on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Chatuchak district on Feb 9. He sought treatment at Paolo hospital in Phahon Yothin.

Boss, a former boyfriend of actresses Pechaya “Min” Wattanamontri and Tantiprasut “Yam” Matira, told police in initial questioning that he hit the pole after swerving out of the way to avoid a truck. Media reports said he escaped a blood alcohol test to see if drinking had played a part in the crash. His mother had been in touch with police to say her son was still recovering but she would bring him in for further questioning when he was better.

Pol Lt Col Prathip Kawin, inspector of investigations at Vibhavadi station, said he was waiting for word on damages from the Highways Department. “If he is willing to pay a fine and damages, the matter will end at the station,” he said.

On concerns that he wasn’t tested for alcohol, he said Boss was already admitted to hospital by the time officers caught up with him. Once admitted, a patient needs to give consent via doctors before police can test him.

Netizens are unimpressed, complaining of double standards. One, Flin Her, wrote: “Even if he’s drunk they won’t test a rich person for alcohol. As for us ordinary types, we are likely to be born upon Thai earth, I guess.”