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Thai movie pays tribute to transvestite
27/11/2001 14:53 - (SA)
Thailand - Thailand's most famous transvestite kickboxer who gave up a
sensational career to become a woman will be immortalised in an
upcoming movie, producers announced on Tuesday.
Beautiful Boxer will be a tribute to the life and struggle of
21-year-old Parinya Charoenphol, who shocked the kickboxing world
by appearing in the ring wearing lipstick and mascara and kissing
opponents on the cheek.
But his highly skilled classical style soon won him fans, fights
and fame that spread to other parts of the world. Parinya underwent
a sex-change operation three years ago and became an entertainer in
a night club.
"Here's a boy who was born with the heart of a girl," said
Ekachai Uekrongham, a Thai-born stage director based in Singapore
who will make his cinematic debut in the upcoming film. "Yet he
does the most masculine things to achieve femininity. He is a
walking paradox."
Ekachai has produced and directed more than 100 plays and
musicals in Singapore, where he is based, and in New York, Beijing
and Bangkok. His most famous work is Chang and Eng, the acclaimed
musical about conjoined twins born in Thailand who gave birth to
the term "Siamese twins".
Ekachai said he was initially reluctant to make another
transvestite movie - his film last year about a transvestite
volleyball team was a box office hit.
But after interviewing Parinya, Ekachai said he realised that
her story would mean "something for everyone".
It will be a movie about "a human being who has to fight not
just in the ring but outside the ring also. She doesn't give up,"
Ekachai said.
Auditions for the cast will begin next month and shooting will
start next year. Ekachai said the script will be fictionalised to
make it cinematically interesting - the love angle will be provided
by a Japanese fan, Yoko, who tries to persuade Parinya not to
become a woman.
"We are not going to make a documentary. The essence of her
being is the heart of the movie. The flesh and blood will come from
our imagination," Ekachai said.
The movie, with a budget of $1.2 million, is targeted for
released in early 2003. It will have dialogues in Thai, English and
Japanese. An international version is also planned.
Parinya's part will be played by three actors, from a child to a
youth. The actor playing Parinya aged 15 to 20 years - before and
after the sex change - will have to be a trained kickboxer.
Parinya will be given a cameo role.
Parinya, who attended the news conference, said she suffered "a
great deal of hardships" in standing her ground to play the sport
she loved and to assert her sexuality.
"Ihope the people who watch the film will find courage to fight
on their inner battles in the midst of all the gloom and doom in
the world," said Parinya, who came dressed in a slinky black dress,
accompanied by her parents. - AP
- SAPA
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