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Getting a kick out of 'Chocolate' out of 'Chocolate'
article link - http://www.nationmultimedia.com/worldhotne...newsid=30064185
Thailand's new female action star aims to knock out the critics with her big-screen debut
What action-movie fan hasn't wondered how their favourite hero would react if a bad guy posed a threat in real life? Would all that martial-arts training emerge, with the actor landing a well-aimed kick that would fell his unfortunate opponent?
The answer is a resounding yes. At least according to new female action heroine Yanin "Jeeja" Vismistananda, the star of Prachya Pinkaew's latest movie "Chocolate", who reckons a potential attacker wouldn't stand a chance.
In fact, after four years of honing her fighting skills in preparation for her big-screen debut, she winded a pal with a well-placed elbow when he approached silently from behind and surprised her with a light tap on the
shoulder.
"I was really tired from practising so I guess my muscles responded automatically," grins Jeeja, who's busy promoting "Chocolate", which opens next Thursday at theatres nationwide.
But Yanin, who was formerly known as Nicharee and prefers to be called Jeeja, is quick to add that her
martial-arts training hasn't fuelled any tensions or anger she might be carrying around. Quite the contrary, in fact.
"It's taught me to be calm and more disciplined in every aspect of my life," she says.
"My trainers haven't just taught me fighting, but also social skills, manners, patience and humility.
Working for years with an all-male stunt team has also helped Jeeja to mature mentally.
"I'm 24 now so I understand what hurts. It scares me when we do dangerous fights. In some ways, it was easier when I was younger.
Jeeja studied ballet as a child then switched to the Korean martial art of taekwondo. She currently holds the rank of third dan, a level that she says helped her considerably in assimilating the muay thai training.
Prachya, the man behind the action blockbusters "Ong Bak" and "Tom Yum Goong" that sent Phanom "Tony Jaa" Yeerum to international stardom, has had his eye on Jeeja for the last five years, having discovered her while casting for Phanna Ritthikrai's film "Kerd Ma Lui" ("Born to Fight").
"We were impressed by her potential but at the time we didn't have a project suitable for her. We decided to hone her action skills by letting her train with the stunt team," says Prachya.
At that time, Jeeja was a freshman at Hua Chiew Chalermprakiet University. She decided to drop out of school when it became too difficult to balance her study time with the training.
"The progress in my training improved significantly when I stopped studying," she says. But as soon as she'd finished filming, Jeeja returned to her studies, this time enrolling at Kasem Bundit University's communication-arts faculty where she's working towards her film major.
She admits she found the four years of training and filming tough going at times and occasionally asked for time off.
"It got boring sometimes and I needed to get away. But every time I had a break, I'd worry about missing the training and always returned to the gym earlier than I had planned," she says.
Jeeja also worked hard on her acting, determined to be convincing in her role as an autistic girl who learns how to fight by absorbing the martial arts she sees on TV.
She spent two days at a special school for autistic children then returned to the set, trying hard to blend an autistic personality with the action moves, which she admits was far from easy.
Convincing character portrayal seems to be a classic problem for action heroes, and after being criticised in his last two movies for weak plots and poor acting, Prachya was not about to let history repeat itself.
"When I went into the action sequences, I forgot all about acting. He taught me to memorise the autistic feeling inside my head before the action moves. It was a helpful technique," says Jeeja, whose favourite hero is Jet Li.
But can Jeeja bring the action heroine genre back into the spotlight, thrilling audiences with her moves and acting in the same way as leading ladies Jarunee Suksawat and ML Sureewan Suriyong did in the swashbuckling adventures of the late '70s? We'll have to wait and see.
Jeeja hopes that audiences will enjoy the film but waves off suggestions that she's a female version of Tony Jaa, a superstar in the making.
"I believe in living in the present, and feel really strange when my college friends ask me for an autograph or to pose for photos. I'm just an ordinary girl who's been given an extraordinary chance, and I've done my best. Whether audiences like this film or not is up to them. Whatever happens, I'm not doing to give up and will try do better in the next project."
Parinyaporn Pajee
The Nation
article link - http://www.nationmultimedia.com/worldhotne...newsid=30064185
Thailand's new female action star aims to knock out the critics with her big-screen debut
What action-movie fan hasn't wondered how their favourite hero would react if a bad guy posed a threat in real life? Would all that martial-arts training emerge, with the actor landing a well-aimed kick that would fell his unfortunate opponent?
The answer is a resounding yes. At least according to new female action heroine Yanin "Jeeja" Vismistananda, the star of Prachya Pinkaew's latest movie "Chocolate", who reckons a potential attacker wouldn't stand a chance.
In fact, after four years of honing her fighting skills in preparation for her big-screen debut, she winded a pal with a well-placed elbow when he approached silently from behind and surprised her with a light tap on the
shoulder.
"I was really tired from practising so I guess my muscles responded automatically," grins Jeeja, who's busy promoting "Chocolate", which opens next Thursday at theatres nationwide.
But Yanin, who was formerly known as Nicharee and prefers to be called Jeeja, is quick to add that her
martial-arts training hasn't fuelled any tensions or anger she might be carrying around. Quite the contrary, in fact.
"It's taught me to be calm and more disciplined in every aspect of my life," she says.
"My trainers haven't just taught me fighting, but also social skills, manners, patience and humility.
Working for years with an all-male stunt team has also helped Jeeja to mature mentally.
"I'm 24 now so I understand what hurts. It scares me when we do dangerous fights. In some ways, it was easier when I was younger.
Jeeja studied ballet as a child then switched to the Korean martial art of taekwondo. She currently holds the rank of third dan, a level that she says helped her considerably in assimilating the muay thai training.
Prachya, the man behind the action blockbusters "Ong Bak" and "Tom Yum Goong" that sent Phanom "Tony Jaa" Yeerum to international stardom, has had his eye on Jeeja for the last five years, having discovered her while casting for Phanna Ritthikrai's film "Kerd Ma Lui" ("Born to Fight").
"We were impressed by her potential but at the time we didn't have a project suitable for her. We decided to hone her action skills by letting her train with the stunt team," says Prachya.
At that time, Jeeja was a freshman at Hua Chiew Chalermprakiet University. She decided to drop out of school when it became too difficult to balance her study time with the training.
"The progress in my training improved significantly when I stopped studying," she says. But as soon as she'd finished filming, Jeeja returned to her studies, this time enrolling at Kasem Bundit University's communication-arts faculty where she's working towards her film major.
She admits she found the four years of training and filming tough going at times and occasionally asked for time off.
"It got boring sometimes and I needed to get away. But every time I had a break, I'd worry about missing the training and always returned to the gym earlier than I had planned," she says.
Jeeja also worked hard on her acting, determined to be convincing in her role as an autistic girl who learns how to fight by absorbing the martial arts she sees on TV.
She spent two days at a special school for autistic children then returned to the set, trying hard to blend an autistic personality with the action moves, which she admits was far from easy.
Convincing character portrayal seems to be a classic problem for action heroes, and after being criticised in his last two movies for weak plots and poor acting, Prachya was not about to let history repeat itself.
"When I went into the action sequences, I forgot all about acting. He taught me to memorise the autistic feeling inside my head before the action moves. It was a helpful technique," says Jeeja, whose favourite hero is Jet Li.
But can Jeeja bring the action heroine genre back into the spotlight, thrilling audiences with her moves and acting in the same way as leading ladies Jarunee Suksawat and ML Sureewan Suriyong did in the swashbuckling adventures of the late '70s? We'll have to wait and see.
Jeeja hopes that audiences will enjoy the film but waves off suggestions that she's a female version of Tony Jaa, a superstar in the making.
"I believe in living in the present, and feel really strange when my college friends ask me for an autograph or to pose for photos. I'm just an ordinary girl who's been given an extraordinary chance, and I've done my best. Whether audiences like this film or not is up to them. Whatever happens, I'm not doing to give up and will try do better in the next project."
Parinyaporn Pajee
The Nation
