SINCE LAST YEAR film director Prachya Pinkaew has been weaving his 13 favourite songs into a movie called “Luk Thung Signature”, about seven couples involved in some way in the folk music of the Northeast.

Naturally the cast has to be able to carry a tune, so Rungrat “Khai Mook” Mengphanit was a natural choice with her beautiful voice. She plays an office cleaner named Kaem who’s polishing the men’s restroom while crooning the Sunaree Ratchasima hit “Rao Ror Khor Luem”. The company’s overseas-educated CEO, Boy, (played by Krissada Sukosol Clapp) happens to be in there, attending to business, as it were.

Listening unseen to the singing gives Boy more relief than he expected when he entered the toilet, but Kaem, being shy, immediately stops singing when she realises she’s not alone and hurries out. Too late – she’s become Boy’s Cinderella, and he’s off in search of that gorgeous voice.

Khai Mook was cast in the film months before she passed a blind audition to appear on “The Voice Thailand”. Until then, Prachya had wanted to keep her and her talent a secret until his movie came out. “But when she became ‘Khai Mook The Voice’,” he says, “my plan was demolished!”

The first trailer for the movie highlights Khai Mook and co-star Tanon Jamroenj, winner of “The Voice” in its first season. Both the film and the TV contest got another boost when Khai Mook reprised “Rao Ror Khao Leum” on the TV show en route to becoming a finalist.

Por’s dad blasts press

Press updates on the condition of actor Tridsadee “Por” Sahawong have slowed somewhat two months after he entered intensive care at Ramathibodi Hospital, though not for lack of actual news.

Por’s latest operation, last month, involved the removal of a lung to stop the spread of his dengue fever-related infection. He’s currently in stable condition. On Tuesday his father, Sa-nguan, talked to reporters for the first time in weeks, basically asking them to stop being so nosy about the fine details of Por’s treatment – and a little more careful in what they tell the public.

With Por’s state of health going up and down over the past two months, Sa-nguan’s been dismayed to find errors and misinformation in the news reports, and is particularly galled by pessimistic commentary, which he said has a terrible effect on both the patient and his family.

“That’s why we sometimes feel uncomfortable giving out all the details about the medication and such,” the father said. “We don’t want to cross a line with the doctors and there’s a risk that what we say might be incorrect.”

He doesn’t feel he needs to tell the press everything, such as what an operation entailed. “I think we have the right to give you information or withhold it. Sometimes I’ve felt violated by your questions, so I didn’t answer in great detail.”

Sa-nguan said he’s grateful for the tremendous show of public support for his son, but he doesn’t want to make people even more pitying by releasing every detail. “I hope you just report the good news instead of spreading negative rumours that not only make our family feel bad but also the hospital staff.”