Once the word got out that we were booking airline seats for our dolls and ordering separate meals for them in restaurants, those foreigners were bound to take a dim view of matters.

Thailand’s reaction, as usual, was over-reaction. The cops, having already busted a drug dealer who’d stuffed 200 amphetamine tablets inside a doll for an overseas flight – started hitting stores selling look thep. More than 100 of the poor little things were hauled off to jail because the merchants couldn’t produce any import documents. (The dolls don’t just magically appear – they come from China.)

But you can’t blame the police for being in a bad mood. The foreign press have been calling our ersatz offspring “spirit dolls” and “haunted dolls”, claiming the owners believe they have the soul of a genuine child within and thus have to be pampered just like real kids. Admittedly, some owners actually do believe that, and even more think the dolls bring them good luck.

And there’s no getting around the fact that cabin crews on the Thai Smile airline are under orders to treat the dolls like actual children. Plus, some Bangkok restaurants serve them meals priced according to height, same as living kids.

For wise guidance at times like this, we turn to theFacebook page of Udom “Nose” Taepanit’s, the Kingdom’s favourite comedian. What we found instead was Nose giving Pa Thep a look thep that looks just like him – like Thep Pho-Ngam, that is. Pa Thep used to be a comedian and now he’s finally finding success in retail (after a string of bad moves) selling khanom pia Chinese sweets.

Note added a poem:

Want to worship something, then go to Father,

For this Thep, you don’t have to ask – he simply gives

Laughter and khanom pia as you wish,

He gives it to me, while saying from the heart, “I give you for free”,

Big pia with loads of filling and a huge red yolk.

If you want to order, just dial this number:

Zero nine five seven eight nine four six five five.

I guarantee the stuff is good, so you might have to wait a bit longer.

It goes on like that for another stanza, basically praising Pa Thep as a role model for people facing difficulties. Nose calls him “an angel next door in human form” – and for that earned more than 100,000 “likes” and 10,000 shares within 24 hours.

“Yes, he is the real thep,” one of his fans agreed. “Really appreciate his fighting spirit. Asking for help from God cannot be better than just making the effort yourself.”

Others pointed out, less appreciatively, that Nose is a follower of the Dhammakaya Buddhist sect and wondered if his admiration for self-made Pa Thep gibes with his faith. The sect is controversial for taking the unholy marriage of spirituality and materialism to a whole new level. In its view of Heaven, you get to live on a higher floor of the “condominium” if you give the sect more cash.

If Nose has his eye on the penthouse in the afterlife, he’ll probably need a bunch of angel dolls to fly him there.

You’d think that, since they’re married and have another child, this wouldn’t require science, but they haven’t been an actual couple in a long time. They had their separate spin-off scandals when a gossip website that’s since mysteriously shut down claimed Peter had found a fresh love interest and Ploy was spending a lot of cosy time with another guy, and that this guy was the father of Puma, born last April.

People who probably watch too many soap operas jumped to conclusion that Ploy wanted to get back at Peter for his infidelity by having a child with another man. Well, Ploy prefers her soapsuds in the bathtub, just like you do, so she ran the DNA test. And, as to that male pal of hers, she tells the occasionally serious Sanook.com, “He’s gay. He can’t possibly be the father, and I am not having an affair with anyone.

“I’m not demanding anything from Peter because I know he no longer cares,” Ploy says, sparking a hanky alert. “The DNA test is only to reclaim my honour. I’m preparing to file a defamation suit against the owners of that gossip site, and I’m not looking for compensation – I want them in jail!”

Always looking for the fun angle, Sanook asks Ploy what she’s planning to do in her personal life. She’s thinking about going back to work as a flight attendant, probably in March, once she secures a divorce from Peter. “I only care about the happiness and the future of my children,” she says.

He ain’t heavy

Being a big brother is a lifetime job, a responsibility stretching way beyond walking your younger sibling to school. Just ask actor Pakorn “Boy” Chatborirak, who knows that a segment of every media interview will be devoted to his kid brother Thana, who’s conveniently nicknamed Nong.

Specifically, he’s always pestered with questions about Nong’s love life.

The brothers did some modelling and made personal appearances together before Nong officially became a celebrity in his own right a couple of years ago. The reception from the fans was inevitably warm, and the fact that he’s good-looking made some of the fans even warmer. Nong always seems to be dating someone new, and it’s Boy who has to keep the press up to date.

Most recently, Dara Daily wanted to know if Nong was getting serious with starlet Wannarot “View” Sonthichai. They’d been spotted shopping hand in hand at a department store and having dinner together.

Boy rolled his eyes and replied, “They may be dating. I don’t really know for sure.

“We’re very close, but in personal matters like this I don’t interfere. He’s a grown man and he can make decisions for himself. And it’s not right for me to speak about his personal life on his behalf.”

Hardly the stuff that makes a juicy gossip column, so Dara squeezed with the “but what if” question. Boy said he wouldn’t object if they did get serious. “View’s a nice girl. I was in an acting class with her once and she seems very nice. If they’re getting serious, then I’m happy for them both.”

Boy might be a great brother in Nong’s eyes but, for the press, he’s way too protective.

FANS OF HONG Kong’s Shaw brothers – purveyors of gloriously roustabout kung-fu films – know the name Jimmy Wang Yu well. The Taiwanese star of the 1960s and ’70s is best remembered from “One-Armed Swordsman” (1967), known in Thailand as “Dech Ai Duan”.

Wang came out of retirement in 2011 to appear in another martial-arts film, Peter Chan’s “Wu Xia”, and was still a powerful presence onscreen. But interest in Chinese movies has been on the wane in Thailand, so most of these guys dropped off the radar. Last week, however, Wang reappeared – sadly – as a patient in intensive care at a Bangkok hospital. And he’s been there quite a while.

The Oriental Daily News in Hong Kong and Singapore’s Straits Times report that the 72-year-old suffered a stroke at one of the local airports and was taken to a “five-star hospital”, where he twice underwent brain surgery.

His eldest daughter Linda Wong (Dad’s other name is Wong Yu-lung), taking turns with her two sisters visiting their father, confirmed it was a stroke and said his friends, especially those living in Thailand, had rallied to his side. Medical expenses have already topped Bt10 million.

Linda told another newspaper, Apple Daily, that her father has been in hospital since last month and has had “two or three [minor] surgeries”. She said her father came here on business and had just cleared Immigration at the airport when he collapsed unconscious. Staff found his identification documents and contacted his family.

Worryingly, this isn’t the first time Wang has suffered a stroke. There was an earlier, milder episode in 2011 while he was on the Chinese mainland and therapy was required to regain mobility in his left arm.

We certainly hope he’ll bounce back again quickly this time.

Jaa sings – in English!

Staying with the martial-arts beat, let’s see what’s occupying homegrown superstar Phanom “Tony Jaa” Yeerum’s since he completed three movies last years.

Though not quite as swift with his English as he is with his fists, elbows and knees, Jaa made an appearance on Tuesday promoting a GMM Grammy TV campaign in which the Ministry of Education encourages Thais to speak more English.

Not only that, he’s signed a four-year contract with the entertainment firm that will also involve some singing! Jaa said it’s another of his childhood dreams come true, to be able to sing for the masses. We await details on what exactly he’ll be crooning – maybe some elephant love songs.

And he confirmed that his next Hollywood project will be a co-starring turn opposite Vin Diesel in “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage”, which will also feature Jet Li, so fans of the fighting game are surely in for a treat.

His acolytes are no doubt just as delighted with the GMM Grammy contract, since that means we should see a lot more of him here in Thailand instead of having to share him with California. Maybe there’ll even be another rock ’em sock ’em Thai movie emerging from the deal, along the lines of “Ong-Bak” and “Tom Yum Goong”. Fingers are crossed.

 

The popular actor died last Monday after a two-month battle against various health complications stemming from dengue fever.

A picture of the body, even draped, is surely not what his fans want to see – not his true fans, anyway.

Utterly ignored by the swarming media horde was anything remotely close to the “Ethics Guidelines for Covering Funerals” drawn up Al Tompkins, a well-respected journalism teacher at the Poynter Institute in the US.

In the guidelines, Tompkins calls for “the highest degree of sensitivity and professionalism” among reporters attending such grim events. “Although stories about funerals can be deeply moving, newsworthy and even healing for an audience, there is great potential for journalists to intrude on a family’s privacy and cause pain to already vulnerable people.”

The Bangkok reporters “on the ground”, as they say in the business, have countered that it’s their “duty” to get the photos of Por’s corpse and his grieving family. Well, that just poured oil on the angry flames crackling in cyberspace. Folks at Pantip.com, Facebook and elsewhere were furious at such a cock-eyed interpretation of “duty” and the total lack of any sense of dignity.

“Why don’t media understand this?” one fan at Pantip fumed. “It’s not photos of Khun Por’s body or the family’s loss we want to remember. We want to remember him when he was well and happy. He gave us happiness and love. Why don’t you respect Khun Por and his family?”

“If the media want to go that far in their coverage,” another said, “I’ll join those who choose not to view the news. If you cover the funeral like you’re doing now – reporting every situation, every process with no sign of respect for the deceased and the bereaved – I choose not to view your news.”

Nation Multimedia Group editor-in-chief Thepchai Yong, who’s also president of the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, expressed his concern on Facebook. “In the past the media could ignore criticism from the public, but the media landscape has changed. The media can be investigated as never before and people are no longer inarticulate.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if one day society loses patience and does more than criticise. The public response will be systematic and determined, because these days communication is no longer tied to just the news media. I would like all media managers to learn a lesson from Por Trisadee’s case, because this might be the starting point for restoring the public’s faith in the media.”

Thepchai’s prediction seems quite plausible. Even as we speak there’s a petition posted at Change.org urging media associations to improve their ethics and social etiquette. As of late Thursday it had more than 25,813 signatures.

The stickers are an important part of social discourse in Thailand and we’ve produced several leading sticker artists selling their creations online, but none as interesting as Kanyapak “Mono” Saengsith – who’s four years old.

Yes, the kindergarten pupil in Phu Wiang, Khon Kaen, has become something of a precocious sensation with her “Phi Ta Bo” sticker set featuring a blind ghost with hollow eyes. She actually drew and painted the whole set by herself.

Mono’s father, Theerapong Saengsith, says his little girl has been drawing cartoons for half her life. (It occurs to us that Stephff – The Nation’s French editorial cartoonist – ought to watch his back when we’ve got homegrown talent like this coming up.)

“Mono has loved drawing and colouring since she was two,” says Dad, “but she drew and painted just like any other kid, and we wouldn’t call her work stunningly beautiful, you know. Anyway, she just loves to draw and we love to see her doing it.”

In fact the family has dedicated a whole wall in their house to her creativity and imagination. They don’t just hang her art there – Mono actually draws and paints on the wall.

“She can draw and colour anything she likes on that wall and we just let her do it,” explains the delightfully tolerant and duly proud father. “There are fine drawings and also just smudges of paint, and that’s fine too. Mono loves using watercolours mostly because it’s fun mixing the colours to get different shades.

“We love to see the ideas she comes up with. We support her in being creative – we just let her explore her imagination.”

The Phi Ta Bo character was entirely Mono’s idea. “I helped her a bit since she’s very young,” Theerapong says. “It’s quite normal for a four-year-old to smear the colours outside the outlines while colouring, so I just made sure the smudges were taken care of.

“Then, seeing Phi Ta Bo in colour, I started to think about sharing Mono’s work with the public so that anyone who likes cartoons and art could enjoy it.”

Dad uploaded the full set to the Line Creator Market, seeking the nod to sell them from the Line Sticker Store. “We sent 40 drawings in early December and we got the approval to put them in the store on December 17. Now we have people in Canada, Japan and the US downloading my little girl’s work!”

The kid must be making a fortune. “The profits aren’t very high,” says her old man, “but it doesn’t matter because we’re just really proud of Mono’s love for drawing and colouring. Any child can learn easily if those close to them just make them feel comfortable. Once they gain confidence, kids can really show us what they’re capable of!”

 

The Thai-Swiss actress-singer has also done turns as a TV personality, event emcee and model, and recently she embarked on a new challenge as a series producer for digital channel True 4U.

Nat’s in charge of the new three-season series “Jao Wei Ha”, a star-studded production starring big names like Woranuch “Noon” Pirompakdee, Andrew Gregson, Khemanit “Pancake” Jamikorn and Jesdaporn “Tik” Pholdee. It’s also got Atichart “Aum” Chumnanon, who also happens to Nat’s husband, which just goes to show that connections are important!

Experienced film-industry hand Bandit Thongdee is directing the series, which has a Bt150-million budget and is scheduled to premiere in March.

Being a producer is “much more difficult and detail-oriented than acting”, Nat tells Manager Online. “There are a lot of people involved and there are always surprises hidden in every step – mostly troubles and complications. For a newbie like me it’s been quite an overwhelming experience. I’d consulted my best friend Anne [Thongprasom], who was producing TV shows long before I tried, and she did warn me about this. So it’s a lot of work, but at the same time I enjoy it very much.”

Nat’s asked if she’s given up on acting. “There have been a few proposals, but the biggeast problem for me right now is time,” she says. “The series takes all of my time and energy, and there are the second and third seasons to work on after this, so I guess you won’t see me acting anytime soon.”

Since their marriage in 2014, Nat and Aum are among the celebrity couples who’ve been trying to have a baby. But with both of them working so hard on this show, that’s a wish that, like Nat’s acting, is going to have to wait awhile. “We’ve stopped trying for now so we can focus on work,” Nat says.

Ray lights up Tata’s life

Pop singer Amita “Tata” Young has joined the roster of new celebrity mums, giving birth to her firstborn a few days ago at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital. She’s been married to entrepreneur Chatadul “Mor” Seenapongpipit for two years.

Their son arrived by caesarean section and is in perfect health. They’ve named him Ray, as in a ray of light, a nice match for “Amita”, which means “eternal light” in Sanskrit.

Just hours after Ray’s debut, his 35-year-old mum broke the news on Instagram (TataAmitaYoung) with a cute and moving “message” to her little boy. “Finally this day has arrived,” she declared, “the day that Mummy and Daddy get to meet you in person after waiting for 238 days.

“During those days we were waiting for your arrival in happiness and we got to enjoy a lot of new experiences, all thanks to you. Sometimes it was hard, but we fought harder for you, Ray. You are the love of our lives and we love you so much. There is so much to talk about. Let’s talk soon now that you’re here with us!”

We look forward to eavesdropping on their happy conversations as the little guy grows up.

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.”