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For the uninitiated, the petite cutie “Jija”
Yanin Vismistananda could easily pass off as one of
those pop idols that either relies on their good looks
or musical talents to get ahead in the movie industry.
But once you seen the latest Thai action flick, Chocolate,
helmed by Prachya Pinkaew (the same guy behind a string
of hits like Ong Bak and Tom
Yum Goong), you will be aware it’s her ability
to present a spectacular showcase of Muay Thai fighting
on screen that her calling card.
It
wasn’t an easy path for her to finally landing
the lead role. First she had to content with hundreds
of other young ladies who can fight. Then she had a
hard time to convince the filmmakers that she can fight
because she is so small and skinny. After all that,
this diminutive gal had to spend another four years
training in martial arts style to get into the groove
of starring in this role. Even the filming wasn’t
without any hiccup as one of the most painful injuries
happens when she was kicked right on her face during
a fight in a constricted area. That kick left her bleeding
from her left forehead and viewers could witness that
fight in the end credits
However
it was all worth it as Chocolate was a great hit and
soon she was labeled as the female version of Tony Jaa.
But never ask her who will win a fight between Tony
Jaa and her as she sees him as a teacher and is full
of respect for him.
Beside
all the high flying kicks and painful looking elbow
punches, Jija’s role in Chocolate wasn’t
entirely about fighting. To add a little bit of twist
and difference to this Thai flick that heavily utilize
Muay Thai form of fighting, the film maker made her
role autistic by nature with a flair of remembering
martial arts movement from television programs. To add
believability in the role she played, Jija actually
spent time in schools for autistic children and learn
their behavior and movement. She also went through Oscar
winning / nominated films like Forrest Gump and Rain
Man to get a better picture of how to get the right
behavior. She even pointed out that her character “addiction”
for chocolate was a homage to Tom Hanks’ Forrest
Gump. As she idolizes Jet Li, she hope that her performance
in Chocolate could be as good as Jet’s performance
in Unleashed.
For
her newly converted fans that are looking forward to
her next flick, Jija is looking forward to try other
genre such as drama but her next flick would be an action
flick with a slight dabbles with romance. A point that
she strongly emphasize with us as she want to make it
clear that it isn’t going to be a romance flick
with some action in it. It almost felt like romance
would be a bigger obstacle for Jija than fighting with
four men at the same time.
Just
in case if you are smitten by Jija, she is currently
single and does not require her potential boyfriend
to be well verse in martial arts. All you need is to
be kind and pleasant looking without the need to be
too handsome. Sound like some of us might have a glimmer
of hope in wishful thinking.
“Chocolate”
opens on 15 May and is reviewed here.
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