“Nothing to be embarrassed about”: Grandma Dies star, 78, shrugs off semi-nude scene

It is hard to believe that How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is Thai actress Usha Seamkhum’s acting debut.

The 78-year-old, who plays the titular matriarch Amah in the hit Thai tear-jerker, is very talented and gifted, said director Pat Boonnitipat.

The Thai filmmaker was full of praise and affection for Usha when The Straits Times met the pair at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore on June 24. They were in town for a fan meeting held at Golden Village Suntec City that night.

Throughout the interview, Pat, 34, would hold and squeeze Usha’s hand. In return, she would occasionally stroke his arm and smile at him affectionately like a doting grandmother.

How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies depicts the relationship between cancer-stricken Amah and her grandson M (Billkin Putthipong Assaratanakul). M, who had never cared for his grandmother, volunteers to be her caregiver with the motive of inheriting her house. But as time passes, he develops a genuine love for Amah.

Pat cited an example of how natural Usha was on set. “There was a scene in which M had to give Amah a sponge bath. Belkin was the one who was so shy, as he had to take off Amah’s blouse,” the director recalled.

“Usha did not show any signs of awkwardness or embarrassment. That scene was done in one take.”

Speaking in Thai via an interpreter, Usha said: “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

She added that she had a cloth to protect her modesty.

Casting Usha was a pure coincidence, said Pat. He had auditioned more than 100 senior actresses, but none caught his attention.

He chanced upon Usha in an old music video that his assistant director had filmed and was impressed by her acting.

The natural affinity and easy chemistry between Thai actor-singer Billkin and Usha during the screen test eventually sealed the deal. She joked that she has since adopted the 24-year-old idol as her grandson.

In real life, the actress has three daughters and four grandchildren – a pair of twin grandsons, who are the same age as Billkin, and a grandson and a granddaughter who are university students.

Usha said she shares a strong bond with her grandchildren, whom she helped raise from birth till they were about school-going age.

“We remain very close. I love them a lot, and I still hug and kiss them now – even when we’re shopping at department stores,” she laughed.

On how a rookie like her handled the emotional scenes, Usha said she pictured herself suffering the same pain to portray Amah’s plight.

“I imagined my end, and how I might be in the future,” she added. “Everyone will face death eventually. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

Pat said: “This is her first movie, yet she can do intense and emotional scenes in one take. It comes so easily to her.”

How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, which opened in Thailand in April, has become a box-office champion in Southeast Asia. Released in Singapore cinemas on May 30, the film has grossed $4.56 million as of June 23, becoming the highest-earning Thai movie in Singapore.

Usha downplayed her popularity and the attention she has received, calling herself a very normal person.

“I did not expect to star in a film. Pat is a very talented director who guided me along,” she said.

When asked if she is treated as a national hero in her native country, she demurred and said that she is not famous, but some people do ask to take photographs with her.

Judging from the rapturous response she received at the fan meet, she can say goodbye to her anonymity.

Some 400 fans in Singapore were cheering and clapping, shouting “Amah” when she and Pat entered the cinema halls after the screenings of How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.

The duo fielded several questions from their fans, such as what kind of grandchild Pat is (“I’m not good, not bad, just like M”).

As for how it feels to be considered everyone’s beloved grandmother, she replied: “There are so many grandchildren to love.”

The audience showered her with loud cheers when she added: “I love Singapore so much.”

Ten lucky fans had the opportunity to take a group photograph with Pat and Usha, while some seated in the front row presented the actress with gifts.

While most of the attendees had seen the heartrending family drama more than once, it was the first time for some.

“I was initially reluctant to watch it, as I was afraid I would cry too much,” said Ms Jessica Liew. The 27-year-old healthcare worker shed many tears, using up one packet of tissue paper. “I can’t stop crying as I can relate to M. I live with my grandmother who has dementia.”

For Ms Noornita Kasman, 46, the pain of losing a loved one hit home. The accounts executive lost her mother to cancer.

“I believe anyone who has grandparents or elderly parents can understand what M goes through,” said the Billkin fan, who first watched the film in Bangkok when she was there recently.

Pat expressed gratitude to moviegoers for embracing his feature film debut, as its success took him by surprise.

“People were telling me that the movie, which is about a traditional Chinese family, will naturally do well in a Mandarin-speaking country. But when it did well in Indonesia, I realised that the story is universal,” he said.

“Everyone can relate to the bond between a grandmother and her grandson.”

 • How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is showing in Singapore cinemas.

Joanne Soh

The Straits Times

Asia News Network