Lao TV market is nailed down
Kemmanij "Pancake" Jamikorn, Veeraparb "Vee" Suparbpaiboon and Piya "Gong" Sawetpikul picked up Silver Naka awards in Laos this week for helping bolster ties between that country and Thailand. The entertainment crowd in Vientiane converged for the i
Lao television features the Thais regularly, beaming in Channel 7’s primetime soap operas, so the local fans were ready with cheers when the “foreigners” arrived on the red carpet. “I’m very impressed with the warm welcome!” Vee said on receiving his trophy and expressed hope that good international relations continue.
Pancake garnered a lot of praise for her elegant sarong topped by a white shirt and later thanked the organisers for her first-ever award from Laos. Gong thanked them for his first award anywhere.
So the Thai television stations know they’ve already got a keen audience in Laos. By the time the Asean Economic Community kicks in, two years hence, we ought to have a few more Nakas on the shelf.
No swimming
Luk thung singer Suteewan “Baitoey” Taveesin, criticised by one of the big shots in the government’s Department of Cultural Promotion for showing off too much skin, has issued a formal policy statement. “I will continue wearing hot pants until I turn 30,” she declared on RS Channel 8.
“They said what I wear in the show looks like swimwear, but if I wore something longer, people would complain. Everywhere I go, they request this costume.”
The culture vultures are unlikely to understand. Why is she swimming onstage, anyway? And do the million-plus views for a YouTube video in which Baitoey wears a similar costume benefit Thai culture? They’re convinced she’s doing the country damage.
“I have no intention of harming society,” Baitoey insisted. “I just do my duty to please my fans!” And it’s only for the evening shows, she points out. She dresses nice for daytime appearances here and abroad, especially charity work – and a lot of charities want her help.
