The Thai entertainment industry is doing well. Especially the movie category It can be seen from the past movie revenue values that have touched the hundreds of millions for more than one movie at the same time. But the Thai film market is still a national market. and some regions We are well aware that many nations are exporting movies outside their own countries. This has been done for a long time and can be seen in Hollywood or K-Drama because exporting movies to the international market is one way to expand the consumer group. Followed by a high value of the movie.
Making films that travel is a way to expand the audience. And this idea became one of the elements of the movie “Congrats My Ex! Expect a tumultuous love affair with a gang of exes,” a rom-com movie, the first work of Benetone Flims, a Thai movie that showcases Indian culture through marriage. and is currently under the interest of international movie fans.
TODAY talked with Kulthep Narula, executive of Benetone Flims, who has been both the brain and success in the world-class entertainment industry in Thailand for more than 20 years, about the path to entering the film industry. Ideas from filmmakers and the hope that goes along with the work
A Thai film that showcases Indian culture through marriage is set to stream November 16 on Prime Video.
Tell us a bit about who Benetone Flims is?
Benetone has actually been in the industry for 20 years, starting with the Production Service business, which involved filming foreign films in Thailand. Filming foreign films in Thailand, if we look at the statistics this year, is worth 6 billion. It is a relatively large industry, but quiet, not many people know about it. We started doing this since 2003, counting exactly 20 years since this year.
The second leg that we do is the Advertising Production House. We do both of these things and still do them today, but most of our advertising is foreign advertisements that are filmed in Thailand. It is quite familiar with the foreign film industry or foreign content that is mainly filmed in Thailand. That is the main thing we have done.
You’ve been paving the way for foreign films for many years. Why did you choose to make your own movie today?
Not suddenly So it came to be? It was already our journey and our strategy. To be honest, we didn’t come from film at all. But we entered this industry and we have been doing it continuously. And it has continued to be successful. Until at one point we thought ‘What’s next’ and where would our next step be?
If we look at the picture in the past, we were like an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), producing for other people. But the production process The production process is the same. And we have done it all on both small and large scales. It’s been our journey that we’ve taken to the point where we have to create our own content. Why? Because if it comes into our strategy, it adds value to the company. Increase intellectual property What kind of content is there in the library? It was something we wanted to level up. Production Service is still what we do today. But this is a new business that we’re adding to our original content creation. Looking at it from another level, it is not that suddenly We’re going to make a movie. We saw the strategy 5-6 years ago that it would change the market. Changes in content consumption Changes in the distribution of content And we see trends in Thai movies that we think will definitely change. So we see it as a good point for us to enter this market. Because if you look before that, about 10-15 years ago, the distribution of Thai content was quite similar to that in the domestic market. Or are there still some regional markets? When selling it in the world market, the value isn’t that high, but at the moment I think that opening Thai content in the world market is quite broader.
Moreover, the format of the audience has changed. In the past, people might just watch content from their own country or Hollywood content. Because Hollywood is already hot. But other than that, people do not consume content from other countries. But we are starting to see that now consumers are starting to search for something new. A group of people who have a taste for consuming content My test is that I like watching movies like this. But that doesn’t mean I have to watch movies from this country, but I love watching these kinds of movies. There’s content out there that I look at and I like, it can come from any country. Which I think Thai content can travel. It is international to a certain extent, so we saw an opportunity. In the next step, we will expand regionally. Co-produce content with India or with Southeast Asia. We are having a conversation. It is an expansion of marketing using the science of being an OEM and production service that we have done with our customers all over the world, including India, America, Europe, China, Korea, Japan. In the past, I have done production service for almost 150 stories and done thousands of advertisements. Than the story We took that and combined it with science and brought it into Thai content so that it could travel. It’s all a combination of strategies.
In addition to being a person of two cultures, Thai-Indian Were there any other reasons for wanting to make a film combining two cultures?
The beginning of this movie came from the idea that we would make a movie. Once the movie is finished, it’s a normal process to have discussions with the creative team. At that time, I said what kind of movie should we make? There were a lot of proposals here and there. Finally, there was an idea for a romantic-comedy, the idea of ’Ex-boyfriend’, which has the concept of not moving on. There was one time when I used to talk about personal matters where people often asked me, “Hey, you guys are married for 3 days, 5 days, what are you doing?” So I came up with the idea that if we took the concept (Ex-girlfriend) combined with being Indian and putting it in the backdrop of an Indian marriage situation, it should be something new. and has not yet been seen in the Thai film industry It was the starting point for us to come up with this concept.
The introduction of Indian concepts was not intended to bring in Indian culture. But we see it as a natural part of Indian culture to feature in our story. But the important thing is that everything we tell in this movie has to be realistic. It’s not an Indian fake or a Thai fake. The objective is clear that this is a Thai movie. But there are international elements. And that internationalism is what exists in India. We thought that in Thailand there would be someone else who could tell the story well. For example, when filming a wedding ceremony scene, I went to get an Indian Brahmin to see that we had done everything correctly. Both the ceremony and the process involved Indian consultants coming in to look at everything. Everything has to be real, it has to be correct, and then mix that in. Indian subculture, we shot in a location that had the Indian elements of Bangkok mixed in the movie to make it look natural and fit into the story.
And of course, when there is an Indian flavor In our movie there is also Song & Dance. This must be a must and cannot be in this movie. Which Bright-Bella is very full. You have to wait and see because it is really beautiful and spectacular. I brought a choreographer from India. Our songs were made in India. And it’s an original sound from India.
We really talk a lot about soft power these days from an experienced perspective, especially in India where there is already a big film industry. How much space is there for foreign films to enter the country?
Indian content is already strong with consumers in the country. Content consumption in the Indian film market also includes Hollywood. And there are Indian people who don’t just watch Indian movies. It doesn’t mean that this place is more important than there. Indian movies are his culture, which he already watches. Indian content also has good content. Not just a movie But there are still series that have come a long way in both good quality and stories. If you have the opportunity to watch Prime Video, there are many because Prime Video is number 1 in India. As of today, Korean content has gone to India. It is also an example that should spark Thai content’s interest in India.
If we look at the Thai market, it is the second most popular among Indian tourists. But have they ever seen Thai content? They haven’t seen it because they’ve never had it. Or it may not receive any attention, but the factors or sparks are different. We hope that this matter will be an insulator to attract more attention. Then you can travel.
I think that soft power doesn’t come from forcing anything on him. It comes from the fact that we started watching and we were interested. There are a lot of Bright-Bella fans in India. I’m still surprised. There were comments from social media that we went to read after the movie trailer was released and it created a lot of positive energy. They were all screaming. Bright dresses in Indian clothes and looks very natural. What I’m proud of is the comment where he saw the Indian uniform in the 30-second trailer and said, ‘Yes, that’s it.’ It was very real. It didn’t look fake Indian. There’s a bit of Indian music in the trailer. He says, “Are you going to do an original Indian soundtrack in a Thai movie?”
I think that by making the background in India, it still has Thai soft power in the dimension. It’s a Thai movie, just the background is Indian. Soft power is Thai movies. are Thai actors who have traveled with the movie In the end it will be together. I think that the evolution of soft power is not just about consuming content. Technically, they will come together to make movies in the future. Writers write together musicians come together It expands its universe even further.
How do we sell Thainess to India? Because Thailand is already a wedding checkpoint for Indians.
We put fun and hilarity first, but we definitely sell marriage. What I want to emphasize and hope will happen is to make him remember that Thai films are of quality. It’s a movie worth watching, worth following, worth watching, and it doesn’t end with just this movie. I want them to explore more Thai films so that Thai films can reach a market that is quite large and has very high consumers. This is my expectation. The movie isn’t selling a tourist attraction or anything. It’s a lovely story. It’s a story that’s fun to watch and worth following. This is what we want to sell. I don’t make movies to sell something. But I think everything will happen when people watch it and it’s fun. For example, our filming location was Hua Hin. Viewers might think that Hua Hin has something like this too? The hotel where we were filming probably got something from this movie. Marriage has become more popular. Thai people may know more about things, which is good for the industry. It’s money that will flow in.
Bella-Bright, why these two actors?
Because the script has already been written, that’s right. The first person we approached was Bella. We have worked with Bella before in advertising. The first draft of the script we wrote came from an Indian writer living in America. We had him write the draft first. Once we came up with the concept and idea We don’t have any Thai writers yet. We gave it to an Indian writer who had been in America for more than 20 years and brought him in to write the first draft, write the plot, write any screens. Then I brought it to P’Tui (Pruek Emaruchija) and said, “I have this project.” P’Tui was very interested. Because it’s a Thai movie that brings Indian elements into the movie, it’s something very fresh. So he adapted it and changed it to suit the style of a Thai movie. We kept the elements that we thought were right in the first draft structure into the current draft. After we finished writing, Bella’s face floated up. So I approached him and luckily he liked the concept and accepted the project. After that we went to retrieve Bright. Bright was already strong at that time. But now it’s even more powerful. We really wanted him to act. Because the character suits him I went to talk to Bright and he liked this project. So perfect and a great match.
From what I’ve heard, the movie must be very entertaining. And was the atmosphere fun on the set like in the movies?
The atmosphere on the set was very fun. It is a project that I am very happy about. We’ve done over a hundred projects, some fun, some not. But for this project, I left the set and sat with the director every day. Because everyone came with a cheerful smile. Everyone came happily. From the actors and crew, everyone on set was fun and close to each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re tired, filming for 2-3 hours, staying for 2-3 days and then coming back is fine. Everyone is tired but fun and happy. Then we work like experts, do the job exactly, and work 12 hours a day and that’s the end of it. Our system is already international. We run the system accordingly. Okay, there might be days where we know we’ll spend more time filming. We had already planned that it would be more than There was a day when it rained for another hour or 2, and there was nothing we could do about it. But other than that, the timing and everything was perfect.
What else is interesting?
There’s a lot more. It’s new, fresh, and gives a look at Indian culture that we might have some image of. Deeply, I want to change the image of many people who view Indian films as still dancing with three mountains. They’re still lobbying like that. It’s not like that. Indian content has gone too far, or what are Indian rituals and rituals like? We are not here to tell a story like that in this movie. But it will have its own nature coming out that What is his nature? I will also change that image even though it is not the main objective. It’s a by-product. It’s a cultural exchange. At the same time, we look at what Thai movie viewers will get from there. For the Indian audience, I would like to have an objective at this point as well. What will the image of Thailand in India be like? It’s like we want other people to How do you view us? I am Thai, born in Thailand. but Indian nationality I studied in India and Thailand. Therefore, I tend to look at the world from 2 perspectives all the time. I am a human being who likes culture. We are able to work with people all over the world because we can adapt to their cultures. Many times it will be viewed as not being the case. But if you come and experience I really came to see it. Your perspective will change. Deep down, there’s that idea in this movie.
Can you please spoil it a bit? What future projects does Benetone have?
Still can’t spoil it. But there is definitely One of our DNA is to create quality content. that it can travel It is content that we want to use ‘Know how’ together with our experience working with international production lines. We want our work to be collaborative with international talent. It probably doesn’t mean just actors. but can cooperate in many dimensions May cooperate in making music. Collaborate on post-production, cinematography, script writing. or whatever Our mind set is quite a global mind set. Therefore, we want to translate it into various content formats. It’s something quite exciting. and different, which we are still working on Hopefully the film will be a success and be accepted by the audience. And we will be able to bring other content. can continue to travel in this direction
“Congrats My Ex! Exciting about the tumultuous love story of the ex-boyfriend gang, a romantic-comedy movie. that combines Indian-Thai culture The movie tells the story of chaos at an Indian wedding when the ex-boyfriend of the wedding organizer meets. Joining talented Thai-Bollywood actors including Bella-Ranee and Bright-Vachirawit. Baifern – Pasakorn, Ping Pong – Thongchai, Maher Pandi and Annahita Buchan. Watch together on 16 November on Prime Video.
