Prince Chatreechalerm Yukol officially opened the shooting of his new historical epic entitled Naresuan in early December. The event was again presided over by Her Majesty the Queen of Thailand. The director has been widely knows in the past few years after his biopic Legend of Suriyothai, the country's most expensive and top Thai grossing film, was chosen to be edited by Francis Ford Coppola for its international releases.
King Naresuan the Great is known among Thai people as one of the few Thai kings who are praised as the Great in Thai society. He was sent to Burma as a bail' during the Burmese Occupation of Thailand in 1590-1605. When he returned to the country, he made several Elephant Wars known as Yutthahatthee to declare the country's independence.
Under the huge budget of US$13 million, three million US dollar higher than Suriyothai, Naresuan is aimed to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the Queen's birthday. However, according to the director, Naresuan will be more constructed as a legend than the historical orientation of the prior biopic. Two military officers Captain Wanchana Sawasdee and Colonel Winchai Suwaree took two major roles of King Naresuan and his brother Phra Ekathossaros.
King Naresuan was a soldier so we decided to cast a real soldier to take his role because he should be able to ride a horse and practice all manners like a real soldier should do, said the director.
Naresuan is expected to be released on 31 December this year. However, the director spent more than four years in making his prior epic Suriyothai . |