ACTOR-director Xian Lim disappointed all those anticipating to see him and hear his side regarding his new girlfriend after Kim Chiu.

Xian didn’t show up in the media conference of his latest directorial effort, ‘Kuman Thong,’ the horror film shot in Ayuttaya, Thailand, starring beauty queen Cindy Miranda and child actress Althea Ruedas, star of the Netflix hit movie ‘Doll House’ and ‘Instant Daddy.’

Xian, who wrote and directed ‘Kuman Thong,’ apparently refused to open up about his personal life, as anything about the reason of his split with Kim is still much awaited not only by their avid fans, but by the public in general.

‘Kuman Thong,’ which title literally means “golden young boy,” features a cast of Filipino and Thai actors. Joining Cindy and Althea are Max Nattapol Diloknawarit, Jariya Therakaosal and Emman Esquivel.

The film, based on a Thai occult tradition in which a figurine housing a child’s spirit, brings luck if properly revered and harm if not cared for. The story draws inspiration from a Thai mythology.

‘Kuman Thong’ is the first horror flick for both Cindy and Althea, “I worked on a horror series, ‘Kagat ng Dilim,’ on TV5 before,” Cindy shared. “But this is my first horror film. I had a hard time because it was really hot in Thailand when we shot for one week, two months ago.

“We had a hard time conversing with the Thai actors who didn’t speak English. Only Max (Nattapol) talked to us in English. The rest of the Thai actors were first timers on the set. We also had a hard time with them. But most of our scenes were Take One.

“You should know your actor’s cue. You cannot be not ready because the scenes will not finished for the day. If you forgot your line or you’re not ready with your emotions, Take Two na ‘yun. We really had to be prepared.”

Althea admitted the genre is hard, but she didn’t have a hard time while filming. “It became easy for me because I was with direk Xian, Ate Cyndi. They were with me through the hardest parts of the movie. They helped me do every scene smoothly.

“Direk Xian was always open for suggestions. From our script reading, he already told us what he wanted to happen in the movie or in every scene.

“Even when we were already on the set, we would still suggest what is better to do in the scene and he would welcome it. Sobrang amazed po ako kay Direk Xian. There was even a time here in Manila, humiga siya sa road to show us na malinis naman ‘yun.”

Xian has been acting for 15 years before he ventured into directing. That’s why he understands the process every actor goes through.

“Throughout the filming, Xian didn’t lose his cool,” Cindy shared. “Hindi siya nagalit. Never uminit ang ulo niya kahit sobrang init.”

Since Cindy started in doing sexy flicks like Roman Perez, Jr.’s Adan with Rhen Escaño (2019), she has successfully transitioned into mainstream projects and she couldn’t be any happier.

“I didn’t really dream to become a beauty queen, but that helped for me to enter the showbiz industry,” Cindy admitted. “Me greatest dream was to become an actress. Akala ko suntok sa buwan, but the stars aligned for me.

“Hindi man ganon kabilis, up to now I still have struggles. Ang daming magaling at maganda. Grabe ang competition in this industry. But I’m so thankful that I get this kind of opportunity. I get the chance to make my dreams come true. I’m really thankful.”

Kuman Thong is a ritual in Thailand where dead babies, their ashes, fetus, blood and bones are made into dolls so the sad parents can recover from the loss of their child.

“You need to take care of the baby doll like your real child,” Althea informed. “You need to feed it, take care of it because if you didn’t, the baby can do bad things.”

Added Cindy, “Kuman is a sanctified, young boy or girl. Thong means golden. Thai people buy it and put it in their house as an amulet – good or bad.”

Kuman Thong follows the story of Clara (Cindy), who travels to Thailand with her daughter Katie (Althea), to seek the blessing of Namfon (Jariya), the mother of her fiancé Sai Chon (Max).

However, Namfon isn’t enthused about the idea of her only son migrating to the Philippines, believing that the couple is not yet ready to settle down, especially with Clara still grieving about the loss of her son Isaac (Emman). Clara even carries around the urn bearing Isaac’s ashes.

Released by Viva Films and Studio Viva, Kuman Thong is a mother’s desperate attempt to reunite with her deceased son unleashes dark spirits and secrets, turning a hopeful journey into a night mare in Kuman Thong.

Cindy and Althea enjoyed the unlimited street food that was served to them while filming in Thailand. “Their food is very good,” Cindy said. “We were like in a fiesta every time. We were like in a bar with endless serving of dragon fruit, lanzones, salad, very healthy.”

“The Thais are very respectful,” added Cindy. “Even if it was very hard to talk to them, you didn’t hear them complaining. Work was strictly work. They were very disciplined. They strictly observed a cut off.”

AUTHOR PROFILE

Eugene E. Asis