A Second Chance in Thailand

In post-coup Thailand, where the military on Sunday appointed a former army chief, 63-year old General Surayud Chulanont, as prime minister, the major issues are how civil liberties will fare, how the politicians will behave, and how the constitution will be changed in the year or so before elections have been promised.

That doesn’t mean that some lesser issues aren’t getting widespread public attention. Such as: can porn star Natt Chanapa (a/k/a: Nong Natt, Natt Kesarin) make a comeback?

Nong Natt, as she is known locally, is back in the public eye after an unpleasant brush with the law in 2004 and 2005. She was convicted of appearing in a pornographic film—who knew that was illegal in Thailand?—fined Baht 4,000 (around US$100) and given a suspended jail term of six months. That judgment seemed to ruin her successful modeling and television acting career, and the buxom beauty hasn’t been heard from since.

But recently Nong Natt gave an interview with a tabloid magazine called VCD Digest, complete with new and fetching photos, in which she promised a healthy comeback. She told the publication that she has landed a book deal and intends to get back into modeling. Then she wants to go into a new line of work, which she didn’t specify. Will the Thai public be forgiving enough to allow her back into the mainstream entertainment business?

She certainly provided enough entertainment back in 2004, when police discovered the hard-core sex film, which featured Nong Natt and a Japanese male actor. They filed charges and issued a summons but didn’t strive too hard to apprehend the actress. The news sent CD pirates into overtime production of the disk, and it became one of the most popular porn movies ever to find its way into Thai DVD players.

Nong Natt dodged reporting to police for a year. But she excelled in drawing media attention to the affair by finally showing up at the police station to answer the charges accompanied by her female lover. She paid the statutory fine in Aug. 2005 and said she wanted to move on.

In the newest tabloid account, she also gave details on her relationship with her girlfriend. "We have been together for three years" Nong Natt said. "And we always go out together so boys never hit on me."

Courtesy Asian Sex Gazette