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Thai, writes in English
It is not usual for a Thai novelist to write in English, says Paul Adirex in conversation with Saibal Chatterjee.
It is certainly not usual for a Thai novelist to write in the English language, avers bilingual author, historian and politician Paul Adirex. One doesn't of course need a reminder. In a land where the Queen's lingo is barely understood, let alone mastered, Adirex is indeed in a league of his own, having written four successful novels in English against only two in the Thai language.
Paul Adirex isn't of course his real name. "My Thai name (Pongpol Adrieksarn) would be too difficult for the western world to pronounce. Hence the simpler pseudonym," the former deputy premier and foreign minister of Thailand says.
The US-educated raconteur is a busy man at the ongoing 2004 Bangkok International Film Festival, meeting producers and script fund managers who might be interested in turning his novels into films. "I have already met representatives of two companies," he says, "and am on the way to meeting three more."
His English-language books are published in Thailand but are distributed worldwide. But Adirex is now keen to take his fame to the next level by putting his stories up on the screen for the entire world to see.
One of his English novels, The Pirates of Turatao, a World War II epic about a bunch of POWs who take to piracy on the high seas off one of Thailand's remotest islands, is already close to hitting the screen. "The script," says Adirex, "is already in place and the upcoming film will be directed by Japan's Ryuhei Kitamura." The film will be produced by a major American studio although Adirex isn't ready yet to let on which one.
This of course isn't the first time that a story of his has been adapted for the screen. Mekong, a novel in which the drama unfolds on Thailand's border with Laos, provided the basis of a television series some years ago. But the scripting of The Pirates of Turatao wasn't without mishaps. The original scenarist, a writer from the UK, was sacked when his screen rendition did not quite measure up to Adirex's expectations. That was when Kitamura stepped in as writer-director and salvaged the project.
His background as a historian imbues Adirex's novels, which are a skilled blend of reality and fiction, historical figures and imagined characters. "Thailand," he says, "is full of stories spread over a period of more than 400 years. Interestingly, all through this era, the kingdom has engaged with foreign forces."
The Portuguese, says Adirex, were the first to arrive 425 years ago. They were followed by the Dutch, the French, the British and the Americans in that sequence. "Nothing could be more interesting than delving into what these people from the West did in Thailand and how those actions impacted their own lives as well as the history of the kingdom.
Adirex, whose English novels include The King Kong Effect, about an American admiral who settles down in Phuket after his wife is killed in a 1992 riot in Bangkok, is currently working on a story revolving around the founding of the 222-year-old city of Bangkok. "My story begins four months before the fall of Ayutthya, Thailand's ancient capital, in the face of a concerted Burmese attack," the novelist reveals.
Thonburi was made the kingdom's new capital. In the 15 years that the place enjoyed that special status, Thailand went to war as many 16 times. "Those were eventful years indeed. It was when King Rama I, a top general of King Thaksin, took over that Bangkok as we know it came into existence," says Adirex.
As Adirex pushes for greater global currency for the stories that lie at the heart of modern Thailand, he has found a willing ally in the medium of cinema. Given the fact that high drama, political intrigue and a rich strain of imagination pulsate through all his tales, his confidence in the commercial viability of his stories as raw material for international films isn't entirely misplaced.
