Sririta Jensen, the leading actress in the recently released Thai movie “999-9999 Dat Dor Dai” (Dial 999-9999 to Die), is half Danish – half Thai, but her heart is with her Thai teenage audience which she hopes will get the message of the film
The movie is about a Thai teenage girl as she slips down the fast lane. She is greedy for expensive status symbols and curious about everything bad, the more dangerous the better, seeking her extreme limits.
On the surface, the movie offers a lot of fun and excitement, but there is a more to it.
“Thai teenagers are being more and more materialistic. They will do anything just to get something expensive with a brand name, like an expensive watch or something. Some students don’t mind being a prostitute just to have a new mobile phone to show their friends,” Sririta says.
“This is the situation of many Thai teenagers today. They don’t care if something is dangerous or wrong, they just want to try something new and feel the excitement of the adventure in their life,” she adds.
“Everybody have their dreams. This movie just warns the teenagers to do the right thing, walk into the right directions. For instance, if you want to be a superstar and you try to get there by sleeping with anyone who could make your dream come true, it’s not the right thing to do. Where is your dignity?”
Sririta feels being a Luk Krueng (half-Thai) is a benefit for her.
“I am happy to have grown up with both the Thai and the Danish culture. I try to include the all the best elements from the Thai culture with the best from the foreign culture. For instance, I don’t care much about fashion. Foreigners don’t show off so much, using brand names to boost their self confidence. I don’t need to drive an expensive car brand to make people to accept me. If I have money I will not buy a Rolex – that is the materialistic element in the Thai culture, which I don’t like,” she says.
“So many Thai evaluate people more from what they have to show off. For the foreigner, if you have something good then you can show it, but you have no need to shown how rich you are because you feel you are much more important than your expensive car. For some Thai girls, if a guy drives a BMW then they want to be your friend, but for me, I would rather not have any friends than have a friend just because he drives a BMW,” Sririta says.
“The most important thing, I like in the Thai culture, is the value of the family. This is one thing, we should never change.”
Currently, Sirita Jensen is working on two television series. In “Kor Wah Ja Mai Rak” (Don’t Want to Love You) she is acting with Kong Saharat and in “Tae Deth Khun Kru” (Cool Teacher) she plays with Tang Sucksit. Both drama series are scheduled for next year.
“I don’t have much experience in acting compared to some of the more well-known Thai actresses, but I try to select my jobs carefully. If I don’t like it then I will not take it,” says Sririta.
“I never think of myself as a superstar. I am just a normal girl having a chance to work as an actress while studying at the same time,” she says.
Currently, Sririta has one year left before she expects to graduate in Information with major in Public Relations.
“I would like to continue in Marketing, then some day have my own business,” she says.
How about love?
“I am happy to be loved and to love. I am happy when I am with my friends, family, my parent – I can not live without their love.”
“For me, love doesn’t only mean having a boyfriend. I am not in a rush. I am a teenager like anyone else. I hope one day if I will find the one, but right now I am too young for that. I also have so many different things to do – I am not seriously ready for that kind of love,” she says.
“I guess there is not much drama to write about my private life..”
