Thai MVs That Could Be a Film or Drama

I want to thank JojoOnDatBeat for allowing me to use her article, If K-Pop Music Videos Were Adapted For K-Dramas, as a reference for this article. I recently got back into listening to more Thai music and found some pretty music videos and many short films that I feel can potentially be a great film or drama. These plots are nothing too new, and we have seen similar works within the Thai entertainment industry or outside of it. However, without good execution in screenwriting, directing, and acting, the film or drama can fall flat. 

I haven't been in the loop of Thai dramas within these past few years, so my references may not be within the realm of Thai dramas or from older works. Apart from that, these songs are exceptionally wonderful. If you like them, do save them for later! Please do let me know if there are similar Thai films or dramas of the following music videos. Or share some of your favorite music videos in the comments. Without further ado, please continue reading to find the music videos that I found have some potential to be something beautiful!

Guide to the article: click on the "#" or "SHARE" to view the music videos and "SAVE +" to listen on Spotify

#MusicVideo (EN)
Tam Tawan - NUM KALA x Aed Carabao
109,528,647 views	Premiered Jul 1, 2020			SHARE	SAVE +

✼　 ҉ 　✼ "Someday, reality and dreams shall meet at the waking dawn."✼　 ҉ 　✼ 

Comments
The song and the music video's plot are about pursuing your dreams and continuing on that path even though it may be difficult. Bright plays a young man who dreams of working in the film industry as a director; however, he's currently just an assistant. His mom is his greatest supporter who works endlessly to try to support him.
The theme of this storyline is fairly simple as it's about pursuing your dreams as a young adult. The sun is used as a reference symbol in the lyrics as a measure of your dreams. Whether you can't reach the high rising sun or can't catch up to it before the sun sets, you shouldn't give up. Instead, you should go around the obstacle and continue through the night to reach your dreams, for the sun will rise again. In the music video, we see many shots of Bright working through or staring at the sunset.
This would be a great idea for a movie as a drama would drag out the story's theme too much. While the idea is quite simple, I think a full-length film on this topic would resonate a lot with younger individuals passionate about pursuing their dreams and going through their own difficulties. It also shows a loving single parent and child relationship that is beautiful on both ends. We all need some feel-good movies in our life! The key is to get an actor who can portray the passion and emotions that one may go through and a mother who jumps through hoops to help her son pursue his dreams.  This storyline reminds me of Record of Youth, a story about youths who work hard to pursue their dreams. They come from different walks of life, but their grit is strong. Even if they have bad days and fall, they'll come back even stronger. This is my first time seeing Bright act, and I'm quite impressed by it. If this were to be a film, I'd love to see him reprise this role. I think the team behind Teacher's Diary can give us a compelling story and filmography to highlight the themes of this potential movie. Teacher's Diary gave out a lot of warmth through its story and storytelling, and this film would need the same love.

#ShortFilm MV  (Trigger Warnings: stabbing, blood)
A Song Kai - Ying Thitikarn
21,177,020 views	Premiered Sep 12, 2012			SHARE	SAVE +

꘎♡━━━━━━━━♡꘎"Though it'll take forever, I'll still love you... until eternity"꘎♡━━━━━━━━♡꘎

Comments
The story is about the three cursed lifetimes of the two leads. The story starts with Noon and Mild, and through the jealousy and resentment of our second female lead,  she curses Mild and Noon to never be together no matter how many lifetimes and years pass by. Mild is stuck with remembering Noon each lifetime while he will never remember her. She'll face the pain and tragedy of losing her loved one each time.  I suggest watching the prequel music video of Lover Never Dies first and then continue to A Song Kai. Both are unfortunately not subbed, but the context is easy to understand. Find the English lyrics in this original version.
Thailand is a huge Buddhist-centered country, and I think the biggest theme in the storyline is fate and redemption. Redemption, in this case, is the acceptance of one's own wrongdoing, forgiveness, and remorse from both parties. I find that in these instances, it's not always the "evildoer" who is wrong because there are faults within from the beginning with both parties.
I would turn this into a drama with 10 - 12 episodes with 1.5 hours (at most) for each episode. Let's be real here and say this is an old and popular trope, given that this was released in 2012. This storyline has a mix of black magic, curses that can't be broken, three lifetimes of heartache, and redemption. Tae Pang Korn (2005) and Bbee Kaew Nang Hong (2007) have most of these attributes and already have more recent remakes of their own. However, you got to be honest with me and say that this isn't something we still want to see. We still get a handful of Thai dramas with variations of dramas on curses and different lifetimes, such as Plerng Prang Tian (2019) and Duang Jai Nai Montra (2021). Would I recast Noon and Mild? Probably not. While I have seen works from both of these individuals, I admit that I cringed a bit with their acting in the short film. Mild would do perfectly fine if the female lead role were to stay the same as a demure character. If this were to become a potential drama, I would hope for some changes in the plot to reduce the feel of ancient tropes or a recycled storyline. I think Plerng Prang Tian went with an interesting take on this trope and made the story unique. Maybe since Mild is aware of the curse, she can try to break it each lifetime before meeting Noon? We will need a team to be our creative directors to help us with that part.  I think Noon should skip the lead role and tackle directing for this potential project. He has a few shows under his belt as a director already and some that I've enjoyed. For the scriptwriting, maybe some fresh eyes to this trope and one who has yet to work with this idea to take it for their own spin. I'll go on a whim and pick Sorarat Jirabovornwisut, who has brought us some well-known dramas from Ch 3.

#Extended MV  #MusicVideo (EN) (Trigger Warnings: guns, gunshots, gun wounds, blood)
You - COCKTAIL
21,397,154 views	Premiered Apr 28, 2014		SHARE	SAVE +

»»—— "Do you know that someone from afar is wavering in sorrow?"——«« 

Comments
The short film is about Yoghurt, a Vietnamese girl, and Ananda, a soldier. The story starts in Vietnam in the year 2014. Ananda is looking for a Yoghurt, the girl in the photos he is haunted by, and we get a flashback to The Vietnam War. It's 1965, and Ananda is in Vietnam as a soldier, where he meets Yoghurt. Due to an injury, Yoghurt takes Ananda in and takes care of him. This starts their love affair with two individuals from different sides of the war.  You only need to watch the extended version to understand the whole storyline; however, there are no subtitles. If you want to understand the lyrics, please watch the music video version.
The main theme of this plot is star-crossed lovers during the war. It's evident that these two individuals are from opposing sides and are torn when it comes to love vs. their country.
I think this plot would work great as either a film or a drama depending on the direction. If they want to focus on just the romance aspect, a film would be best. If we want to look at the nitty-gritty parts of The Vietnam War that include more depth into Yoghurt and Ananda's individual roles and time in 1965 vs. 2014, it could be a drama. Personally, I think a full-length film would be a better direction for this potential project. Through this short film, Ananda was able to give us so many raw emotions. With what he has shown and his experience, it's only right for him to continue this role if this were to be produced. Yoghurt has improved since this was filmed, and I think she'll do an even better job than she did in the short film through a reproduction.  Personally, I think that this storyline has some resemblance to the popular Koo Gum (2013) as both are about two people from opposing countries in a war. Despite the tragic situation, the leads eventually develop feelings for one another. It would be cool to have someone like Director Mai work on this potential film. Apart from working with Ananda before, he has many popular works under his name.

#ShortFilmMV (EN)  #MusicVideo (EN)
How Much Longer - NUM KALA
51,034,868 views	Premiered Sep 3, 2020			SHARE	SAVE +

♥*♡∞:｡.｡"How much longer until I get to become an important person in your heart?" ｡.｡:∞♡*♥ 

Comments
This set of short films and music videos is about two middle school friends, Pat (Non) and Prim (Meimei), who were brought together through their mutual love of music. Their relationship slowly builds up as they co-write a song together, but one day, Prim disappears. Not being able to forget her, Pat continues to search for her through the internet.  Please watch the prequel music video, That Someone, followed by the short film version, and then the music video to see the ending. The song playing at the beginning of the short film version is called Wind.
The theme of this short film focuses on first love, friendship, and music. First love is usually looked back on with really fond memories, and we see Pat reluctant to let go of Prim during their time apart. This leads him to continue to search for Prim. The music was used as a form of nostalgia as replaying old songs would bring back the feelings related to those memories, such as when Pat missed Prim.
I would turn this into an 8 - 10 episode drama at 45 minutes each. This is another fairly simple plot. However, I can see many different ways that the script can be changed to highlight specific themes and tell a unique message despite its simplicity. My personal preference is a focus on friendship and music and then bringing in a slow-burn romance. We know that there's more to Prim's story than what meets the eye from the short film. This will give it more of an opportunity to dive into her struggles and how it affects her.  Non and Meimei are new to my radar. From these videos, they seem to showcase great chemistry together. If this were to be turned into a drama, I would like to see them play these roles again. I can see this being picked up by GMM as they have more youth-centered dramas and utilize younger actors and actresses. I actually have yet to see any recent Thai youth-centered dramas; however, this short film reminds me of Suckseed, a film about youths and their story about friendship and music. In fact, the team behind Suckseed would be a great asset to pick from when working on this potential project, especially Director/Screenwriter Moo.

#ShortFilmMV (EN) #MusicVideo (EN)
Dok Fah - LABANOON「Official MV」
62,095,210 views	Premiered Jan 7, 2021			SHARE	SAVE +

▸✼ ┈┈┈┈ ✼ ◂"I will gladly accept the pain and say goodbye to you with tears in my eyes."▸✼ ┈┈┈┈ ✼ ◂

Comments
In the short film, there are two lifetimes set in the 1950s and 2020. The story starts in 2020 with Weir and Mint as close friends who grew up together in the orphanage. Mint remembers their past life in the 1950s after finding a whistle in an antique store. Mint presents the whistle to Weir in hopes he will remember their past, but he doesn't. She gifts him the whistle in hopes that it will trigger his memories so that he will fulfill the promise that he made her in their past life. In 1950, Mint played Botan, a pretty mute girl who comes from a well-off family. Her father tries to get her married off by setting up meetings with potential suitors. However, not knowing that she's mute, every time the suitor asks for her name, they get repulsed and turn her down. Weir portrays the shoe shiner/servant in the story.  I recommend watching the short film version first and then go to the music video to see the ending of their story.
The music video has pretty aesthetics as the short film is set in the 1950s, so we get to see Mint dress up in some pretty outfits with more dated buildings and props. Flowers were used as a symbol for the theme of true beauty and love. Mint/Botan uses the flower to ask for acceptance for who she is to the suitors, and they would set the flowers down, denying her "flaw" in being mute. Flowers are used as a means to accept someone for who they truly are, and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We see flowers get offered and passed back and forth between the two leads.
If this short film was to be turned into a drama, I think 10 episodes with 1.15 hours in length can sufficiently tell the story without dragging it too long. I'd like to see the theme of true beauty being a highlight of the show instead of just focusing on the romance. Both leads have their own flaws in the 1950s as Mint is mute and Weir has a lower status than her. They both hold insecurities about themselves, but through comforting one another, they fell in love. The direction of the drama would be unique if Mint's character is the main focus, and we see her grow into a strong female lead. Through the right hands of a scriptwriter, this could be a beautiful, heartbreaking drama that empowers the viewers to view beauty differently.   The 1950 portion of the short film music video slightly reminds me of the Chinese drama, The Little Nyonya. Both of the female leads are mute, and they fall in love with a man with a status lower than them. I have yet to see a Thai drama that really focuses on having a disability/disorder from a lead character that's not centered around an accident and revenge trope. I think Ch 3 would have the capability to create a beautiful 1950s set, as we have seen from their previous works of Wanida and the popular Khun Chai series. Mint is quite new to the industry, and if she were to continue her role in a potential drama adaptation, it might be difficult for her to present the more complex and emotional scenes. However, Weir is a seasoned actor and can easily portray the role as a servant and the internal conflicts of this character. I think the team behind Padiwarada and Peung Pang would give direction to this potential project. Padiwarada was able to tell a good story through the strengths of the female lead, while Peung Pang captured the emotions and experiences of each character perfectly.

What are your picks for Thai MVs that could be a film or drama?