"Nghia Que" Mai Chau: One-time cinema beauty, U100 lives peacefully with her children and grandchildren

(Dan Tri) - At the age of nearly 100 - after having gone through the years of bombs and bullets, the hardships of war or the glory of a revolutionary cinema era - Meritorious Artist Mai Chau is living a simple, quiet life.

The beautiful Vinh city bourgeois girl and her fateful love with a Hanoi boy

We visited Meritorious Artist Mai Chau at her private home, where the veteran artist lives with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The cozy, tidy room bears the imprints of her life: Arranged chronologically are documentary photos from when she was a beautiful young woman in Vinh city, photos taken with film crews, and a few decorative items. All are milestones and memories of a golden period that has passed…

We were received by Ms. Vu Phuong Lan - youngest daughter of Meritorious Artist Mai Chau.

Mrs. Mai Chau is now nearly 100 years old, her health is somewhat weaker, she cannot walk or talk much. However, she is still very clear-headed, when Ms. Lan introduced Dan Tri reporter to visit and talk, she smiled kindly.

Holding a cup of warm tea on a chilly spring day, Lan placed it in her mother's hand and enthusiastically told her about her life - a girl from Nghe An.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau - from a beautiful young woman who left her family to join the revolution, from there participated in artistic activities, then became a movie beauty, to a successful businesswoman... and above all, a loving mother and grandmother - appears vividly.

It is a portrait of a woman, a former famous actress - beautiful but not at all fickle.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau.

The beautiful Vinh city bourgeois girl and her fateful love with a Hanoi boy

Mai Chau was born in 1927 in a family with a very famous and wealthy business tradition in Vinh city, Nghe An . As a young girl, Mai Chau was famous for her intelligence and beauty - a noble and luxurious beauty.

At the age of 16, she once made a foreign tycoon so infatuated that he came to her house to ask for her hand in marriage. The rich man, carrying a dowry full of gold and silver, was willing to take her abroad to live a royal life. However, instead of being moved, she… ran away through the back door.

Then, the August Revolution of 1945 created a major turning point in the life of Miss Mai Chau. That was when her family was mobilized by the government to demolish their house, in order to implement the policy of "empty house and empty garden".

This was also the time she met Mr. Vu Ky Lan in the army marching south to participate in the campaign - when demolishing her house.

He was an elegant, intellectual young man, educated in a Western school, the youngest son in a bourgeois family in Yen Ninh street, Hanoi.

"My parents' love blossomed during the war years. From then on, she began to join the women's national salvation force and then the Vinh city self-defense force, volunteering to join the "ambulance" team on the front line of the battlefield.

When she followed the art troupe to serve the army, he was a soldier - a soldier living in a time of great turmoil. He was not a man of flowery words but was a delicate and responsible man. Wherever he was, whatever his position, he always gave her the smallest attention.

We heard my mother tell us about the days when they first met. My father did not rush to court her like other men. He patiently and quietly watched her, advised her in her work, and gave her absolute respect," Lan confided.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau at the age of 18.

The road to the symbol of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema

They quickly became husband and wife when Mai Chau was only 19 years old. A beautiful, wealthy girl from a wealthy family in Vinh city married a "bourgeois" revolutionary soldier who had nothing in hand, except the ideal of fighting to protect the Fatherland.

At first, Mai Chau's family did not agree. Her mother criticized Mr. Lan for being poor: "Our family is a big bourgeoisie, why would we let our daughter marry a soldier?". Although she did not argue with her mother, Mai Chau did not care about those differences. To her, love is not a calculation, it cannot be measured by money or family background.

Finally, the family had to give in… A simple wedding took place - no extravagance, no fanfare - but it was a perfect start to a love that would last a lifetime.

Mrs. Mai Chau once told her children and grandchildren that her husband was handsome, elegant, intellectual and had revolutionary ideals. She married him because of that, and although his life had gone through many ups and downs, he and his wife never had to think or regret.

The road to the symbol of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema

The married life of Mrs. Mai Chau and Mr. Vu Ky Lan was not a peaceful life but a companionship of two people with the same aspirations and noble revolutionary ideals.

In December 1945, Mai Chau and her husband joined the army marching south. In 1946, she worked as secretary to General Nguyen Son (uncle of Vu Ky Lan), who was then Chairman of the Administrative Resistance Committee of South Vietnam, Commander and Political Commissar of Inter-Zone 4.

In 1947, Mai Chau had a chance to work with the theater, as an actress of the Frontline Drama Troupe - one of the first generation of actors - originating from cultural soldiers on the battlefield.

She joined the Liberation Army Propaganda Group to serve the soldiers on all southern battlefields against French colonialism.

And then, since then, cinema came to Mai Chau as a destiny. In 1956, she was assigned to the Cinema Drama Group, participating in dubbing foreign films.

When the Vietnam Cinema School opened the first Actor Training class, she and some colleagues participated in the audition and were selected as official actors of the Vietnam Feature Film Studio.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau in the movies "Chi Tu Hau" (left) and "Let's Get Married Again".

From here, she participated in Chung mot dong song (1959) - the first work of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema.

After this role, Mai Chau quickly affirmed her name and continued to appear in a series of famous films: Construction Girl (1960), Sister Tu Hau (1963), Let's Get Married Again (1964).

In particular, the main role of Le My in the film The Battle Still Continues (1966) is an unforgettable mark of Vietnamese cinema.

Ms. Lan once heard her mother say that the 1970s and 1980s were the golden, vibrant period of revolutionary cinema with the highest passion and enthusiasm of the artists.

Together with the actors who graduated from the first and second classes of the Vietnam Film School, Ms. Mai Chau played about 30 roles, big and small, in feature films and videos . Some of her works have become classic documents in the history of the Vietnam Feature Film Studio.

With her elegant, noble beauty and unique voice, creativity and life experience, especially seriousness in acting, Mai Chau has portrayed impressive characters.

The audience cannot forget the stingy and scheming Mrs. Nghi Que in Chi Dau , the scheming Mrs. Pho Doan in Sao Thang Tam , Ba Kien's wife in Vu Dai Village of that time, or the Queen Mother - a powerful but calculating woman - in Long Tri Festival Night ...

In the past, when she was still healthy, every time someone asked Meritorious Artist Mai Chau about the villain roles she had played, she often shared that people liked to play positive roles, but she was always assigned evil, scheming roles. However, playing a villain also has its own hardships.

She once told people: "Good acting is not about playing a good or bad role, but about making the character have a soul, so that the audience remembers it."

And indeed, mentioning Meritorious Artist Mai Chau - deeply engraved in the minds of audiences of many generations - is the symbol of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema with sharp, memorable roles.

Mai Chau in the movies "Chi Dau" (left) and "Vu Dai Village in the Past".

However, Mai Chau is not only in villain roles. She is also a kind grandmother and mother in films such as Cua De Danh, Bi Dung So.

In these roles, she transformed into a completely different image: warm, hard-working, carrying the real experiences of a woman who has gone through many ups and downs in life.

Not the one who has acted in the most films, but to her family, children and many people, Meritorious Artist Mai Chau is still one of the actors who left the deepest impression in the hearts of the audience.

Her life is one of constant work, always eager to learn, serious and dedicated in every job, always giving her all, guiding colleagues and even the smallest task must achieve the highest quality.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau's role in The Fight Still Continues was so excellent that she received a certificate of merit from the Minister of Public Security.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau acted until she was over 80 years old, with her last film Bi Dung So. At that time, her health was no longer as before, her children were also worried so they advised her to stop. However, for the female artist, giving up acting was too difficult.

"Even now, at nearly 100 years old, my mother still remembers every movie, scene and role she was involved in. My mother once said that if she could go back, she would still choose cinema, and would still live and die for the profession. Because that is her life," Lan emotionally shared.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau and People's Artist Le Khanh (middle) in the movie "Hanoi People".

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau: Beautiful but not fickle

People often say that beauty is ill-fated, but with Meritorious Artist Mai Chau, it is the opposite. In her marriage with Mr. Vu Ky Lan - one is an artist, the other is a soldier - but there has never been a distance between them.

He always respected her work, never showed jealousy or blamed her for her roles on screen. To Ms. Mai Chau, Mr. Vu Ky Lan was not only a life partner but also a confidant.

During the most difficult years, he stood behind her to support her so she could devote herself to art.

"My father was also often away from home, and my mother single-handedly raised her children through war and extremely difficult times for the country. When the country entered the renovation period, in addition to working as an actress, my mother was also the owner of the Mai Chau Wedding Dress chain, which bore her name, famous in Hanoi, since the 1980s," said Ms. Lan.

To date, Meritorious Artist Mai Chau can no longer act in films, attend honoring ceremonies or meet former colleagues. Currently, she enjoys the rest of her life the way she wants: gently and peacefully.

Mrs. Mai Chau lives with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - a family of four generations. Her children and grandchildren take great care of her, but she never wants to bother anyone. She still does what she can.

When she was still healthy, she still told her children: "Growing old and weak is the law of nature, the important thing is to accept it happily."

She can eat, sleep, and is just a little hard of hearing. In addition, her memory is still sharp, she still remembers every movie she acted in, every line on screen.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau and children.

Those who have seen Mai Chau in movies, will probably think that in real life she is also fierce and formidable. The truth is the opposite: She is very gentle, tolerant and loves her children and grandchildren.

Ms. Lan said: "My mother went dancing until she was 85 years old, rain or shine. She loved beauty, loved fun, but was also very clear and optimistic in her thinking. When my mother was sick, she didn't want anyone to visit because she didn't want people to see her when she was weak and haggard."

Even though she is almost 100 years old, she still takes care of herself. Her skin is still bright, and her nails are carefully trimmed by her children.

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau's life, in the end, was complete: A brilliant career, a warm family and a peaceful old age. She was a talented actress. She also owned timeless roles, which have been recognized by cinema history and audiences.

In response to the question of why her children did not make a proposal to award her the title of People's Artist, Ms. Lan said: "To her, there is something more precious - the love of the audience and the respect of those in the profession."

Ms. Lan added: "My mother never cared about this title, she had only one wish: "When she dies, she just needs to be beautiful."

To us, our mother is a monument in the hearts of her children and grandchildren for a life of dedication, always holding her head high, living optimistically in any circumstances. To the audience, it is love, care and recognition. To those in the profession, it is respect and admiration. That is enough!

She once told her children and grandchildren about her last wish: "When I pass away, I want the photo on my tombstone to be beautiful and fresh, and the inscription must be: "Actress - Meritorious Artist Mai Chau" (her real name is Mai Thi Chau - PV)".

Meritorious Artist Mai Chau's advice seemed gentle but contained many thoughts. Because she had lived a brilliant life and she wanted the ending to be beautiful, without sadness or sorrow.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giai-tri/nghi-que-mai-chau-my-nhan-dien-anh-mot-thoi-u100-binh-yen-ben-con-chau-20250312093029122.htm