Thanh Hoi - Ai Nhu: Heart and Love from Stage to Screen

Ai Nhu and Thanh Hoi acted together again, but it was not a stage production but a movie. In the movie, they played two old people who loved each other, a true love that lasted for decades.

Thanh Hoi and Ai Nhu at the premiere of the movie "Battering: Mother's Birthday" - Photo: Producer

On the big screen in the movie "Pha Bang: Sinh Nhat Me" , the two artists Ai Nhu - Thanh Hoi have a good chemistry in the roles of Mrs. Tam and Mr. Tinh. Ai Nhu plays Mrs. Tam - the main role with a rather heavy mentality, a mother full of sacrifice, loving her child but also imposing and making him suffocate. Meanwhile, Thanh Hoi plays Sac Lo Tinh - a humorous role and becomes the "hero" at the right time to save the "beauty".

Thanh Hoi: Every time I feel discouraged, I remember one thing...

Currently, Hoang Thai Thanh Theater performs seasonally, performing for a few months and then taking a break. Meritorious Artist Thanh Hoi - theater director - has time to relax and travel with his family. When he doesn't have to worry about going on stage every weekend, he devotes himself to the script.

The audience is now divided into quite clear segments, not 100% but each stage in Ho Chi Minh City has its own audience group. Therefore, Thanh Hoi said he must understand what his audience wants, if he does not do it right, they will not come. But Hoang Thai Thanh's audience is very "difficult", serious and knowledgeable.

Artist Thanh Hoi in the role of Sac Lo Tinh, one of his gentle roles - Photo: DPCC

Once in a play, there was a role of a scholar teaching his students a poem by Nguyen Trai, there was a line Thanh Hoi had the actors say: "A herd of skinny horses, lacking a shepherd". The very next day, a teacher commented that it was not a "herd" but a "lady", Nguyen Trai was poor and could only raise one "skinny horse".

Talking to Tuoi Tre, artist Thanh Hoi confided: "No theater wants to make a bad play, no film director wants to make a bad film. But each script, each work has a destiny. Hoang Thai Thanh's goal is to bring people closer together, help people love each other, and warm their souls."

And that's when he thinks art and culture come into play. A song, a piece of writing, a play, a movie can do that.

Artist Thanh Hoi's greatest wish is to contribute to making life more beautiful. If there are sad audiences who come home from the play and find life worth living, he will be very happy.

"In a press conference, I shared that opening a stage costs a lot, draining my energy and finances. In front of the audience, I wondered if I had done something meaningless in the past ten years.

At that time, an audience member stood up and said that he had considered committing suicide twice, but thanks to going to see the play at Hoang Thai Thanh, he continued to live and is now living very well. Thanks to that, I realized that I have not done meaningless work in the past ten years. Whenever I am sad or discouraged, I remember this story" - he confided.

Coming to cinema this time through Pha bang: Sinh nhat me , artist Thanh Hoi said he played the role of Sac Lo Tinh lightly, just for fun. "Like a one liter glass, I only poured 200ml" - he compared his acting ability.

Ai Nhu contemplates 16 years of Hoang Thai Thanh

A source of inspiration for director Thanh Binh to make the movie "Praise the Party: Mother's Birthday" was the opera " The Rose on the Shirt" with the theme of motherly love.

The works " The Rose Pinned on the Shirt" originate from a short story by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh to the immortal music of musician Pham The My, a reformed opera by composer Hoang Kham for the Thanh Minh troupe and a play by the Kim Cuong troupe, later re-produced by the Hoang Thai Thanh stage and starring artist Ai Nhu.

Trailer Crashing Mom's Birthday

Crashing: Mother's Birthday, although a different story from The Rose on the Lapel , is still true to the humanitarian message that Hoang Thai Thanh stage always pursues. To play the role of mother - Mrs. Tam on the big screen, artist Ai Nhu did not repeat the mother roles she played on stage. Each mother is different, each role she finds a new way to express.

Mrs. Tam has high hopes for her son Y Duc (played by Tran Kim Hai), hoping that he will become a doctor. For Ai Nhu, if Y Duc was just a medical worker, it would still be a decent job and useful to society, but Mrs. Tam only sees the glitter of the medical profession. "When Mrs. Tam does not see herself as wrong, the audience sees Mrs. Tam as wrong" - the artist analyzed.

In real life, Ai Nhu does not impose on her children but suggests them some areas. In her family, parents and children have sympathy from a young age, the generation gap is not too big.

Talking to Tuoi Tre, artist Ai Nhu happily mentioned her two children who have both worked with her mother to manage the Hoang Thai Thanh stage. The eldest daughter, Hoai Nhu, worked with her for more than 10 years on stage and is now a master of psychology. Although no longer working on stage, Hoai Nhu still comes to watch and support her mother's works.

Cong Hien's son graduated from English and communications and is now a stage and communications manager. Cong Hien also writes scripts and designs lighting, recently directed the play Run to Yesterday, and will soon be the assistant director of the play Trai Tim Oan Khoc at Hoang Thai Thanh.

Artist Ai Nhu talks with Tuoi Tre - Photo: LE GIANG

2010 was when Hoang Thai Thanh stage started its journey, and now it is 2025 with many changes in society and art culture.

Artist Ai Nhu said: "Those 16 years are 16 years that we have always tried to send the audience spiritual food that always makes them satisfied. That satisfaction will spread to the audience who have not yet come to the stage. There are many people who come home from work and just turn on the TV, not wanting to go to the stage in the rain and wind, that is reasonable.

So how do we make those spiritual dishes still have the quality as Hoang Thai Thanh initially described so that we can attract the audience? If to attract the audience, we do things that are not our strengths, then we should not. Each person has their own strengths, each stage has its own soul."

"Artists, there's no need to retire"

Artist Ai Nhu has been in the profession for over 40 years, choosing the stage instead of other paths that are "more spacious and have more fragrant flowers and strange grasses". As one of the two founders of Hoang Thai Thanh stage, she promised herself to "persevere" as long as she can and to do her best.

Thanh Hoi, the other co-founder of Hoang Thai Thanh, said when asked about "resting": "We have not rested yet. Of course there is a successor generation in stage management, but as long as we are strong, we will continue to work. We are artists, there is no need to retire. Only when our health conditions no longer allow it or we become confused."

Thanh Hoi tells the story of artist Diep Lang - a giant of Vietnamese theater. Many years ago, Thanh Hoi wanted to invite artist Diep Lang back to the stage and went to meet him in person. He replied that he could act but "couldn't remember the play anymore." That was when the artist agreed to stop.

The stage is the training ground for Vietnamese cinema.

Vietnamese theater has long been the "cradle" providing many actors of many generations for Vietnamese cinema, many of whom became famous thanks to cinema.

Artist Thanh Hoi said this is a trend. All artists desire to be famous. A stage performance is known by 200-300 people, while a successful movie is known by millions to tens of millions of people. Movie audiences will greet actors enthusiastically, while stage audiences are quieter, only shaking hands and greeting them lightly.

"But to be good at the profession, actors should have performed on stage. The stage is like a vocational training ground," he said.

LE GIANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thanh-hoi-ai-nhu-tam-va-tinh-tu-san-khau-den-man-anh-20251030093542742.htm