Just weeks after his successful Rynn’s 1st concert in Malaysia, fans will get to see Taiwan-based Malaysian singer-songwriter Rynn Lim Yee Chung in action again. This time, he stars in his second TV drama Sourire Pour Moi, playing the male lead, Yu Zhong.
Sarawakian Lim plays a has-been musician who doesn’t think much of non-mainstream music-makers.
“To him, great musicians are those who produce albums and deal in popular music. Unfortunately, his songs are also fast losing popularity and his albums don’t sell as well.”
“My character is a washed-up musician who is also a loser in love. He cannot forget Jojo, his ex-girlfriend (played by Josephine Goh). Troubled by his failed relationship followed by a bad patch in his career, he goes to Langkawi for a break.
“There he meets happy-go-lucky Crystal, who falls for him and tries her best to help him get over his blues. Then he bumps into Jojo and rediscovers lost love,” says Lim.
In 2006, Lim starred in his first drama The Beginning (Yuan Dian), playing the male lead Tie Dong Liang, also known as Tie Tou (Iron Head). Jointly produced by Malaysia’s Media Prima and Singapore’s MediaCorp Studios, it reportedly broke the record for the highest rating for a local TV drama, with 1.1 million viewers, when it aired on ntv7 from October to November that year.
Compared to The Beginning, Lim says the filming for Sourire Pour Moi was more laidback. “The pressure was tremendous then as that was my first drama and shooting schedules were really tight. Moreover, The Beginning had 30 episodes and I had more screen time.”
“This drama was comparably more relaxed to shoot because there was absolutely no script. Director Hor (Chee Leong) uses different methods and prefers a more spontaneous approach. We never knew what would come because he would tell us what he required just before the shoot. That caused a bit of stress but it’s only for a while and is easily forgotten after a scene was completed.”
Since Lim loves swimming, did he get to spend more time in the sea? “A little bit, though not entirely. I was glad when I learnt that the drama would be filmed in Langkawi. I was looking forward to taking a relaxing break and dreaming of sun, sea and sand.”
That didn’t happen, though. As with all the actors, he had to be on standby. “We couldn’t just run off and play in the sand or take a dip in the sea. So we sat around and played cards or other games while we waited for the director to decide on the next scene.”
They filmed every day for almost two weeks and finished quite late at night, and the actors had to get up at five every morning so cameras could start rolling by six. “It was quite tiring. I hardly had time for anything else. I remember one evening while we were waiting, I sat in the toilet and wrote a song.”
This was the first time Rynn worked with the cast and crew of the drama. He was initially a bit concerned as most of his scenes (quite romantic ones, too) were with the girls.
“Although I play lovers with Jojo, I had more scenes with Crystal, since most of the drama revolved around my time on the island with the bubbly and mischievous gal. With Jojo, there were more awkward moments of ex-lovers meeting again. And a lot of the scenes with her were in the past and told in flashback,” says Lim.
The drama apparently has several kissing scenes featuring Lim with both girls.
However, a more memorable scene for him is the one in which he has an argument with Jojo, which ends up with him getting struck in the face several times.
“The director wanted it to look genuine and natural, so she slapped me real hard. And since we needed different camera angles, I was slapped four times. My face swelled up and there was a ringing in my ear all night.
“I’d never been slapped by anyone in my life, not even when I was a kid. And, she did it four times, so she owes me four meals,” he quips.
Lim wrote and sang the theme song Shi Fen Yan Se (Absolute Colour), which he unveiled at his concert last month. He’s also been busy preparing for his next album and reveals that he has something fresh planned.
“I’ve written a reggae song that I’d like to include in my new album. I really like reggae; I always have. However, the albums I’ve made were mostly of sentimental ballads and R&B songs. So, I’d like to have one or two reggae tunes in my new album.”
Sourire Pour Moi will air every Saturday at 7pm on Astro AEC (Channel 301) starting tomorrow. Repeats will air on Sundays at 3.30pm, Mondays at 3pm, Tuesdays at 10am and Saturdays on 10am.
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