Chai Lai is a 2006

2006 in film

- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...

 Thai

Cinema of Thailand

The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited...

 action film

Action film

Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...

 about five female top-secret crimefighters, each with the codename of a flower, Lotus

Lotus (plant)

Lotus identifies various plant taxa:* Nelumbo, a genus of aquatic plants with showy flowers** Nelumbo nucifera, the Sacred or Indian lotus** Nelumbo lutea, the American or Yellow lotus...

, Hibiscus

Hibiscus

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...

, Rose

Rose

A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...

, Spadix

Spadix

In botany, a spadix is a type of spike inflorescence having small flowers borne on a fleshy stem. Spadix are typical of the Family Araceae known as arums or aroids...

 and Crown of Thorns

Spurge

Euphorbia is a genus of plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. Consisting of 2008 species, Euphorbia is one of the most diverse genera in the plant kingdom, exceeded possibly only by Senecio. Members of the family and genus are sometimes referred to as Spurges...

. The premise is modelled after Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels (film)

Charlie's Angels is a 2000 American action comedy film directed by McG, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as three women working for a private investigation agency...

.

Plot

The five "Chai Lais" are tasked with foiling a kidnapping and keeping a mysterious, powerful "Pearl of the Andaman" out of the hands of a crime syndicate.

Cast

• Bongkoj Khongmalai
  Bongkoj Khongmalai
  Bongkoj Khongmalai , nickname "Tak" , is a Thai film actress. Films she has appeared in include Tom-Yum-Goong. She portrayed a young Thai woman forced into prostitution in Australia who comes to the aid of the film's hero, Tony Jaa. Alternate spellings of her name include Bongkot Kongmalai and...
  
   as Kulap (Rose)
• Supaksorn Chaimongkol
  Supaksorn Chaimongkol
  Supaksorn Chaimongkol on December 2, 1982, in Bangkok, Thailand is a Thai model and actress. Her nickname is Kratae .Her film roles include Kunpan: Legend of the Warlord, Art of the Devil and Andaman Girl, all under director Thanit Jitnukul.In 2007, she starred in the spy-action comedy, Chai Lai,...
  
   as Bua (Lotus)
• Jintara Poonlarp
  Jintara Poonlarp
  Jintara Poonlarp is a Thai mor lam, luk thung and pop music singer. She is one of the most popular and prolific of the artists in the mor lam and luk thung genres, having released 40 original albums as well as many compilations...
  
   as Chaba (Hibiscus)
• Kessarin Ektawatkul
  Kessarin Ektawatkul
  Kessarin Ektawatkul , nicknamed "Nui", is a Thai film actress. A former national champion in taekwondo, she has been featured in three martial arts films, Born to Fight, Dangerous Flowers and Somtum.-External links:...
  
   as Pouy-sian (Crown of Thorns)
• Bunyawan Pongsuwan as Na-wua (Spadix)
• Krit Sripoomsed as Chen
• Narawan Techaratanaprasert as Miki
• Nithichai Yotamornsunthorn Dragon
• Petchtai Wongkamlao
  Petchtai Wongkamlao
  Petchtai Wongkamlao, , is a Thai comedian, actor and film director. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Mum Jokmok ; and is a popular Thai television personality...
  
   as the Chai Lais' handler
• Wanasak Srilar as King Kong

Production

Director Poj Arnon acknowledged he was asked by Sahamongkol Film International

Sahamongkol Film International

Sahamongkol Film International Co. Ltd. is a Thai motion picture production and distribution company. It is the leading movie company in Thailand, ahead of GMM Grammy's GMM Tai Hub, Five Star Production and...

 to copy the style of Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...

, but that budgetary differences – 35 million baht compared to the US$92 million budget for the Charlie's Angels films

Charlie's Angels (film)

Charlie's Angels is a 2000 American action comedy film directed by McG, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as three women working for a private investigation agency...

and Thai styles of fighting (muay Thai

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

) make Chai Lai different.

One scene called for the actresses to wear only towels while fighting with the bad guys in a shopping mall.
To avoid any accidental exposure, they wore bikini

Bikini

The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...

s underneath the towels and had the towels taped to their chests. "But the towels still came off a few times," Bongkoj Khongmalai

Bongkoj Khongmalai

Bongkoj Khongmalai , nickname "Tak" , is a Thai film actress. Films she has appeared in include Tom-Yum-Goong. She portrayed a young Thai woman forced into prostitution in Australia who comes to the aid of the film's hero, Tony Jaa. Alternate spellings of her name include Bongkot Kongmalai and...

 told Channel NewsAsia.

The actresses sustained some bruises and scratches in the fight scenes, also during a diving sequence in Phuket

Phuket Province

Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...

 and when they were dressed in negligee

Negligee

The negligee is a form of women's clothing consisting of a sheer usually long dressing gown. It is a form of nightgown intended for wear at night and in the bedroom...

s.

Soundtrack

The closing-title song, "Chai Lai", performed by Jintara Poonlarp

Jintara Poonlarp

Jintara Poonlarp is a Thai mor lam, luk thung and pop music singer. She is one of the most popular and prolific of the artists in the mor lam and luk thung genres, having released 40 original albums as well as many compilations...

, is featured on Jintara's 2006 album, Mor lam sa on 12

Mor lam sa on 12

Mor lam sa on 12 is a mor lam and luk thung album by the Thai singer Jintara Poonlarp. Released in 2006 on the Master Tape label, it was the twelfth album in her second series of recordings, and her 38th original album....

.