Thai Grandma star agreed to Singaporean director’s debut film even without a completed script

SINGAPORE – There was an instant affinity between Thai actress Usha Seamkhum and Singaporean film-maker Jason Lee.

Perhaps it is because they share the same birthday. She turns 80 on Feb 1, while he will be 30.

The septuagenarian, best known for her moving debut performance in the hit Thai tearjerker How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024), readily agreed to star in Lee’s debut feature A Good Fortune, which opens in Singapore cinemas on Jan 29.

Usha tells The Straits Times via an interpreter on Jan 27 at Estuary Restaurant & Bar that she was pleasantly surprised to be invited to be part of the cast.

It was Lee’s sincerity and passion that moved her to say yes, she says. She had met him over a meal at a restaurant in Siam Square in Bangkok in May 2025, after receiving his direct message on Instagram.

Despite Lee having not completed his script and being an unknown director, Usha says she was convinced to lend him her support, even if it was for a small role.

In A Good Fortune, Usha plays a Thai pineapple plantation owner who wants to relinquish her property through a pineapple tart-making contest.

The Mandarin romantic comedy revolves around Kai Xin (Xixi Lim), who flees across the Causeway with her mother (Liu Lingling) to hide from loansharks.

Kai Xin reunites with her former classmate Zi Hao (Wang Weiliang) and, together, they enter the contest in an attempt to change their fortunes.

Lee says he lucked out in landing Usha, admitting that her presence elevated the film’s profile.

The thought of having Usha in his film was random. He was in Bangkok for a holiday and, on a whim, decided to try his luck on Instagram (she has over 70,000 followers), not even knowing if she would see his text.

“I’m just very thankful that she replied to my message,” says Lee.

Throughout the whirlwind 11-day shoot in Malaysia and Singapore, Lee doubled as Usha’s interpreter. He had taken Thai language as an elective subject for five semesters while pursuing sociology and economics at the National University of Singapore.

Usha has come to call Lee her “grandson”, as they bonded over meals and time spent together whenever she was in Singapore to discuss the film.

A Good Fortune is her second big-screen outing after How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, which was 2024’s box-office champion in her home country and earned nearly US$50 million (S$63 million) globally. She went on to win Best Actress at the Suphannahong Awards, Thailand’s national film awards, in September 2025.

She says people have asked to take photos with her whenever she is in town, and she is thankful for the recognition.

Lee has been making short films since he was 17. One of his recent works was Friday No. 2 in Homebound (2024), an anthology of five short films celebrating stories of resilience, hope and healing surrounding shelter dogs in Singapore.

A Good Fortune had a production budget of $700,000 and took about six months to complete, from scriptwriting to post-production.

Leading lady Lim, 38, was impressed by Lee’s ability to run a tight ship and control the oft-times chaotic set.

The comedienne-actress-influencer says she chose to support him, seeing it as helping someone through their “first”, the way others once helped her.

“For a young first-timer, Jason has done a very good job. He is very receptive to feedback and yet is confident and clear about his vision,” she adds.

Lim says she would love to work with him again – under one condition. “He needs to get a proper scriptwriter to write the dialogue. I had to rephrase my own lines, as they were clearly written in English then translated into Chinese,” she says with a laugh.