Dan Tri reporter made an appointment with People's Artist Lan Huong on an autumn afternoon in Hanoi, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Capital Liberation Day.
Still with those round, black, expressive eyes, People's Artist Lan Huong at the age of 10 seemed to be returning and telling us about her memories of Hanoi Baby, about the summer of Hanoi in 1973.
“I strive tirelessly to keep the name “Hanoi Baby”
Half a century has passed since the film "Hanoi Baby" was released, many people are still curious, how did People's Artist Lan Huong come to this role and get involved with the 7th art?
– My maternal grandfather was in a theater troupe. I also grew up in a film studio when my maternal grandfather and grandmother worked there. My paternal uncle, Meritorious Artist Luu Xuan Thu, was an actor before switching to filmmaking…
Then my mother, if she didn't pass the entrance exam to the University of Science and Technology, would study printing or do some work in a film studio like the family's traditional profession.
At that time, I often took photos for film classes, gradually exposed to movies and liked them very much. And perhaps because of that, the love of cinema was instilled in me from a young age, when I was only 3-4 years old.
At that time, many veteran directors like Ms. Bach Diep and Ms. Duc Hoan who studied in Russia really liked me and many times invited me to act in movies, but my grandparents did not agree.
When I was 6-7 years old, Ms. Duc Hoan was excited to let me play the role of Ty in the movie Chi Dau . However, for some reasons, the movie was postponed. I still remember, from the moment she met me, Ms. Duc Hoan called me "divine" and commented that I had a very cinematic face.
People also often call me "Cosette" (the orphan girl in the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - Editor's note).
Director Hai Ninh (People's Artist Hai Ninh - PV) has been a close friend of my family for a long time. One time, he came to my grandmother's house to visit and kept staring at me. He told my grandmother: "This girl has beautiful eyes, sad eyes - very cinematic. She will be a good actress in the future!"
Until 1972, he wrote a movie script called An Duong Baby , later changed to Kham Thien Baby , but still found it not representative, so he finally changed the name for the third time to Hanoi Baby. At that time, he remembered and aimed at me - the little girl with sad eyes at that time - to play the role of Hanoi Baby. At that time, I was 10 years old and had returned to live with my mother.
Around January 1973, he came to my house to persuade my mother to let me audition, but she strongly objected. She did not like it and thought that acting was a lowly profession, with glory and praise when young, but loneliness when old. My mother just wanted me to do something stable and secure until old age.
Finally, People's Artist Hai Ninh had to persuade my mother for a long time before she agreed to let me audition. In her eyes, I was a shy and weak girl, so she thought that even if I tried, I would fail the role.
I remember the day I was cast, standing in front of the camera, I got into character and talked a lot. I talked quickly about my passion for cinema and my dream of becoming famous like Ms. Tra Giang (People's Artist Tra Giang - PV) when she had just finished filming Parallel 17 Days and Nights . I also told you how, when I was only 5 years old, I watched the movies: Quiet Flows the Don, War and Peace...
My mother was very surprised because at home, even if I was forced to speak, I would not talk. That is why I was nicknamed “clam” since I was little. I passed the first round of the preliminary round so naturally.
In the second round, when I met Uncle Thế Dân (NSND Thế Dân – PV), who was the cameraman for Em bé Hà Nội at that time, he said that I was not as beautiful on screen as I was in real life. He said that I looked very “Western” in real life but different in the film. Uncle Hải Ninh heard that and immediately dismissed it, saying that the children at that time were so rustic and shabby, and if they were beautiful, their features would not match.
Half a month later, I was not called, the whole family thought I had missed the role. My mother also tried to cut my long hair down to my ears to have an excuse that I was not suitable for the role of a Hanoi girl. At that time, my hair was hip-length, whether braided on both sides or tied up high, it still looked beautiful.
The day the crew finalized the role, Mr. Hai Ninh came to my house and "almost fainted" when he saw that my long hair was gone, while the character of the Hanoi girl at that time was braided in two pigtails and wearing a straw hat.
Until one day when I came home from school, I saw Uncle Hai Ninh sitting in the house talking to my mother. He firmly said: “I will wait for half a month, let your hair grow long and then film”. However, my mother still firmly refused.
Later, there was a handwritten letter from Mr. Tran Duy Hung - Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee - sent to my mother, with the general idea that this was a commemorative film about Hanoi and the film crew saw that only Lan Huong had the ability to play that role, at this time she changed her decision.
However, my mother set a condition that I could only act in this one movie.
Playing the role of “Hanoi Baby” at the age of 10, People’s Artist Lan Huong played the role in a divine way, as if “possessed”. Surely after 5 decades, there are many stories from filming that still haunt you and make you unable to forget?
– I remember clearly, in December 1972, when the US sent B52s to bomb Hanoi, I was only 9 years old, living with my grandparents on Hoang Hoa Tham street.
I don’t know what the memories of those days are like for other 9-year-olds, but mine were filled with fear. I still remember the first night the US dropped bombs. It was so sudden, my whole family only had time to see the rain of bombs, the rumbling of lightning, then the screams, the cries, the howls coming from all over the streets.
My family frantically rushed to the personal shelter. Early the next morning, the whole family evacuated to Binh Da. The city was devastated and in ruins. Everywhere there were cries and horror. Every day the American B52s temporarily stopped bombing, we all breathed a sigh of relief…
The movie Hanoi Baby was filmed in June-July 1973, about half a year after the Dien Bien Phu in the air battle, so many places had not yet been cleared.
In the film, there was a scene where I was walking around bomb craters looking for a house while the film crew was somewhere else, the camera was hanging on a crane far away. I was alone there, surrounded by silence, desolation, and ruins.
From the real horror memories of the winter bombing in 1972, I acted out that scene with all my fear. Thinking back, I'm still scared.
Another scene that scared and haunted me was the scene where a car was moving and I was running parallel to the wheel. People standing outside watching me act couldn't help but shiver because even though the car was moving slowly, an accident could have happened in a split second. Luckily, I was safe and was praised for the scene because it was so well acted.
Any happy memories such as salary, receiving fame at a young age... when acting in "Em Be Ha Noi", can People's Artist Lan Huong share?
– The movie was a long time ago so I don’t remember exactly how much I was paid at that time, my mother received it and kept it. I only know that after finishing the movie, my mother bought me a bicycle to go to school and a pretty fancy watch from my movie salary.
I still remember the excitement at that time. Every time I went to film, there was a car just to pick me up, and there was even a person in charge of buying me whatever I wanted to eat, instead of eating the same portion as everyone else in the film crew.
Knowing that I like ice cream, a thermos of ice cream was always prepared. The film was filmed for a whole year, so to ensure my studies, on the days I missed school to go to filming, the teacher would come to my house to help me with extra cultural lessons.
Because I was so into filming, there were many days when I had asthma attacks. But when I heard someone from the film crew come and announce that the filming was over, I immediately recovered.
Being famous and acting at a young age made me feel very “cool”. In class, my friends would ask me questions, I was happy and also… very pretentious (laughs).
There was also a story that people were gossiping about, saying that the girl who played the role of the Hanoi baby died of heart disease, asthma, etc. while I was standing right next to her (laughs).
Exactly 50 years later, when mentioning People’s Artist Lan Huong, the audience still only remembers a pure “Hanoi Baby” in the middle of the desolate Hanoi at that time. And many people also think that she was “killed” in that very first role – when she was only 10 years old?
– Many people ask me if I feel sad? On the contrary, I appreciate that the audience still calls me Lan Huong “Little Hanoi”. It is not only a matter of time but also a process and an artistic path I have gone through.
In the life of an actor, everyone wants to have a role of a lifetime and wants the audience to call their name by that role. If that happens, I find it happiness and luck.
I have worked tirelessly for many years for the name “Hanoi Baby” and to keep the name “Hanoi Baby”.
And I also think, without my marks and successes on the artistic path, the name "Hanoi Baby" would not have been so profound and stayed with me and the audience until today.
“I have worked tirelessly to keep the name “Hanoi Baby”.
“Hanoi is always special to me”
Hanoi during the years of the Dien Bien Phu in the air battle was a terrifying fear for People's Artist Lan Huong. And now, 70 years after the Liberation Day of the Capital, what is Hanoi like in your impression?
– To me, Hanoi is always special. In war or peace, Hanoi still has its own unique and inherent beauty.
70 years after Liberation Day, Hanoi seems to have "changed its skin" a lot with modern, civilized constructions but never lost its inherent heritage values.
Hoan Kiem Lake - the place associated with our childhood, sometimes we went to the lake shore to eat ice cream, the heart of the Capital - still retains that green color, still sacred like that.
Indeed, I have been to many places and found that Hanoi is still a secure capital, a city of peace.
The peaceful daily life of People's Artist Lan Huong.
So is "Hanoi Baby" Lan Huong then and now much different?
– Maybe the only difference is that I have more wrinkles on my face and I have gained weight (laughs). But I still feel like I have the same features as a Hanoi child, the same eyes and smile as before – many people can always feel it.
And especially still love cinema, love theater and art to the point of insanity.
Loving art and Hanoi so much, it seems that Lan Huong's love for Hanoi through her roles or as a director is not much. Is that something that makes you regret?
– It’s true that apart from the film Hanoi Baby , I haven’t done anything really big for Hanoi. I also want to make an official play about Hanoi, but I haven’t had the chance yet. I’m still waiting for an opportunity to come to me.
How is People's Artist Lan Huong's retired life?
– My life is just like everyone else’s. My salary is over 8 million VND and my husband’s (Meritorious Artist Tat Binh – PV) is 10.3 million VND, I just wait until the month to receive it. I eat and spend very simply, nothing fancy.
My husband often cooks for me. At this age, I like the smell of incense. I have no regrets, I just still wish, desire and wait to make another movie…
Thank you People's Artist Lan Huong for sharing!
Dantri.com.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giai-tri/nsnd-lan-huong-ke-noi-am-anh-khi-dong-em-be-ha-noi-nua-the-ky-truoc-20241010091555226.htm
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