HCM CITY — Young comic actor Huỳnh Lập set a new record when his parody film based on Vietnamese blockbuster Tấm Cám: Chuyện Chưa Kể (Tấm Cám: The Untold Story) earned three million views one day after appearing on YouTube.

“I have such great happiness,” said the 24-year-old, who has produced many successful comic plays on television and social media websites.

Released on May 8, Tấm Cám: Chuyện Huỳnh Lập Kế (Tấm Cám told by Huỳnh Lập) imitated Tấm Cám: Chuyện Chưa Kể, a work by female producer and director Ngô Thanh Vân released last August.

Vân invested more than VNĐ20 billion (US$900,000) to make the film, which was based on Tấm Cám, a fairy tale known as the Vietnamese version of Cinderella. It earned around VNĐ70 billion ($3.1 million) in ticket sales.  

“The movie inspired me,” said Lập, who played the stepmother in his film. “I asked Vân to allow me to make a parody based on her movie. Fortunately, I received her nod.”

It took several months for the actor and his colleagues to prepare for the work, including screenplay, costumes, filming and editing.

“I spent VNĐ2.5 billion ($111,000) to improve the quality in hopes of bringing joy to my fans and local audiences,” he said.

Tấm Cám: Chuyện Huỳnh Lập Kế has received thousands of positive comments from the media and the public.

Lâm Thanh Bình, who works at Saigon Hi-Tech Park, said: “Although the film is just for entertainment, it’s really excellent. It made me laugh with nice and funny quotes as well as clever comic details.”

YouTube viewer Hoàng Đại Huy agreed: “I couldn’t stop laughing. The film was excellent. And the members of the cast were beautiful and skilled.”

Lập invited famous comic actors, such as Nam Thư, Lê Giang, and Trịnh Minh Dũng, to work on the production.

“The parody shows my gratitude to my fans and local audiences, who have given me huge support in the last several years,” he said.

Born in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang, Lập showed off his acting skill when he was in high school.

After moving to HCM City to study at the city’s University of Theatre and Cinematography, he established a comic group called DAMtv (Design and Multimedia) in 2011.

The 10-member group has released 60 comic videos on YouTube. Its YouTube channel has over 1.2 million subscribers.

In the last two years, Lập’s fame rose after he won the artists-only version of Vĩnh Long Television’s popular reality show Cười Xuyên Việt (TransViet Laugh) in 2015.

One year later, he returned to the show as a judge.

After the win, senior actors, including Việt Hương and Trấn Thành, invited him to be director of their live shows, including Hương’s show in front of 10,000 people celebrating her 20th career anniversary.

Besides theatre, Lập is also involved in the film industry.

In 2016, he played a supporting role in directors Bảo Nhân and Nam Cito’s Gái Già Lắm Chiêu (The Last Egg), which brought him a Ngôi Sao Xanh (Blue Star) award for Promising Actor given by TodayTV and Tạp Chí Thế Giới Điện Ảnh (Cinema World Magazine).

He also received this year’s Golden Kite Awards for Best Supporting Actor in the comedy Sài Gòn Anh Yêu Em (Sài Gòn, I Love You), which was co-directed by Lý Minh Thắng and Lập.

The movie won the award for Best Feature Film from the Việt Nam Cinema Association last month. — VNS