You’re My Destiny is tops

You’re My Destiny is tops
By SETO KIT YAN

When baby plays Cupid, a young couple in a shotgun marriage find love - in the top-grossing Taiwanese TV Show.

When the cameras started rolling, Joe Chen Qiao En and Ethan Ruan Jing Tian took a romp in the sack. And, the two barely knew each other.

Lest you misunderstand, it was all in a day’s work for the two stars of You’re My Destiny (Ming Zhong Zhu Ding Wo Ai Ni).

In the series, Chen and Ruan attempted a most daring love scene for a Mandarin idol drama (idol dramas star young fresh faces and are appealing to teenage viewers). The 10-minute bedroom scene was filmed when they had just met and is perhaps one of the boldest yet for Taiwanese primetime television.

“We were quite nervous as we were practically strangers then. The director bought us some wine and got us drunk to help us along,” disclosed 29-year-old Chen.

“And it really worked, which was great because all the embarrassing scenes were done before we even had time to get to know each other,” Ruan, 26, continued.

The two lead actors of You’re My Destiny were in a playful mood when they were in Kuala Lumpur recently to promote the Taiwanese TV series.

Chen plays an extremely unfashionable Chen Xin-yi who has been nicknamed Sticky Note Girl as she lets her colleagues take advantage of her good nature, while Ruan plays the heir to a conglomerate.

In Taiwan, this top grossing show broke the ratings record set by The Prince Who Turns into a Frog (Wang Zi Bian Qing Wa, 2005), which also starred doe-eyed Chen.

Overall ratings for all episodes averaged 10.91% while the highest rating for a single episode peaked at a whopping 13.64% in Taiwan, exceeding 2.7 million viewers.

Even The Wall Street Journal featured a story on the Taiwanese series, comparing its appeal to that of US hit comedy series Ugly Betty. Yet, unlike America Ferrera’s frumpy magazine editor’s assistant, Chen’s Sticky Note Girl is much easier on the eyes.

Like all idol dramas, You’re My Destiny’s main cast has no less eye candy compared to the others.

It also stars upcoming young actors Bianca Bai Xin Hui (who has three TV series under her belt) and Baron Chen Chu He, who has made his debut this year as a basketball whiz in Jay Chou’s comedy Kung Fu Dunk and starred in the singer’s music video as well.

This 24-episode romantic comedy tells of a young couple forced into a shotgun marriage after a series of mix-ups, resulting in a night of passion and an unwanted pregnancy.

Unlike the girl she plays in the series, the fiercely independent Chen is not likely to find herself in a similar situation. In fact, she says she is not the marrying type.

“I don’t believe a woman has to get married just because she is pregnant. I’m not the marrying sort either, so I can accept a woman choosing to have her baby without getting married.

“Marriage involves much more than one can imagine - tea ceremony, dinner party, invitations, etc. There are just too many things to deal with while planning a wedding,” said Chen.

The production cost for the first episode alone was said to exceed NT5mil (RM500,000). The series was filmed in various locations in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

A member of Mandopop girl group 7 Flowers (Qi Duo Hua), actress-singer Chen has starred in 11 TV series.

“The Malaysian media are much gentler and kinder. The media in Hong Kong were trying to force us to admit that we’re actually an item,” exclaimed Chen.

“We just want to say there’s not a chance. Why, we’re just like ‘brothers’,” continued Chen, who has an Australian boyfriend whom she has been seeing for the past three years.

Admitted Ruan: “I’m very thankful for the warm reception to the series. It’s my first time playing the leading man. Before this, I’d only played the second lead.” Known as “Xiao Tian”, the 1.86m-tall actor-model has seven TV series and a movie (Exit No.7) to his name.

Chen revealed: “We were initially quite worried when our series first went on air. Ours was a new pairing while the other channels featured series with more familiar pairings.”

Dubbed wang fu (meaning a woman who brings good fortune to her man) by the Chinese media, Chen is said to be a good luck charm for her male co-stars, who have all been catapulted to idol status after collaborating with her.

“That sounds good. So, any guy who wants to get popular, come work with me,” she quipped.

After filming close to a dozen Taiwanese idol dramas, the lovely actress says she is looking forward to filming in China next month. “I’d like to try different roles. I still remember when I had my first speaking role. I was so excited to have lines to read, I’d keep practising them. I know there’s still a lot I can learn. Idol dramas have been good for me but I’m excited about doing Chinese historical costume dramas. That would be a welcome change,” said Chen.

Ruan quipped: “And, I’m competing with her to see who can try out more genres.”

The lively duo had much to say about their own screen heroes. Chen named Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung Man Yuk while Ruan has high regard for American actor Johnny Depp.

“Maggie Cheung is an outstanding personality. Having made her name starring in Cantonese movies in Hong Kong, she uprooted herself and relocated to France. Displaced from familiar surroundings, she adapted quickly and began making films, speaking fluent French,” Chen offered.

“Johnny Depp is an actor I really enjoy watching. I’d love to make the kind of movies he has made,” said Ruan.

Following the success of You’re My Destiny, the couple play cameos of their characters in the initial episodes of Woody Sambo, which is currently airing in Taiwan.

You’re My Destiny is shown on Astro Shuang Xing (Channel 324) at 7.30pm on weekdays.
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