Actress Dieu Huong (L); Pop singer Nhat Kim Anh

Singer Nhat Kim Anh will compete with actress Dieu Huong for the female lead in Vietnam’s largest TV project.

Feature Film Studio No.1 then decided to carry out a nationwide casting call to choose the next Queen Tran Thi Dung for the historical epic.

Nhat Kim Anh and Dieu Huong have been chosen as the finalists.

“If chosen, I’ll put my music plans aside and devote myself entirely to the film,” said Kim Anh, a popular singer who has only recently begun her acting career with supporting TV roles.

Huong also said she really wanted the part. “It would be a great opportunity for my career since this is a historical, romantic series with experienced filmmakers.”

Kim Anh and Dieu Huong went with the film company last week to China to prepare to audition in a scene as the Crown Prince Sam’s wife Tran Thi Dung.

In the scene, the queen, the prince’s mother, tries to assassinate Dung at a royal banquet.

The filmmakers said they would hold the audition August 15 and announce the chosen actress immediately after.

In the banquet, the queen tries to poison Dung with a glass of spiked wine. Crown Prince Sam, played by Hua Vi Van, sees what is happening but does not try to stop it. However, the servant girl discovers the poison and drinks the wine to save Dung.

Indignant at the queen and aghast that the Prince did not protect his wife, Dung feels sorry for the servant girl and then begins grieving for her death. The grieving turns into a deep depression.

The filmmakers said the transition would be a complex and sophisticated process that only an extremely skilled actor could pull off.

The 30-episode-series Tran Thu Do, commissioned by the Hanoi People’s Committee, is being produced for VND51 billion (US$2.9 million), according to media reports. The budget is the highest-ever for a Vietnamese TV series.

The movie depicts the life of Tran Thu Do (1194- 1264), Imperial Regent in the 13th century, who played a pivotal role in bloodlessly overthrowing the Ly Dynasty (1009-1225) and founding the Tran Dynasty (1125-1400), which is remembered as one of the most glorious and prosperous of all Vietnamese dynasties.

After falling for Tran Thi Dung, the daughter of a Ly Dynasty mandarin, Tran Thu Do sacrificed his love for political reasons and orchestrated a scheme in which Dung married a crown prince. When she became a queen of the Ly Dynasty, she helped Do overthrow it.

Dung was said to be skilled at literature and martial arts and she often discussed political issues with her father and brothers. Dung also became a powerful political player and a military general.

The film began shooting last month and is expected to be completed next March. It is being shot on locations throughout Vietnam, including scenes in Hanoi and Hue city. Additional scenes are being shot in China’s Zhejian Province. This series is being made as part of the official celebrations for Hanoi’s 1,000th anniversary as the capital of Vietnam.

Reported by Hoang Lan