While local DJ Chen Biyu greets listeners brightly on Mandarin radio station Love 972 FM every weekday morning, she is known for keeping a low profile and generally avoids appearing in front of cameras or on screen.
That was until her radio drama Jiao Wo Pan Yu Lian (Call Me Pan Yulian, 2021), where she performed the titular character, was adapted into an upcoming microdrama titled Please Fall in Love Ms Pan.
Speaking to AsiaOne today (March 16) to promote the series, the 59-year-old shared her reaction when she first heard about the adaptation: “I was thinking to myself that I wouldn’t be cast because my boss also knows I don’t prefer appearing in front of the cameras.
“But I performed the character Pan Yulian previously and Ayden Sng, who performed Feihong in the radio drama, had also agreed to act in the microdrama.
“Both my management and Dennis Chew encouraged me. Since the radio drama originated from our radio station, I decided to give it a try.”
Adapted from the radio drama created by Dennis, Please Fall in Love Ms Pan centres on careerwoman Yulian, 50, who is drawn into a high-stakes succession battle within the family business empire 972 Group.
She is put to the test by her father Pan Tao (Marcus Chin), against her elder brother Pan Yuhui (Mark Lee) and niece Pan Xingyan (Yunis To), who plot for her downfall.
Despite being confident and undaunted under corporate pressure, Yulian finds herself flustered when she meets the multi-faceted Li Feihong (Ayden). A dependable and mature man, the 35-year-old’s unwavering support and encouragement for Yulian makes her realise that there is life beyond her family and work.
Blanked out during filming and almost cried
Filming for the microdrama took nine days from late January. Biyu shared it was more stressful for her as compared to recording the radio drama because she was in almost every scene and had to memorise long lines, besides performing in front of the cameras.
She recounted: “I almost cried when filming a scene because I had memorised my lines with great difficulty and prepared for my performance only to blank out during filming and had to NG (no-good scene) more than five times.”
She added it was a scene with Mark where she scolds his character, and she was “very thankful” that Mark provided her with advice and support during filming, which helped them in completing it successfully.
Biyu is also appreciative of her supportive colleagues in front of and behind the scenes, including Ayden, 32, who would help her during filming.
“Ayden is more sensitive to cameras because he is an actor. There is also some jargon that the director would say during filming, which I don’t really understand, and Ayden would explain it to me,” she said.
Biyu also shared that she doesn’t like looking at herself on screen after filming and photo-taking because she doesn’t have the “courage” to do so.
“When I see myself appearing on Love 972’s advertisements, I would switch channels and count to five before turning back again,” she laughed.
But for this microdrama, she plugged up the courage to perform because of the confidence given by her management.
Biyu added: “I wouldn’t look at playbacks of my performance after filming, but that doesn’t mean I don’t give my all during performance. I accepted this role as a challenge for myself… and since I accepted the role, I would put in my best effort to perform it. I would still think about how I can perform better even after filming, but I know I tried my best.”
First and last time filming a microdrama
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When asked if she would consider appearing in more screen projects in the future, she said: “I think I wouldn’t… I love participating in Love 972’s stage performance every year because it’s the radio station’s birthday and I enjoy performing. But I personally don’t prefer appearing on television or on screens.
“Like I told Mark previously, his movie Make It Big Big (2019) is my first and last time appearing on the big screen, and I think this microdrama is also my first and last time. It’s my attempt for this year and I will leave it as one of my best attempts and memories this year.”
She added that her supporters understand she prefers working behind-the-scenes and would support her decision.
“If they love me, they can also support me in other ways, including listening to my radio drama and programmes,” she said.
Jiao Wo Pan Yu Lian is now available on Melisten.
Please Fall in Love Ms Pan, which also stars DJs Wallace Ang, Lina Tan, Chua Lee Lian, Bukoh Mary and Kenneth Kong, will be released on March 20 on Love 972’s TikTok account, Mewatch and Mediacorp Drama on YouTube. It will be uploaded to Love 972’s Instagram page on March 21.
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