Mainstream Myanmar music in the early 2000s was soppy pop about young love and all that scheisse. Cometh the hour, cometh the man: Sai Sai Kham Leng, an inoffensive boy-next-door type who rapped his way into the hearts of teenagers across the country.
Something about his off-beat singing and slightly insipid music hit the right note and he soared to commercial success. His songs filled the hackneyed wasteland of the music industry back then; he has since become a household name, and for a few thousand kyats you can join his “Sai Stardom” fan club, whose motto, he has said, reflects the connection between him and his followers: “Sentimental Relationship.”
But more recently, 40-year-old Sai Sai, or Ba (Uncle) Sai, has become known for something else. An image of him with tears flowing down his perennially youthful cheeks has taken Myanmar’s Internet (Facebook) by storm.
The photo itself—a still from a film—is enough to elicit a giggle from me, although that has since evolved into a full-on chuckle fest.
To trace the memetic derivation of “Ba Sai,” we would have to go back to his role of a hopeless romantic in one of Myanmar’s very, uh, original, cinematic wonders, “Slaves of Cupid,” released in 2015.
In one pivotal scene, his character engages in a heated argument with his lover, played by award-winning actress Phway Phway, over the third side of their love triangle.
Ultimately, Ba Sai’s character ends up punching her while shouting “I fucking love you.” Cue dramatic guitar solo and a freeze frame of Ba Sai’s almost cartoonish figure staring through the doorway.
Perhaps it’s the mixture of raw anger and regret painted on that handsome face, much like my own after getting whooped by my dear mother, but it is this moment that has captured the attention of the masses.
Since then, the sons and daughters of Yangon have photoshopped his thespian efforts with countless pictures; from kindergarteners to a young heavily-tattooed fellow handcuffed to a mug of what may well be herbal tea.
While the context of the meme does not matter much, the legend of “Ba Sai” was born and, just as his songs of yore had done, it found its way into the hearts of Yangonites—including mine.
When you look at the image below, you might think it’s an oldish photo of downtown Yangon with Sule Pagoda in the background. Look again! Ba Sai is there, where you least expect him.
And now the singer is my generation’s “Where’s Waldo?”. A sorrowful face, crying amid the crowd, a noughties soft rap songwriter pleading to be found. But he is not our only meme star; stay tuned for more viral madness.
