R Zarni [Rock Singer]

 

Another rising star in Burma’s hip hop scene, R Zarni, has turned his attention in recent years to the world of rock. His 2003 album “Ngart Kgo Chit Dae Thu” (You Who Love Me) has given him what he calls “survivable success.” The singer has also earned accolades for his collaborative efforts on albums and VCD concert performances with other celebrated acts. Industry observers attribute R Zarni’s popularity to his choice of “easy listening” cover songs and updated versions of popular songs from past decades, most of which have been mainstays on Burma’s top-ten lists for years. However one accounts for the singer’s success, R Zarni draws quite a crowd for his live performances, and his popularity is spreading in Burma’s pop and rock communities.

 

No [Female Pop Group]

 

If there is one girl band that can be said to have rocked 2005, it is No. The sexy trio’s second album has proved a massive hit, and their live shows have been just as successful.

 

 

The girls—Yi Mon, Yadana and Thazin—are regulars on billboard hoardings and TV adverts, and with the recent release of a new album and VCD, their stock couldn’t be higher. In an era when Burmese girl bands come and go in the blink of an eye, No look like they will hang around longer.

 

Tun Tun [Hip Hop Singer]

 

Finally he manages to squeeze his way out of the crowd and climb up onto the Mandalay stage. As the first song kicks in, the thousands of already screaming fans go wild. This is Tun Tun, who together with his band The Examplez, was one of the Burmese hip hop world’s smash hits of 2005.

 

While his early songs carried strong social messages, one of them raising awareness about the issue of HIV/AIDS, Tun Tun is now more concerned with pure entertainment, even taking the leading role in several of last year’s most popular movies.

 

A deeply religious young man in his early twenties, Tun Tun takes his status as role model seriously, shunning the traditional trappings of pop stardom. “I try to forget evil temptations and focus my mind on work,” he says. “I don’t drink alcohol when I have bitter feelings, but write more poems, and listen to and compose songs.”

 

Maung Myo Min [Film Director]

 

Maung Myo Min (Yintwin-Phyit) is perhaps Burma’s most popular film director. In 2005, when the ruling junta banned the sale and distribution of foreign movies, Maung Myo Min felt compelled to plead with the authorities to reconsider, or at least relax, the ban.

 

“I understand the authorities’ concern that foreign films might corrupt our youth—but I think we should find a way to block pornographic films and such, instead of imposing a sweeping restriction,” Maung Myo Min, 42, told The Irrawaddy. “As self-taught directors, we have learned to improve ourselves and try catching up with neighboring countries by watching international movies. When this source of exposure is shut off, it will be a great disadvantage for [Burma’s] film industry.”

 

As the restriction on foreign films came into effect, Maung Myo Min seized the opportunity to urge the military’s censor board to help resurrect the nation’s forgotten genre of ghost films.