The Story Of Minglan 知否知否应是绿肥红瘦 is a drama series revolving on the life of the unfavored sixth daughter of an official. It premiered to lukewarm ratings at the beginning though it has been improving as the weeks progress. It seems that ratings have turned out to be just as predicted.
Early on, Director Zhang Kaizhou who is known for his works in Love Me If You Dare and Battle of Changsha said that he was satisfied with the ratings. The Story of Minglan is his first historical drama. He says, “Because the story starts slow and reaches a climax, going from small to big. The process is a gradual climb and there are many exciting moments later on, it will get better and better.”
Zhang Kaizhou talks about his reasons for casting Zhao Liying, Feng Shaofeng and Zhu Yilong as the leads. According to him, they were the perfect choice saying, “The common characteristic of the three of them is that they are very invested in this series… The plot also gives the actors room to improvise (to make them more believable)”
Zhang Kaizhou said that Feng Shaofeng’s portrayal of Gu Tingye was very good. Gu Tingye is written as a person with major character arcs. His relationship with Minglan starts from nothing and turns into a relationship of mutual understanding and love. Zhang thinks that Feng Shaofeng did very well because through his performance, he was able to capture the personality changes that his character undergoes.
According to Zhang, Feng Shaofeng has invested a lot into the role. “Some viewers don’t like it and may have their opinion, I think their concerns are mainly due to the character. Everyone does not approve of Gu Tingye and not the actor’s performance of Gu Tingye. There will be very high caliber performances later on.” he says.
Asked about whether some supporting characters have stolen the spotlight from the lead characters, Zhang Kaizhou says, “I don’t think their performance have overshadowed the leads. Because the death of Xiao Niang had some impact on Minglan, she has become very subdued. In the later part of the drama, both Gu Tingye and Minglan’s stories will dominate the series. It is just a process that people will have to patiently wait and see. As for Zhao Liying’s performance, the audience will see a different Zhao Liying throughout the series.”
On Zhu Yilong, Zhang Kaizhou commented that him being in The Story Of Minglan was fate. When he saw Zhu Yilong, Zhang immediately felt that he was a very good fit for Qi Heng. His image is similar to Qi Heng. Through their interactions, he realized that Zhu Yilong is also timid and not an overtly handsome man. When filming began, Zhang says that Zhu Yilong had a deep artistic sense. He liked studying, enjoyed discussions and it is reflected in his acting. He can easily act in a pure art film. From his personality to his work ethics, Zhang acknowledges that Zhu Yilong is a very good actor.
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Anonymous
I'm enjoying this drama tremendously, the casts all did well and no, i don't think the supporting casts have overshadowed or taken any spotlights from the leads infact they r imo making the story just as interesting. There r many forums debating as to whether QH or GTY is really good for ML but to me, it's just a story and it's already fated. I'm just enjoying this drama just watching each character's growth and the lessons learnt by experiences and survival.
Anonymous
Yeah, I don't think supporting characters have overshadowed the leads. The difference is that instead of having poorly written supporting characters. This drama has rich characters that feel real and not caricatures. I expected as much from these writers, they also worked on Battle of Changsha, which had well written supporting characters that became fan favorites.
I think FSF is doing a great job with GTY. I was kind of sad when he got casted, even if I consider him a decent actor. I wanted someone that made me more excited about his character but this GTY makes you warm up to him slowly. He is a flawed character, but he also suffered a lot and does a lot of growing up in this story.
Anonymous
Ming Lan is not a hard character to play, if ZLY was not casted for this, people would be watching this because of Zhu Yilong only. The story is very boring, not amusing.
Anonymous
Yes, this drama has so slow kick-off that many impatient fans feel themselves unsatisfied. But once you get accustomed to this flow you'll get seriously hooked to it! I personally find that FSF and ZY are doing very well, ZLY is lacking a little in depth of her character. But it's so different from her (their) usual work(s) and it's good to see them searching for new challenges even after raising to the peak of commercial fame.
Anonymous
I loved feng acting of uncle gu charchter… It has multi faces so sometimes looks smart others fool other silly and serious.. It is a rare realastic portyal of a character rather than the typical perfect main lead who knows it all smart and dashing
jiminie
I just started watching this drama and I feel like there are a lot of people who start this series cuz of Zhao Liying or Feng Shaofeng but I'm here for Zhu Yilong. Love his acting a lot