2026-09-26
How Usha Played Nanzhi Across Languages
How did Usha Seamkhum play older Xie Nanzhi across languages? The answer is not that she proved fluency in Mandarin or Chaoshan dialect. In a May 22 first-person text by Usha, organized by People’s Daily reporter Miao Chun, she said she had not studied acting and did not speak Mandarin or Chaoshan dialect. She also said language barriers often appeared on set. Her solution combined interpreter support with physical choices: hugs, and simple actions such as taking, giving and placing.
The language barrier was part of the set
Usha Seamkhum is the performer of older Xie Nanzhi in Dear You. The May 22 People’s Daily text identifies her as the actor playing Xie Nanzhi in old age, with the article organized by reporter Miao Chun. In that first-person account, Usha says she had not studied acting and could not speak Mandarin or Chaoshan dialect, so communication barriers were a recurring condition during filming.
The film’s language setting made that condition sharper. A China News Service report from April 25 says Dear You uses Chaoshan dialect for 95 percent of its lines and invited the Thai actor known as Grandma Usha to appear. The same report says she had Chaoshan ancestry but did not understand the dialect and worked through lines in a short period. A separate English-language report from Southern Newspaper Media Group says she performed alongside co-stars speaking Chaoshan dialect.
Interpreters helped; movement carried feeling
Usha’s own wording separates comprehension from expression. She said interpreters helped during shooting, but she did not deliberately rely on reciting lines. Instead, she preferred hugs and simple gestures—taking, giving and placing—to express Nanzhi’s inner world. For viewers, that turns the language barrier into a concrete acting method rather than a vague behind-the-scenes anecdote.
The English report also describes her Dear You performance as relying on interpreters and physical expression. That does not mean every scene was wordless, fully improvised or detached from scripted lines; the China News Service report still says she worked through the lines. The safer reading is that translation helped her understand the scene, while the camera often received the emotion through touch, posture and object handling.
Wu Shaoqing’s scenes show the method clearly
The reunion material with older Ye Shurou gives the most concrete examples. People’s Daily identifies Wu Shaoqing as the actor playing older Shurou. In the story, older Nanzhi hands a dried kapok flower to older Shurou, who has come from China to meet her. The action is simple, but it lets memory pass through an object, a hand and the space between two women.
The same account says Nanzhi has Alzheimer’s disease in old age, holds Shurou’s hand and asks whether the salted meat she sent tasted good. Before leaving, Shurou gives Nanzhi a green olive from home and says in Chaoshan dialect, “bitter first, sweet later.” The illness belongs to the character, not to the actor. The useful performance point is how holding, giving and receiving make the scene legible even across languages.
Personal connection has limits in the record
The film’s story places Nanzhi in a long act of responsibility: she pretends to be Shurou’s husband Musheng in letters, writes to Shurou and sends money over many years. Usha said what moved her most was pure friendship, responsibility, and the kindness of continuing to care for a friend’s wife and children after that friend’s death. That emotional understanding helps explain why physical expression mattered so much in the role.
The English report says Usha’s grandfather was among migrants from the Chaoshan region to Southeast Asia in the early 20th century. It also quotes her as saying part of her belongs to Chaoshan and China, and that the bond felt awakened by blood ties. Those are reported background statements and personal feeling, not a full verified genealogy. The most grounded conclusion remains practical: interpreters helped Usha work on set, and physical expression helped her bring older Nanzhi to the screen.