KEN Chan has played varied roles where he all excelled in shows such as “Destiny Rose,” “Special Tatay” and “Ang Dalawang Ikaw.” His last movie, “Huling Ulan sa Tag-araw,” paired him with his perennial ka-love team, Rita Daniela, but now, he goes solo in a new drama film directed by Louie Ignacio, “Papa Mascot.”
The movie is the initial project of a new movie company, Wide Films International Productions of April Martin and Pauline Mae Publico. It opens in theaters on April 26. How does Ken feel starring in his first solo film without the usual love team to rely on?
“Siempre po, it’s exciting but to be honest, big pressure din. My role is very challenging.
I’m deglamorized at kailangan daw, maamoy ng viewers na mabaho ako. First time ko ring gumanap bilang ama to a 6-year old child at marami kaming pagsubok na pagdaraanan.”
He was able to relate to his role as he is really the breadwinner in their family. He did everything to help his dad who got afflicted with the Big C. But now that his dad is cancer free, his parents separated when they found out that he has many other families.
“Kami pala ang fifth family niya. But hindi ako galit sa dad ko. Tatay ko pa rin siya, but I told my brothers na dapat, wala sinuman sa aming gagaya sa ama namin na maraming pamilya.”
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‘Nakita ko ang commitment niya sa craft niya as an actor – Christine Bermas’
Christine Bermas says she got excited when informed she’d work with Kiko Estrada for the first time in the sexy drama, “Sapul.” “I’ve seen some of his past films at alam kong magaling siyang artista,” she says. “When we started shooting the film, I was able to confirm that he has all the fine qualities of a good leading man. Sa sexy scenes, umaalalay talaga siya. Nakita ko ang commitment niya sa craft niya as an actor, which is not really surprising as he comes from a family of actors.”
In “Sapul,” she and Kiko play a happily married couple, but Christine discovers that he is not really faithful to her so she decides to separate from him. Kiko is remorseful and asks forgiveness but Christine is quite unyielding in her decision to dump him for good.
Kiko, a cop, gets so depressed that eventually, he has a meltdown and runs amok right in their police station, taking a female cop, played by Phoebe Walker, as a hostage. His superiors, Simon Ibarra and Jeric Raval, then call for Christine and ask her to help them convince Kiko to calm down.
“Mahirap ‘yung eksena at talagang very intense ang emotions involved,” says Christine.
“But you have to see the movie itself to find out kung ano ang naging conclusion sa kuwento ng pagwawala ni Kiko at kung na-save pa ba ang marriage namin.”
“Sapul” starts streaming on Vivamax this April 21.
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“Voltes V Legacy” is one of GMA Network’s biggest projects ever. It is a live action version of the hit Japanese anime show of the ‘70s. Now, GMA is now showing its first three-weeks in theaters as “Voltes V: The Cinematic Experience.” The cast members all say they’re so proud to be part of this groundbreaking show.
The lead characters are played by Miguel Tanfelix as Steve Armstrong, Ysabel Ortega as Jamie Robinson, Matt Lozano as Robert or Big Bert, Radson Flores as Mark Gordon, and child actor Rafael Landicho as Little Jon, under the direction of Mark Reyes. So how is it working with each other?
“We got to all know each other better,” says Miguel. “We’ve become more than friends, we’re more like a family na. We shot our show in various locations around Luzon. We shot in Batangas, in La Union and the most enjoyable was Subic, where we stayed for a week in a beautiful villa.”
“Para kaming naging magkakapatid while working on the set,” adds Ysabel. “Nagtutulungan kami in our scenes together, lalo na ‘yung iconic scenes like ‘yung butterfly return technique na abangan nyo kasi maganda talaga. We spent a lot of time practicing it repeatedly so we can perfect it for the camera. I really treasure our moments together, pati mga blooper namin on cam. Tawanan kami nang tawanan when we recall the mistakes we’ve made. We really had fun.”
“We all want to thank our director, Mark Reyes, for orchestrating the whole thing,” says Radson. “I feel so lucky to be part of this show that will surely help boost my career. I love the way our characters are introduced in one important scene na nakatayo kaming lahat, side by side, and it gets to show the different personalities ng lahat ng characters. It was so beautifully done.”
