INAH DE BELEN says she was surprised when reports came out that she and her leading man in “Oh My Mama”, Jake Vargas, are now definitely on. “Nagulat kami kasi parang sure na sure sila and they already confirmed it, but tinatawanan na lang namin ni Jake kasi it’s not true,” she says when we visited her on the set of “Oh My Mama” that is now on its last two weeks of telecast and will be replaced by “Ikaanim na Utos” about infidelity starring Gabby Concepcion, Sunshine Dizon and Ryza Cenon. “Ang bilis naman for it to happen na naging kami agad. Pero talagang naging close as the taping went on, along with Jeric Gonzales and other cast members. Lumalabas pa nga kami para kumain.”
Her role in “Oh My Mama” as Maricel is very demanding as she is made to cry all the time. What is her motivation when she cries and what does she do to make sure she won’t run out of tears? “I think of my Lola Susan de Belen who passed away early this year. First Christmas naming wala siya, e siya usually ang in charge sa’ming reunions, so malungkot talaga. Para hindi ako maubusan ng luha, panay ang inom ko ng water.”
What does her mom Janice de Belen say about her acting? “Sabi niya, okay naman daw ang
ginagawa ko. Actually, she wants a different profession for me, sana wag na lang daw acting. It was my dad (John Estrada) who pushed me para mag-artista rin at siya man, he says okay naman ang performance ko.”
In the movie version of “Oh My Mama”, Maricel Soriano died. What will happen as the show ends? Will she also die? “Ay, secret muna. Basta may mga mamamatay, hindi isa lang. Maraming mangyayari kaya wag kayong bibitaw dahil very exciting ang last few episodes namin. Basta ang pangako ko sa cast and crew namin, magpapakain ako sa last taping day. I will cook my specialty pasta with clams and carbonara.”