In the movie she finished a few months ago, “Kusina”, you’d see that she’s still on the heavy side. “Bumagay naman sa role ko as Juanita,” she says. “Isang babaeng iniukol ang buhay niya sa loob ng kusina to feed her family with various dishes while life and history are passing her by.”
We’ve seen “Kusina” and Juday truly delivers a tour-de-force performance as Juanita. Written and directed by Cenon Palomares and David Corpuz, “Kusina” is based on a grand prize Palanca Award-winning screenplay and is told in a stylized manner since everything just happens inside the titular “kusina”. Supporting Juday are Joem Bascon as her husband, Luis Alandy as a family friend secretly in love with her, Gloria Sevilla as her grandma who taught her how to cook, Katrina Legaspi as the young Juday, and a host of stage actors and actresses who play various supporting roles.
“The role of Juanita is so challenging kaya nang pinabasa pa lang nila sa’kin ang script, I said yes, gagawin ko ito,” she says. “It brought back to life my passion for acting.”
Juday was nominated as best actress and the movie, for best picture. It’s now released starting today by Viva and Cinematografica in theaters nationwide. “Lahat ng mga babae, lalo na ang mga misis na very devoted sa family nila, makaka-relate sa naging mga karanasan ni Juanita in ‘Kusina’,” adds Juday. “Makikita rito na habang nagbabago ang panahon, nagbabago rin ang kasaysayan at ang relasyon ng mga tao sa isa’t isa, kung minsan pati ang marriage ng mag-asawa.”
It’s good Juday’s marriage to Ryan is currently one of the most stable in showbiz. Juday got the biggest surprise of her life when Ryan recently took her on vacation in America and she learned that he has bought her their own house in Las Vegas so they don’t have to stay in hotels anymore whenever they go on a trip there.
