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| jc santos & bela padilla in ON VODKA, BEERS AND REGRETS |
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| director irene villamor, bela and JC |
BELA PADILLA and JC Santos are together again after they did two consecutive hits, “100 Tula Para Kay Stella” and “The Day After Valentine”, both directed by Jason Paul Laxamana. They were also together in the Metro filmfest topgrosser, “Miracle Cell No. 7”, but they don’t play romantic lovers.
“Lolo ko siya roon in his role as Mambo at malaki ang age gap niya sa akin sa role ko as Yesha,” says Bela at the presscon of their latest collaboration, “On Vodka, Beers and Regrets”, a pre-Valentine presentation where they are directed for the first time by Irene Villamor of such acclaimed films as “Sid & Aya” and “Ulan”.
The trailer says it’s a movie “na lakas-tama”. And it’s full of emotional “hugot” lines that young viewers who are full of angst can easily relate with. For instance, in one scene JC tells Bela: “Gusto kitang mahalin, Jane, araw-araw, pero nahihirapan na ako. Kailangan mo ng tulong, at hindi ako yun.”
But in another scene, he tells her: “Alam mo kung anong okay sa’yo, hindi mo alam na okay ka. Sobrang okay ka.”
Obviously they once again play tormented characters, like what they’ve portrayed in their previous two movies which both didn’t have a happy ending as they didn’t end up with each other. Will they have a happy ending this time?
“That’s what people ask us, magkakatuluyan ba kayo rito?” says JC. “Baka naman, for a change. But siempre, hindi naman puede i-reveal, baka di nyo na panoorin, so panoorin nyo na lang for you to know the answer.”
In the story, Bela plays Jane, a former movie star who, after some setbacks in her career and personal life, has now become an alcoholic. This is reminiscent of her role in “Mananita” where she’s a depressed female soldier shown guzzling beer by the bottle.
“Full of angst ang character ko rito at kakaiba ang psyche niya kasi she started as a child star, then she got involved in a sex video that ruined her career, then she meets JC as Francis, a musician who genuinely cares for her,” says Bela.
Why is the title “On Vodka, Beers and Regrets”? “Kasi vodka is my drink of choice,” says Direk Irene Villamor. “Noong bata pa ako, beer. E si Bela nga rito, she copes with her problems with the help of alcohol and may regrets siya sa nangyari sa buhay niya.”
In real life, does Bela have any regret at all? “Ako, no regrets, kasi kapag nagmahal ako, binibigay ko nang todo-todo. Pero kapag natapos ako sa isang relasyon, tapos na talaga ako. Move on na.”
Bela has really become one of Viva’s prized stars. After “Mananita”, “Miracle in Cell No. 7” and now, “On Vodka, Beers and Regrets”, she’s now shooting a new movie, “Spellbound”, with another of Viva’s prized actors, Marco Gumabao.
Meantime, don’t miss “On Vodka, Beers and Regrets” when it opens in theaters on February 5, with premiere night at SM Megamall on February 3.
