Now, in January, he has two new films to be shown as Vivamax’ opening salvos for the new year 2022: “Siklo” on January 7 and “Hugas” on January 14.
He seems deadset on being Vivamax most prolific filmmaker, taking away the title from Darryl Yap. Why is the title of his new film starring AJ Raval and Sean de Guzman, “Hugas”?
“Maraming meaning at ibig sabihin ang title na ‘Hugas’,: says Direk Roman. “Puedeng as in hugas kamay or puede ring hugas ng kasalanan, lalo na ngayong magbabagong taon kailangang magbagumbuhay tayo.
"Itong ‘Hugas’ is from Jon Red. He wrote the script in 2014 and he gave it to me. He says its part of the Jon Red Mafia Universe. Prequel ito sa kanyang Adarna Gang na about sex and crime din.”
“Hugas”, like “Taya”, is a potent combination of sex and violence. AJ plays Liezl, a provinciana who forays into a life of crime when she meets Boss Dencio (Jay Manalo), the head of a syndicate.
She’s trained to be a killer and whatever Boss Dencio wants her to do, she follows obediently.
Boss Dencio later gets Sean de Guzman as Al, a dependable hit man. Complications occur when AJ and Sean’s characters fall in love with each other.
They want to leave their life of crime and start anew as a clean-living husband and wife. So they run away, carrying a big bag of cash.
Of course, Boss Dencio won’t take this sitting down and will pursue them as no one is allowed to leave the syndicate that easily, leading to a series of blood baths and action-filled encounters.
How does Direk Roman feel that his two movies will be shown right after one another?
“Ayoko ngang mangyari na magkasunod sila,” he replies. “But ganito rin ang nangyari noon sa ‘Taya’ and ‘Housemaid’, e.
"Siguro it’s the plan of management para bomba ang start ng taon at makuha natin ang ibang audience sa January from the Spiderman movie.
"Yung mga Pinoy viewers who go for streaming, perfect sa kanila lalo, lalo na yung mga kababayan nating Pinoy audiences abroad dahil nasa America na ang Vivamax at almost 2 million na ang subscribers.”
“Hugas” also stars Joko Diaz, Rico Soliman, Bob Jbeili, Cara Gonzales and Stefanie Raz. Don’t miss it on January 14.
