Kim Chiu deals with loss her way–gently, quietly

KIM NEVER once thought of leaving show biz.
ROMY HOMILLADA

This year has got to be one of the toughest for Kim Chiu.

After admitting last January that she had a falling out with close friend Maja Salvador over Gerald Anderson, Kim’s search for her estranged mother didn’t end quite the way she hoped it would. Last month, the 23-year-old star’s mother, Louella, passed away after suffering a brain aneurysm.

The recent press con for Kim’s coming comedy film, “Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?” was one of Kim’s first media appearances after that loss. And though she appeared upbeat for the most part of the event, Kim still seemed uneasy when asked about that trying moment in her life, and the intrigues that came with it.

A struggle

She admitted, however, that the last two days of filming the movie was a struggle. “I needed to smile and be funny. Some of the scenes that required me to be over-the-top [hilarious] took a lot of takes,” Kim told a group of entertainment reporters.

But it was something that Kim knew she had to tough out. Fortunately, she said, her coworkers were all considerate enough not to bring up her mother’s death. she related,  “I was really glad because I felt that respect prevailed on set. They would always ask me, ‘Kaya mo pa ba?’”

Asked how she managed to go through her scenes, her reply was simple—she had to. “It was work. I didn’t want to dwell [on what I felt], because it was going to affect the outcome of the movie,” she pointed out.

In her mourning, Kim also had to deal with the bile of bashers on social media, who criticized her for flying to Thailand to shoot a commercial during her mother’s wake. The deal was signed two years ago, she said; she couldn’t back out. She returned to the country just in time for the burial.

What was going through her head at that time? “I’d rather not talk about what happened,” she said. “There are challenges you have to face every day, and I’m happy to have overcome those. I was very lucky to have people who didn’t give up on me—family, friends, coworkers. Sa kanila ako kumakapit.”

Show biz child

Although depressed, she said, the thought of giving up work never crossed her mind. She realized that show biz had become her life. “Dito na rin ako lumaki,” said Kim, who first gained nationwide recognition through the reality show “Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition,” which she won in 2006.

However, asked how well she was doing right now, Kim paused, then politely begged off again. “That’s not related to our movie. The important thing is that we did our best and finished the movie,” Kim said. From time to time an ABS-CBN staffer behind Kim would tap her back, and discreetly tell her how to reply—or if she should reply at all—when a controversial question popped up.

Amid the unwarranted bashing Kim received online, Maja posted on Twitter a message, which not a few assumed was addressed to the former’s Internet haters: “You don’t know her… You just know her name.”

Asked for a reaction to Maja’s perceived defense of her, Kim paused and shot a swift glance at the handler. Then she said, “Let’s not talk about her.”

As for the rumored romance between her and costar Xian Lim, Kim wasn’t very keen on putting any label on whatever relationship they may have. She merely said she was grateful for Xian’s unwavering support.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not we’re together. Wala rin namang mawawala o madadagdagan sa inyo. What’s important is that we make people happy,” she said.

Based on Ramon Bautista’s novel of the same title, Star Cinema’s “Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?” is Kim’s first crack at what she called “bonggang-bonggang” comedy. She plays Sandy Veloso, an intelligent and hardworking 24-year-old virgin.

Directed by Joyce Bernal, the movie opens in cinemas tomorrow.