Aga Muhlach preps for reunion movie with Lea Salonga

“I’VE ALREADY lost 23 pounds—20 more to go!”

Everything comes in threes, they say, and that just might be the case for the sorely missed love team of Aga Muhlach and Lea Salonga.

After starring in two romantic dramas in the past—“Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal?” (1992) and “Sana Maulit Muli” (1995)—the actors said they were open to reuniting on the silver screen for a third time.

“Lea and I go to the same gym; we’re neighbors. We would always talk about it and she’s game about it. I’d tell her, ‘We already did two movies—let’s do a third,’” Muhlach told the Inquirer in a recent interview.

But before they could even begin talking about possible scripts, Muhlach said that there was one thing they had to do first: “Be in good shape and look our best.”

This applied in particular to Muhlach, who admitted he “let himself go” when he campaigned early this year for the congressional seat of the fourth district of Camarines Sur.

“You won’t be always in your best shape. Sometimes you just get tired and let go! It happens to everyone. And then you realize it’s not healthy, or you don’t look as nice, so you try to lose weight again,” he said.

Losing weight

Told about Salonga’s July 21 interview in the talk show “The Buzz” where she was quoted as saying, “I’ve lost a little bit of weight and it’s starting to show, so it’s his turn na lang,” Muhlach retorted, “Well, I’ve already lost 23 pounds—20 more to go!”

Muhlach said he hoped he and Salonga could do something “realistic, mature, but still very fun to watch.” “Perhaps something similar to (the Meryl Streep-starrer) ‘It’s Complicated.’ Of course, we can’t do pa-cute anymore.”

The actor said it was flattering to know that he was one of Salonga’s favorite costars. The 44-year-old actor credited Salonga with helping him get his first big break as a leading man.

“After returning to show biz in the early 1990s, my first real romantic movie was ‘Bakit.’ I think it was Lea’s first film after getting famous for ‘Miss Saigon,’” he said. “I’m glad I was paired with her. It was a hit. I even won an award for it [in the 1992 Metro Manila Film Festival].”

Offers to do leading-man roles poured in after “Bakit,” Muhlach said. “Sunod-sunod na after that movie. I did ‘May Minamahal’ with Aiko Melendez, ‘Forever’ with Mikee Cojuangco,’ ‘Basta’t  Kasama Kita’ with Dayanara Torres,” he added.

While waiting for the right script for his possible new movie with Salonga, the TV5 actor will focus on hosting “Pinoy Explorer” (Sundays, 6 p.m.), an educational travel show; and  “Let’s Ask Pilipinas” (weeknights, 7 p.m.), the local version of the quiz show “Let’s Ask America.”

Outside of “Pinoy Explorer,” some of Muhlach’s most memorable adventures happened during his campaign in CamSur. “It was a wonderful experience. We would be on boats at midnight to reach the islands. You talk to the people and see the worth and importance of each one. At times, as an actor, you don’t see that,” he said.