Nora Aunor makes up for lost time

THE SUPERSTAR is topbilling two movies and a TV drama series.

It isn’t every day that one gets a chance to meet Nora Aunor, who’s back in the country after her seven-year “adventure” in the US.

For her admirers, the news that Nora is making up for lost time by way of two movies (“El Presidente,” “Mano Po: Hototay”) and a TV series is something to celebrate!

When our friend, actor-director Leo Rialp – who’s cast as a manipulative politician in Ate Guy’s anticipated miniseries, “Sa Ngalan ng Ina” – told us that Mario O’Hara’s TV5 production was in a mad rush to finish taping the teleserye by the end of September, we knew that our chance to chitchat with the actress was slim.

Distance

So, when Leo gave us the go signal to visit the Taal shoot, we – along with NUT and singer-comedian Andy Bais – gladly drove the 80-kilometer distance to meet the Superstar.

For Nestor, meeting Nora was a rare chance to touch base, reminisce about their past collaborations, and talk about new projects together. For Andy, a self-confessed “super Noranian,” meeting the actress was more than enough to make his day – and year!

But, it was my first time to meet the legendary actress – and she didn’t disappoint!

It was a thrill to see for myself how this petite actress conjured up the fabled “Nora magic” I’ve been hearing about all these years. When the 58-year-old Superstar entered the air-conditioned tent where we waited, she instantly lit up the room!

Nora looked small and surprisingly slim – and those famous, fabulous eyes twinkled as she warmly welcomed us. “Hinahanap-hanap ko ’to,” she told us when we asked her if she didn’t miss acting when she was in the US. She said she felt “rusty” the first time she faced the cameras. But, Leo attested, “It didn’t look like she left at all.”

Body double

The Monday afternoon we met her, Ate Guy was initially shy – but, after she lovingly sat on NUT’s lap, she loosened up. In no time, she was already telling us about her body double in Gerry de Leon’s “Banaue,” where her Ifugao character was required to go topless (“She looked exactly like me!”)! Then, she made jokes about the “Great Loves” of her life – but, as she naughtily teased, “Bahala na kayong mag-research kung sinu-sino (laughs)!”

Recently, we heard Nora’s rendition of Bodjie Dasig’s “Habang Panahon,” the moving carrier single of the 2009 indie album (unreleased here) produced by Dasig and Odette Quesada in Los Angeles – and we couldn’t stop raving about, not just the tune’s lovely melody, but also the Superstar’s pristine voice and no-frills rendition!

Has Nora really lost her singing voice as a result of a botched reconstructive surgery? Well, her fans shouldn’t lose hope, because, as Ate Guy reassured us, a “reconstructive” procedure in Boston just might do the trick – and bring her fabled golden voice back!