Nadine Lustre: Looking like Kathryn Bernardo a boost for me

KATHRYN Bernardo (left) and Nadine Lustre

“I’m no copycat,” young star Nadine Lustre insisted in response to negative comments from netizens because she looks a lot like Kathryn Bernardo.

Nadine said she is used to people mistaking her for the ABS-CBN talent. “People ask for souvenir snapshots. I feel bad just thinking they will surely get disappointed when they realize I’m not Kathryn,” said the 20-year-old during a press conference for her new movie, Andoy Ranay’s “Talk Back and You’re Dead.”

Nadine said she often changes her hairdo and outfits to look different. “I have much to gain from the comparison, but I’d still like to be known as myself,” she told the Inquirer.

“The Kathniel love team is very popular. It’s flattering for James (Reid) and myself to be compared to them, even if our tandem is new.”

“Kathniel” is the screen partnership of Kathryn and Daniel Padilla. Nadine was first seen on the big screen opposite “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate James Reid in the hit romantic-comedy “Diary ng Panget,” also by Ranay.

“Kathryn and Daniel really look good together,” Nadine said. “Even my friends like Kathniel. We planned on watching ‘She’s Dating the Gangster’ but became too busy. My new movie with James will be compared to that, though they’re totally different.”

Love triangle

“Talk Back” is based on the best-selling teen novel by Alesana Marie, originally uploaded on the online writing community Wattpad. It was released in paperback by PSICOM Publishing in 2013. It is about a rich and pretty schoolgirl caught between two gang members.

At the media gathering, James described Nadine as a “good kisser,” to which she responded, “I didn’t expect him to say that in public. It shocked me! But I wasn’t offended; I actually found it funny. We play more mature characters here than in ‘Panget.’”

“Talk Back and You’re Dead” will be in theaters nationwide starting Wednesday. Marinel R. Cruz