Rhian Ramos, distraught man-hater in ‘Silong’

PIOLO Pascual did whatever he could to make her comfortable, says Rhian Ramos.

Rhian Ramos outdoes herself in “Silong” (Black Maria Pictures/Star Cinema). She fully captures the nuances and sensibilities of a distraught woman. Her leading man Piolo Pascual veers away from his rom-com roles yet maintains his strong presence and appeal. Their onscreen chemistry makes you forget that it is their very first project together.

At the movie’s premiere, Rhian and Piolo got a rousing ovation from the audience, which included filmmakers Joyce Bernal, Dante Nico Garcia and Paul Soriano.

The romantic thriller, directed by Jeffrey Hidalgo and Roy Sevilla Ho, centers on two emotionally scarred strangers, Valerie (Rhian) and Miguel (Piolo), who walk the thin line between love and loneliness.

Bravo, Rhian, Piolo and the entire cast and crew of “Silong” for daring to defy convention by taking us to new depths and heights.

What was it like working with Piolo?

I was excited to be able to work with and learn from someone who is good. His reputation with [regard to] acting, professionalism, and just being dreamy preceded him, and all the wonderful things I’ve heard were all true. I really felt taken care of. He always did whatever he could to make me as comfortable as possible in each scene.

How did you prepare for your role in “Silong”?

I spoke often to Roy (writer), Darlene (Malimas, producer) and Jeffrey (director) to figure out what kind of tone we wanted Valerie to have. It’s a story of secrets so I always wanted to be on the same page with them regarding how much to give away in each scene, and how much to keep to myself. It was important to build our friendship, comfort level and chemistry. Before shooting, we met up and read scenes.

Your roles in “The Rich Man’s Daughter” and “Silong” are quite unusual. How far are you willing to push your boundaries?

It’s important to me to do roles that inspire me, intimidate me and give me no choice but…discover [my true self] once again. As much as acting is my job and I’d like to be able to do well in each role, I can’t always go for roles that I already know how to do because acting is my passion, too.

What’s the biggest misconception about you?

It’s been a long time since I last listened to the judgments of strangers… maybe I might seem hard to approach, but I don’t think there’s any kind of person I wouldn’t get along with…And I often hear that I’m such a strong girl but most of the time it feels like more of an image than reality.

In “Silong” you are a man-hater. In real life, what do you think of men?

I’m definitely not a man-hater. If people could choose genders, I would have loved to be one (a man). Most of my friends are male and I actually like how uncomplicated their reasoning is, so there are less mind games. It’s easy to tell when they are lying. You can call them names without them getting upset.

What will it take for a guy to make you want to settle down?

I’m sure the time will come when it will feel right, but it’s not exactly a small decision to make. I just have to be sure that by that time, we both are complete people, done with all our discoveries, and stable in all things—secure emotionally, financially.

Who or what is your “shelter” (silong) from life’s storms?

I’ve learned to really understand what it means to trust in God and not my own abilities.

Why should we watch “Silong?”

I’ve done enough movies and shows to learn how to predict endings based on the usual formula that sells. I was surprised to not be able to predict this one but it still gave me a great feeling after reading the script. That’s a feeling that our audience will be getting from watching it, too.

Rita’s latest challenge

Actress Rita Avila never stops challenging herself. Aside from acting and writing children’s books, she has ventured into writing songs. Who knows what she will think of next? But one thing is for sure, Rita always gives it her all.

She shares her songwriting story with us:

“I wrote ‘Hanggang Dito na Lang’ in memory of my angel son, Elia Jesu Reyes. It is about accepting a loss but wishing to remain in his memory and in his heart. It can also be a love song where one still wishes to remain in the other’s memory and heart.

“The second song ‘Hanggang Huli’ is about a girl who doesn’t trust a guy’s affections. I am focusing on Filipino songs because I am proud of our original music. Besides, most Pinoys are romantic—always longing, always in love. Both [songs were] recorded by Voice Male…[with] music by Paulo Zarate. My two songs are included in the boy band’s album released by Universal Records.”

Voice Male’s album can be bought from iTunes (https://itun.es/ph/UDzu9).

Throwback channel

The phenomenal love team of Jericho Rosales and Kristine Hermosa is set to have a comeback on cable TV as their popular drama series “Dahil May Isang Ikaw” will air weekdays at 1 p.m. on Jeepney TV (JTV) starting Monday. The iconic Pinoy comedy show “Home Along da Riles,” “Goin’ Bananas,” and “JTV By Request: Meteor Garden” will also return on JTV this month.

JTV will also showcase old films of Piolo (the channel’s “icon of the month”) on all Sundays of September, 8 p.m. A special documentary on Piolo titled, “BTS: Piolo Pascual,” will air on Sept. 27 at 9 p.m.

Hooray for the ultimate “Throwback Channel!”