TV DIRECTOR Andoy Ranay admits he initially doubted that Iza Calzado was a suitable replacement for Regine Velasquez in the romantic comedy series “I Heart You, Pare!”
“I’ve not had the chance to work with Iza before this show, although I’ve seen her do serious roles in the past,” Ranay told the Inquirer Entertainment. “I was worried at first but decided to support her all the way. It turned out that Iza was able to pull it off.”
Iza took over the role of Tonette in the series last month, shortly after Regine announced she was pregnant and had been ordered by her doctors to take a break from work.
‘Big revelation’
Ranay said Iza was a “big revelation.”
“Since I’ve never worked with her before, I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I didn’t know her temperament. She attacked the role very differently from the way Regine did. I realized, ‘Pwede rin pala ang gano’n.’
Hers was a totally different interpretation, but I loved how she did it. We (in the production team) simply had to adjust to her.”
Ranay said it also helped that Iza and Dingdong Dantes, who plays Kenneth in the series, immediately hit it off.
“They supported each other,” he said. “This project convinced me that Dong is really an effective actor. I had to hand it to him, Dong has good comedic timing.”
Ranay denied that the program’s performance, ratings-wise, suffered when Regine had to leave.
Happy for Regine
“It was really meant for 16 weeks,” he said of the show, which premiered on GMA 7 on February 9 and will air its final episode tomorrow. “Besides, Iza was a very good replacement. She took over the role effortlessly. She did her job with flying colors.”
Ranay, who also worked with Regine for the first time in this series, said he knew of the singer-actress’ delicate condition long before she told network bosses: “I could still remember our phone conversation. It was a very emotional one. She said she was really sorry that she couldn’t continue with the show. How can I be sad (that she’s leaving)? Having a baby was her greatest dream.”
The director added: “I didn’t try to convince her to stay. I understood her situation because my friend, (actress) Cherry Pie (Picache) also got pregnant with her first child when she was in her late 30s. I know the risk. I let Regine go without hesitation. After we talked, I sat down and asked myself, ‘My lead star is gone. What’s next? I have to move on.’”
Two pillars
Ranay said he never thought of removing Tonette and replacing her with another central character. “Siya ang bida. The show will lose its essence if I’d remove her,” Ranay pointed out.
“You see, there are two pillars in this show—Regine and Dong. The latter is doing very well so I simply had to build another pillar for the show to lean on. I was just lucky that I found Iza, who is very serious with her craft. Everything that comes her way, she takes as a challenge and tries to make it better.”
Joyce Bernal codirected the show during its first few weeks. It also stars Luane Dy, Marc Abaya, Ehra Madrigal, Ian Veneracion, Tirso Cruz III and Paolo Ballesteros.