Aga Muhlach on Atasha entering show biz: Slay!

Aga (left) and Atasha

At a recent story conference for his upcoming romantic drama movie “Forgetting Canseco,” Aga Muhlach easily fielded questions from reporters about the project and his screen team-up with Julia Barretto.

However, when the conversation veered to his daughter Atasha’s recent foray into show biz, he was momentarily stumped. “Oh my gosh. Mahirap ’to, ah. How do I answer that?,” he said.

While he gave off an air of apprehension at first, the seasoned actor and matinee idol eventually stressed that he’s happy for Atasha and that he would always have her back.

Ready to work

“I will just let her be. And as her dad, she knows that. I’m right here behind her. But I won’t meddle. I pray that she flies. And I am very happy that she will be working soon,” Aga said of his lovely 21-year-old daughter who recently signed a management contract with Viva Artist Agency.

Aga Muhlach

Atasha has always known that she wanted to perform since she was 10 and starred in the musical “The Sound of Music.” But that dream had to take a back seat to her studies. Now that she’s set to finish her business course at a university in the United Kingdom—with honors, to boot—Atasha is now free to pursue her goals.

Parents’ footsteps

“I wish her well. She’s of age. Work—work it. Like what she says, ‘Slay!’” he said, laughing. “I’m just happy. But also, it’s like, ‘Oh my God.’ Because you know her, that’s your daughter, right? When you see her posing [for the cameras], I’m like, ‘Oh, you have it in you ah!’”

Atasha Muhlach

But in hindsight, Aga already saw it coming. “But I really saw it in her. We did a lot of commercials when she was growing up. And I saw it in her face, the way she looks [at the camera]. When the director says, ‘OK, Atasha, look to your left.’ And she knows… like how some girls already know [their angles],” he related.

While Atasha had expressed her desire to follow in the footsteps of her father and her mother, beauty queen-actress Charlene Gonzales, Aga said he’s putting no pressure on his daughter. “She’s happy. She’s working with Viva. No pressure at all. And that’s how it is at home. She chose her school, and what she wants to do. If she wants to work already, I was like, ‘Go, see and experience it,’” he said.

Little things

Aga couldn’t help but feel amused at how excited his daughter was about the little things in show biz. “She had a press con. And the first photo she sent me was of her in a parking lot. She said, ‘Dad, guess what? I have my name in the parking lot!’ She was giddy,” Aga said.

Meanwhile, asked if his son, Andres—Atasha’s twin brother—will also follow suit, Aga said that it’s really up to him. “Let’s see what they want to do. Bahala sila,” he said.

“’Di ako pwedeng manghimasok if they want to make it on their own. But I’m just there. If they fall, get hurt—that’s OK. I know they can do it. And we’re just there for them,” Aga said. INQ