Janella Salvador says challenge was to act alongside Piolo Pascual and not get intimidated by him

Janella Salvador. Image: Instagram/@superjanella

Singer-actress Janella Salvador has nothing but gratitude for being part of the Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Mallari,” which also sealed a distribution deal with Hollywood film studio Warner Bros.

In the film’s press conference with the members of the press, Salvador was asked about the most challenging part of being in a film as big as “Mallari.”

“The most challenging, siguro ‘yung hindi ka maintimidate with Papa P (Piolo Pascual) nung kaeksena ko siya. Doon ako nahirapan,” Salvador said giddily.

The 25-year-old also said that since horror is not a new recipe in her filmography, it’s also a challenge trying to make this new role different from her previous ones.

“But aside from that, since I have done a lot of horror stuff, this one is really different. I tried to make it different from all my past roles,” said the actress.

‘Mallari’ to open more doors for local film industry

The “Darna” star also said she did not expect “Mallari” to receive such a big nod internationally, and that she’s proud of the steps the local film industry is taking.

“I didn’t expect it to be this big of a production that we would be able to get this collaboration with Warner Bros. I think it’s really a big step for Philippine cinema and nakaka-proud,” said Salvador.

The actress also hoped that this collaboration would open up more projects, not just for her but for the entire local film industry and other Filipino celebrities as well.

“Hopefully for all of us, and not just for me personally, but for the Philippines, na makita nila ‘yung mga movies natin,” said the “Killer Bride” star.

Janella Salvador. Image: Instagram/@superjanella

Salvador noted that even though the film belongs to the horror genre, it’s different from the past films she did before, given how big a production “Mallari” is.

“Ayun nga dahil medyo marami nang horror sa background ko, iba ‘to. It’s really a different film. The bigness of it, pa lang, is that it’s a very big production, storywise. Nung nabasa ko pa lang, ‘yung script umuoo na ako agad kasi napaka ganda na nung script. I think it’s interesting because it’s inspired by a true person,” explained the actress.

“Mallari” is not the first MMFF entry of the “Be Careful with My Heart” breakout star, as Salvador first participated in another horror movie and MMFF entry in 2015’s “Haunted Mansion.”

“Mallari” is inspired by the life of Father Severino Mallari, the Philippines’ first serial killer, and it stars award-winning actors Piolo Pascual, JC Santos, actress-beauty queen Gloria Diaz and Tommy Alejandrino, among others.