Janella Salvador happy to reunite with Marlo Mortel in ‘Huling Ngiti’ MV

Marlo Mortel and Janella Salvador in the music video for “Huling Ngiti.” Image: Screengrab from YouTube/ABS-CBN Star Music

Nine years after the film “Haunted Mansion,” Janella Salvador and Marlo Mortel reunited in the music video of the latter’s new single “Huling Ngiti,” showing the onscreen tandem in a period romance.

The onscreen tandem, known as MarNella, gained popularity after starring as Nikki and Nicolo in the morning drama “Be Careful with My Heart.” They went on to star in the series “Oh My G” and episodes of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” and “Wansapanataym.”

Years after their last project, Salvador and Mortel teamed up for the music video of the latter’s new single, which the actress-singer said was a “nice experience.”

“It was fun. It was nice to work with Marlo again, of course. It was nice kasi ‘yung concept namin (because the concept) was ‘I Love You Since 1892,” Salvador told INQUIRER.net on the sidelines of the Opulence Ball.

“I Love You Since 1892” is an online novel written by Mia Alfonso and was first published in Wattpad. Set in the Spanish colonization, it tells the story of Juanito Alfonso and Carmelita Montecarlos, which is represented using the faces of Mortel and Salvador.

Salvador added that she’s aware that her fans wanted to see her in an adaptation of the novel with Mortel, saying that they, too, have been waiting for it.

“Everyone was looking forward to it. Nakakatuwa. I actually feel bad kasi matagal na nilang hinihintay ang adaptation pero wala pa rin. Pati kami, naghihintay. If it happens, it happens (Everyone was looking forward to it. It makes me happy. I actually feel bad because they’ve been waiting for an adaptation but there’s none yet. We’re waiting for it too. If it happens, it happens.),” she said.

Salvador recently worked with Thai actor Win Metawin in the film “Under Parallel Skies” and starred in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2023 entry “Mallari.”

Meanwhile, Mortel appeared in episodes of “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” and “Nag-aapoy na Damdamin” in 2022 and 2023, respectively.