The Superstar consolidates her gains

THE AUTHOR with Nora Aunor.

The latest indication that Nora Aunor’s nth and current comeback is a significant success is the fact that, despite the presence of other stars at last month’s third Philippine Daily Inquirer Indie Awards rites, the Superstar not just stole the show, but ran off with the entire bank vault itself!

There really is still something special about the little brown doll from Iriga, even if she’s now a senior citizen. Yes, she has lost a lot of her drawing power, but when it comes to “quality” performers, as most recently proven by her award-winning portrayal in “Thy Womb,” her reputation remains intact.

Best of all, Nora appears to have licked some of her “behavioral” problems that used to turn her producers and co-workers off, big time: At the awards rites, she was among the earliest to arrive, and the other early birds present were all in a dither, chatting her up and having their photos taken with her.

Advantage

She may no longer be a spring chicken, but the fact that she’s tiny and has lost some weight worked to her advantage, because she looked rather fetching and pert in her simple outfit, despite the passing of many years.

More personally now, when Nora saw me, she made a beeline for my little corner, hugged me—and promptly sat on my lap, like the little child I never had!

Onlookers gaped and cameras recorded the “surprising” sight for posterity—or posteriority, as the case may be.

What was going on? Well, the acclaimed actress and I have had this sort of relationship through the years (I’m not the only one, to be sure), in which I feel protective of her and she (sometimes) asks for my counsel in lining up good projects. Since “little” Nora likes occasionally going “baby-baby” on her elders, and she’s small enough to ensconce herself snugly on my ample lap, it’s a good fit for both of us!

I congratulated Nora on the success of her nth comeback, which many industry veterans had thought to be not just implausible but well-nigh impossible—but, “Thy Womb” has proven them wrong again.

Now, Nora has to focus on making it as a bankable star—an even more difficult task, because some producers no longer want to risk financing her projects. It’s a good thing that TV5 and Brillante Mendoza believe otherwise!

What’s up next for the Superstar? Not, we hope, more of the mediocre TV guestings that have come her way of late, but more challenging projects with ace directors, to remind everyone of her great thespic gift.

For our part, we would love to see Nora onstage again, if she can make time for rehearsals. But, most of all, we join her fiercest fans in praying that her throat operation or procedure this year will help her sing again!

It’s “symbolically” very important for us, because in our view, Nora is our new national Ibong Adarna, whose healing song has been tragically albeit temporarily stilled—and we are all the poorer for it!