Ai-Ai on shuttling between comedy and drama

Ai-Ai won best actress in Portugal for her dramatic portrayal in “School Service”

Ai-Ai delas Alas found her place in the show biz sun by tickling viewers’ funny bone. In her prime, particularly during her “Tanging Ina” heyday, the comedienne’s self-deprecating antics were second to none.

But it’s when the laughter begins to die down that the actress, now 55 years old, manages to show that there’s truly more to her than her crowd-pleasing funny persona. Case in point: Ai-Ai’s indie dramas, like Nick Olanka’s “Ronda” or Louie Ignacio’s award-winning “Area” and “School Service,” for which Ai-Ai won acting awards here and abroad. She was a two-time recipient of Inquirer’s Indie Bravo Award because of the latter two films.

Ai-Ai delas Alas’ “Ang Tanging Ina” series held moviegoers in comedic thrall

In the past year or so before the lockdown, we noticed that Ai-Ai was busily shuttling from one comedy flick to another—and, not surprisingly, with various degrees of success: The movies included Dado Lumibao’s “S.O.N.S. (Sons of Nanay Sabel),” Rechie del Carmen’s “Feelenial: Feeling Millennial,” Joven Tan’s “And Ai, Thank You,” Coco Martin’s Metro Manila Film Fest entry “3pol Trobol: Huli Ka, Balbon” and, most recently, GB Sampedro’s “D’Ninang.”

Asked how important choosing good roles is for her, Ai-Ai, who’s scheduled to appear in a teleserye once the quarantine is over, said, “There’s nothing more satisfying than getting good roles—maganda at masarap ’yang gawin. Kaya lang, people have different tastes and preferences. Maganda nga ang project, pero ayaw namang panoorin ng viewers. Good roles don’t always translate to a good performance at the box office. Walang guarantee na kikita ’yun.”