What Zeinab Harake learned from shooting first-ever love scene with Derek Ramsay

Harake (left) with costars Derek Ramsay and Beauty Gonzalez —AGUILA ENTERTAINMENT

“Was that really me?” This was what social media influencer-turned-actress Zeinab Harake recalled asking herself the first time she watched a clip of her love scene with Derek Ramsay in the horror-thriller “Kampon.”

“He’s the first guy I’ve ever kissed who isn’t my real-life romantic partner. It was crazy! When I saw a clip of what we did for the movie, I couldn’t believe that I was seeing myself. I used to just watch him do love scenes with the likes of Anne Curtis, but now, he’s doing it with me. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, but it sounded funny saying it now. Nailaban naman, but it was really intense,” Zeinab told reporters during the recent media gathering to promote the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival entry.

“Kampon” is the story of childless couple Clark (Derek) and Eileen (Beauty Gonzalez). One day, a child named Jade knocks at their door claiming to be Clark’s daughter. Despite the unexpected situation, Eileen accepts the child, who appears to usher in sinister tidings. Zeinab, as Loreta, plays Jade’s biological mom.

“I did the scene with the guidance of Sir Derek and Direk King (Palisoc). They suggested things that I could do while on the scene. While we were shooting it, I kept wishing for it to turn out well onscreen. They said I did good, but since I’m a newcomer, I didn’t feel so confident yet. I’m just lucky that for my first project, I was able to work with the two of them,” said the 25-year-old.

Zeinab said she also had to make sure that her audience would not see any hint of her real personality in Loreta.

“My character and I are so different in terms of personality. I had to make sure that I was showing Loreta’s facial expressions during the love scene and not Zeinab’s. That’s what I kept reminding myself throughout the shoot,” she said.

Zeinab Harake —ZEINAB HARAKE/INSTAGRAM

When asked to explain why Zeinab described their reel-life lovemaking as “intense,” Derek replied: “It was a one-night stand, so our love scene was different from the one with Beauty, who I’m trying to conceive a child with. Ours was kind of rough. We had to show lust, not love, so there was a lot of lip biting. At one point, Zeinab even hit my head against the wall. Yes, it had to be intense. Direk liked what we did and even went inside the room to say, ‘Wow.’ Just like what I always do with all my other love scenes, I told Zeinab that we should try to do it in one take so we don’t end up feeling awkward.”

Derek continued: “I saw Zeinab transform into her character Loreta at a snap of a finger. We were done shooting the scene quite quickly—maybe after 30 minutes—even though it was her first time to do something like that. But it was an intense 30 minutes. I couldn’t believe it was her first time doing it—that’s how good Zeinab was. Again, her transformation into her character was instant. She went straight for it.”

No awkward feeling

Zeinab swore she never felt violated while doing the love scene. “There was no love between them during the scene, kaya grabe si Sir Derek. But everything was done professionally. I never felt like he took advantage of me. There was no awkward feeling, too. It’s because I listened to his suggestions and to our director’s,” she insisted.

Zeinab said it also helped that she attended an acting workshop prior to shooting the film. “This wasn’t just for the love scene, but to help me create my character Loreta. My management (Aguila Entertainment) really made sure that I was ready for my first acting project. They were very hands-on. This is also why I really gave my all to this movie,” she declared. INQ