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March 17, 2008 05:12 PM Monday Article read 371 time(s)

Joel urges Yasmien to resolve religion problem
By: Mario E. Bautista
Freehand

JOEL Lamangan is not only a film and TV director.

He’s also a concerned citizen of this country and this is the reason why he is active in the protest rallies against the present government.

“We all have a responsibility to our country,” he says. “Hindi tayo puwedeng magsawalang-kibo na lang kung nakikita nating garapalan na tayong niloloko ng ating public officials.”

So even if he’s busy directing “Babangon Ako at Dudurugin Kita” for GMa-7 and “Manay Po 2” for Regal, he’s also active in the movement Artists for Truth (Artista Para sa Katotohanan), a conglomeration of artists from film, theater, music, dance, literature and other art forms. “Anytime, we will issue an official statement about what’s happening to our country and we will stage our own protest activities.”

How will he assess the performance of his lead actress, Yasmien Kurdi, as the beleaguered heroine of “Babangon Ako’t Dudurugin Kita”? “She plays a very complex role and she’s good. She delivers. Even Dina Bonnevie who plays her long lost mother in the story, gulat sa husay niya. One thing lang with Yasmien, hirap na hirap kapag may religion involved na eksena. One time, I told her to kneel and pray in front of an altar at ayaw niyang gawin kasi wala raw ganun sa kanila sa Iglesia ni Kristo. Napagalitan ko. Sabi ko, artista siya, when she’s asked to do a role, dapat, magampanan niya nang maayos dahil kailangan sa eksena. Sabi ko, paano kung ang role mo, madre or nun? Aayawan mo? Talagang conflict daw ‘yun for her and what’s worse, hindi lang siya Iglesia kundi Muslim din as her Lebanese dad is a Muslim. Sabi ko, naku, if you want to be a really good actress, dapat, i-resolve mo ‘yang conflict na ‘yan.”

After “Babangon”, Direk Joel’s next dream Lino Brocka project to be remade on TV is the award-winning 1974 drama about the hypocrisies of people in a small town, “Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang”.

“Ang gandang gawin noon sa TV as there are so many characters and we can expand all their stories. It introduced Christopher de Leon in his first movie role. This time, we can ask him to play the role of his dad, then played by Eddie Garcia. I want Lorna Tolentino to play Kuala, the madwoman that gave Lolita Rodriguez a best actress award. For the role of Mario O’Hara, the leper, okay sana si Rudy Fernandez. For the role of the young boy, we have to look for a new young actor, an ingenue na babagay sa role that catapulted Christopher to stardom.”

Our suggestion is Christopher’s own son, Gabriel, who looks so much like him when he was young.