Hampasan nang hampasan sina Khalil Ramos at Ashley Ortega sa gala screening ng pelikula nilang As If It’s True nitong Agosto 8, 2023, Martes ng gabi, sa PICC Cinema Rizal.
Marami-rami kasi ang halikan at harutan nila sa pelikulang idinirek ni John Rogers. Hindi man sila nagpakita ng puwet o ano man, pero erotiko iyong una nilang lampungan sa kama kung saan napaka-domineering ng dalaga.
Read: Khalil Ramos at Ashley Ortega, may intimate scenes sa 'As If It's True'
Istorya ito ng not-so-fake relationship nina Gemma (karakter ni Ashley) at James (karakter ni Khalil) na in-exploit ang isa’t isa upang maisulong ang kani-kanyang agenda.
Magtu-27 years old na ang fading socmed influencer na si Gemma, samantalang 28-anyos ang struggling musician na si James.
POSITIVE REVIEWS
First time mapanood nina Khalil at Ashley ang As If It’s True sa gala nito sa Cinemalaya XIX: imahiNasyon. Ang ganda ng reaction ng audience!
Read: Complete guide to Cinemalaya 2023 full-length entries
Pahayag ni Khalil, “Yes po, grabe, siyempre sobrang nakakataba ng puso, pero medyo overwhelmed pa ngayon!
“Kasi first time namin napanood, and ang galing! Ang galing ng pagkaputol nina John. Hindi ko in-expect na ganun nila iti-treat yung film.
“Kasi all throughout the entire shoot, hindi namin alam na ganito yung magiging treatment niya.
“So that’s something na we were very surprised with.”
Andaming matitinding eksena. Sa simula pa lang, may panggulat na. Nakakapanibago na nagawa nila ganoong kapangahasan.
Pagmamatuwid ni Khalil, “Actually, that wasn’t really the point of the entire film. It’s an exploration on the current generation’s views, and the current generation’s idea of love.
“Especially in the social media age, the digital age, di ba? The truth kind of gets blurry sometimes, and it’s something that the film heavily focused on. Sobrang naka-relate din ako.”
Lubos na nagpasalamat si Ashley sa mga nag-congratulate sa kanyang mahusay na delineation bilang Gemma.
Pagtatapat ni Ashley, “Actually, backstage, I was super emote, I became emotional kasi first Cinemalaya film ko.
“And I was super nervous also to watch myself. Pero nung pinanood namin, nakaka-proud lang yung ginawa naming project.
“So, yeah, congratulations to the whole cast of As If It’s True, and of course, congratulations, Khalil!
“I could not have done it without Khalil. Khalil is such a great partner.”
Grabe ang sumbatan nila, at sobrang famewhore ng mga eme! Maraming masasapul!
Natawa si Ashley, “Parang maraming maiinis kay Gemma. Hindi likable yung character niya.”
Paano niya na-achieve iyong ganoong pagiging Gemma?
“Of course, with the help of Direk John, with the help of my co-actors. Nag-acting workshop din ako before kami nag-shoot,” matamang tugon ni Ashley.
“And of course, since first Cinemalaya movie ko, talagang I took time to really commit to my character, to give justice to my character.”
May laban si Ashley sa best actress!
“Sana po! Sana po!” kinikilig na sambit ni Ashley.
Co-actors nina Khalil at Ashley sa As If It’s True sina Adrianna So, John Silverio, Angellie Sanoy, Rachel Coates, at Marnie Lapus.
MATURE PROJECT FOR KHALIL
Itong As If It’s True ang isa sa mga pinaka-mature na proyekto ni Khalil.
Tumango ang aktor, “Yeah, one of the more mature and I guess older roles in terms of maturity.”
Kabilang sa recent films ni Khalil ang LSS: Last Song Syndrome (2019), Dead Kids (2019), at Resbak (2021).
“Medyo malayo ang talon, very different, pero I’m very blessed to be able to do these kinds of roles,” saad ni Khalil.
“Once you see it on screen, parang… ‘Oh, men!’”
Posible bang may James in real life?
Napakunot-noo si Khalil, “Yung ginawa niya? Ahhmm… I think so, yeah. Very relevant yung story nilang dalawa ni Gemma, e.
“The film talks so much about the dangers of social media and if you put it to bad use, it could really you know put your life in so much danger.
“It could affect you so much talaga, and I think there are ahhh most possibly a lot of James’s and Gemma’s in this world.
“And ako, personally, as Khalil, I also did content creation during the pandemic. And even while watching the film, pati ako natamaan.
“Na parang… oh yeah, sometimes truth kinda gets blurry when you’re in front of the camera, when you’re doing things for an audience, when you’re doing things for viewership, for money.
“So, it’s very relevant. Especially ngayon, lahat ng kabataan natin, you know, ang mga kabataan, pag tinanong mo, ano ang gusto mong maging paglaki?
“Ang daming sumasagot, gusto nilang maging vlogger, gusto nilang maging artista. So it’s very, very relevant.”
DIFFERENT FROM ASHLEY'S ROLE
Sa totoong buhay, may bahid ba ni Gemma si Ashley? May hinugot ba siya sa kanyang pagkatao o karanasan upang mai-portray ang pagiging famewhore?
Napabuntong-hininga si Ashley, “Gemma in me? Ha! Ha! Ha! Siguro sa akin, ang similarity lang namin, yung paggawa ng content.
“Pero based sa ugali ni Gemma, magkalayo naman. Hindi naman siguro ako ganung tao. Well, si Gemma kasi, she’s really having a hard time to open up to people.
“Hindi siya yung tipo ng tao na magpapakita ng vulnerability niya. Ayaw niyang ipakita na talo siya.
“Ako, in real life, sobrang iyakin ako. Sobrang sensitive kong tao. So, complete opposite of me.
“Pero siguro naka-relate lang ako sa pagba-vlog. Kasi as an artista, we also do some contents. So ayun, pero Gemma and I are very different from each other.
“And si Gemma, medyo malalim siyang tao, e. So it’s actually a mature role for me, since malalim siya compared sa last kong ginawa as Ponggay sa Hearts On Ice.
“So, dito talaga, na-challenge ako nang sobra. And I really had to maintain that kind of attitude and energy until the very end of filming.”