Portraying a character that's already been done is not easy according to Piolo Pascual, KC Concepcion, and Zanjoe Marudo. They are the lead stars in the Philippine adaptation of the Koreanovela Lovers In Paris.
Since Lovers In Paris was successful when its dubbed version was shown in 2004, the three actors admitted that they're all nervous about playing the roles of Carlo, Vivian, and Martin.
For Zanjoe, who plays the role of a Pinoy playboy in Paris named Martin, "Sobrang hirap na gumawa talaga ng remake lalo na kung mayroon ng nakagawa ng iba, 'tapos gagayahin mo lang ang character."
However, the former star of The Wedding said it's positive because, "challenge siya, e. Bilang artista, masarap magkaroon ng ganung klase ng opportunity na bibigyan ka ng ganun, mayroon kang gagayahin. So, masarap ang feeling kapag nagagawa mo na siya."
On the other hand, KC said that the Vivian in Pinoy version would be different from the Vivian that the audience saw five years ago.
She said, "Vivian's character, given na siya, hindi na siya original, it's already been done. Pero iba pa rin kasi sa hitsura ko pa lang po ibang-iba na. She's not curvaceous and mestiza. Hitsura pa lang natin ibang-iba na so, that was really a challenge for me to give justice to the role."
For his part, Piolo (who is cast as Carlo), highlights the advantage of doing a role based on a Koreanovela.
"What's good about it is that, you know where it's going," said the actor-producer. "Alam mo kung saan papunta ang character mo, kung saan papunta ang istorya, gawa na siya. I think, it's an advantage kasi at least alam ko kung ano ang magiging journey ng character. But I must say, ito ang isa sa mga pinaka-challenging roles I've ever done."
He added, "For me, it's the biggest challenge because portraying somebody na napanood mo na, parang ginaya ang character na original. So, at first we're very strict but along the way, we were given leeway naman noong medyo okay na po ang characterization namin."
In summary, the show's head script writer, Ricky Lee, agreed that they couldn't just copy what was already seen in the Korean version.
He told the media, "Hindi naman maganda na kopyahin
lang. So, ito 'yong teleserye na
original and at the same time, may binibigay kang parang Filipinized siya. Iba ang puso ng Pinoy sa puso ng Koreano. So, even faitful siya, maraming nakapalibot
at nakapaloob na mga pagbabago."
SYNOPSIS. Vivian (KC Concepcion) is a struggling film student in Paris while Carlo (Piolo
Pascual) is the head honcho of a company. They meet in Paris when
Vivian applies as househelp to
Carlo. When she gets the job, Carlo asks her to pretend to be
his fiancé for a corporate event. And the romance blossoms from that
one night. Martin (Zanjoe Marudo) is a relative of Carlo but he fights
with the company president when he breaks the heart of Vivian.
Find out how Koreanovela Lovers in Paris was interpreted for local viewers in this Pinoy version that will premiere on September 28 on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida.