Maricel Soriano shares lessons on cherishing family in new film

MANILA, Philippines, November 13 ------ It was an easy “yes” for Maricel Soriano to accept the expected tearjerker, “Meet, Greet & Bye.” “I could relate to the role, being a mother myself. She has three sons, and I have two sons, so I immediately connected with her experiences of motherhood,” Maricel said in an exclusive interview.

“Also, yung parang sa tingin ng mga anak ko na dalawa (in film), kay Papa P (Piolo), parang paborito ni Mama yan. Of course, na-hi-hurt ang nanay pero hindi mo papakita kasi hindi ganyan anak. Ipaliwanag mo, na gusto mong umiyak na huwag niyo naman akong pag-isipan na ganyan kasi pare-pareho kayong mga anak ako.”

Though Maricel has yet to be bitten by the K-drama bug in real life, she knows what it feels like to be a fangirl. “Nakakatawa na fan girl ako sa film. I couldn’t relate to that aspect (K-drama fan), but I know what it’s like to be a fan. Back in the day… we started at Regal, right? We used to havea fans’ day. Alam ko yung feeling na may hinahangaan ka.”

Has she ever been a hardcore fan herself of any local celebrity? “Di masyado eh, kasi hindi ako nagkaroon ng chance manood ng ganon, ng TV,” Maricel, who started out as a child star, said. “I always had shootings, shoot here, shoot there — sometimes, I would be doing them simultaneously. I also had (the sitcom) ‘John en Marsha’ before. Kumbaga, madaming ginagawa,” she looked back. “At least, maraming pera ‘yon kasi busy ka hahaha!”

Now that she’s older, Maricel admitted she’s grateful that the fans who supported her from the start are still around. And she has come to appreciate them in a different, deeper way. “Alam mo, dito na lang may edad na ako na-realize ko na ganun pala sila kaimportante sa akin. Ganun pala ako kaimportante din sa kanila,” she reflected. She’s happy to witness how small interactions with fans — asking how they are, where they live, or even if they’ve eaten — can mean so much. “Ngayon ko lang nakita na natutuwa pala sila sa ganun because I’ve become observant. Ganun pala. (I joked) may diperensya ‘tong mga tao na ‘to kaya ko sinabi kasi pwede naman sila humanga sa iba pero bakit sila nagtatyaga sa akin? I’m grateful because I had a lot of films with Regal. Those are the films that they’ve watched and dun nila ako unang nagustuhan.”

Maricel was also touched to learn that “Meet, Greet & Bye” director Cathy Garcia-Sampana personally requested her for the central role of the family matriarch, even though the latter admitted feeling intimidated by the veteran star.

Source: philstar.com