Gulong ng Palad just keeps rolling along

Before the weepy dramas that have continuously flooded the local TV screen with copious tears, there was Gulong ng Palad, the trend-setter that paved the way for the bandwagon…would you believe…more than a century ago!

Written by Loida Viriña (sister of Lina Flor), the family drama was first heard on dzRH from 1949 to 1956 on radio and, after a long run turned into a TV soap in 1977, directed by Marcial Sanson for RPN 9. That was during the Martial Law era and Filipino fans were looking for a feel-good entertainment as relief from the repressive times and found it in Gulong ng Palad which easily became a huge hit.

That was the soap that made a four-year-old child named Romnick Sarmenta an overnight star. He so immersed himself in his character as the Little Peping that televiewers empathize with him. Other members of the cast were Marian dela Riva and Ronald Corveau as Luisa and Carding (they became a real-life couple and have since separated, with Marian now happily remarried and living in the US), Caridad Sanchez and Augusto Victa as Mang Tomas.

In 2006, more than 27 years after its run on RPN 9, Gulong was remade by ABS-CBN, directed by Eric Salud and Jerome Pobocan, with Kristine Hermosa and TJ Trinidad as Luisa and Carding, Joel Torre as Mang Tomas, and Nash Aguas as Peping.

The good news is that Cineko Productions is bringing back Gulong ng Palad on the big screen, with Laurice Guillen as director. Cineko producers Ladyline Ilao and Floren Romero, who were at the presscon with Loida and Laurice, announced that they were satisfied with the box-office result of their first project, Mang Kepweng Returns (with Vhong Navarro in the title role), so they decided to produce a follow-up, Bes and the Beshies, starring Ai-Ai delas Alas and directed by Joel Lamangan, with Gulong as their third venture.

“Our working title is Gulong ng Palad Ngayon,” said Laurice. “The movie is not a sequel but rather a continuation of the characters’ stories. Parang Book 1, Book 2, Book 3. We will use the language that is understood by the millennials.”

“It will still be about family life and family values,” said Loida, “and issues relevant to the present times.”

Shooting will start as soon as they choose the cast.

“But first,” clarified Laurice, “let’s start with the writing of the script.”

Bibeth Orteza (second from left) gets good reviews for her performance as maid Rosa in Boeing Boeing, now playing at the Victoria Theater in Singapore until July 22

Meanwhile, Romnick was interviewed by the movie press at the Salu Restaurant where his wife Harlene Bautista hosted a lunch for April-June-born writers on behalf of Harlene’s brother, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista.

Asked if he would do the Gulong remake, Romnick said that he’d be glad to.

“But I can’t do the Carding role because he and Luisa are a love team,” explained Romnick, now 45. “It won’t be believable since I am already married and a father of four. Maybe I would fit for the Mang Tomas character.”

Romnick added that during the Gulong days, he grew up on the set thinking that his co-stars were his extended family.

“I didn’t know that I was an actor,” he added. “Na-realize ko lang na artista ako nung pumapasok na ako sa school.”

By the way, the series’ theme song, also titled Gulong ng Palad was originally sung by Eugene Villaluz who passed away recently. When ABS-CBN revived the series, the song was sung by Jerome Sala (winner of the network’s Star in a Million talent search). It’s the Filipino version of the original French song L’Amour d’Amier with lyrics by Catherine Desage and music by Francis Lai (who also wrote the theme song of the movie Love Story) who adapted it from Emmanuelle 2 (another Lai original). It was covered in an album by French singer by Sylvia Kristel.

Good reviews for Bibeth

The romantic comedy Boeing Boeing opened on June 23 at the Victoria Theater in Singapore and will run until July 22. As The STAR reported, Bibeth Orteza is in the cast as the Waray-accented maid Rosa, her first foray into foreign stage.

Don’t look now but Bibeth has been getting good reviews (excerpts in a while).

Produced by Wild Rice and directed by Pam Oei (who played one of the lead roles in a previous staging years back), Boeing Boeing follows the antics of modern-day Cassanova Bernard (Rodney Oliveiro) as he juggles simultaneous engagements to three gorgeous flight stewardesses (played by Judee Tan, Oon Shu An and Sangeetha Dorai) with an impeccably organized flight schedule. But what seems to be a perfect plan meets turbulence when the three stewardesses return home on the same night, threatening to end his philandering. Thankfully, his maid Rosa always tries desperately to cover up for him.

Here are excerpts from reviews praising Bibeth’s performance:

• Chris Edwards: We loved the performances, and the adaptation to Singapore life — especially with Bibeth Orteza as Rosa, Bernard’s domestic helper who has to keep up with the girlfriends and the different cuisines they prefer. She repeatedly cries “It’s not eas-sy!” with Bernard’s multiple requests.
• Bakchormeeboy: Even in a smaller role, Bibeth Orteza is a constant presence throughout the play, and her humour extends beyond her stereotype as a Filipino domestic worker when she reveals her sassy attitude towards the other characters and exasperatedly airs her grievances.
• Cheong Suk-Wai (of Straits Times): Bernard makes his motherly flunkey Rosa (a masterful Bibeth Orteza) complicit in his deceit…Orteza stole every scene she was in, leading the audience to yell out her punchline, “It’s not eeeea-sy!” with her whenever Bernard demanded she cover for him for the nth time.

Anyway, if you happen to be in Singapore between now and July 22, try to catch Boeing Boeing at the Victoria Theater.

New York-based Filipino independent film writer/director/producer Kaisania Calubaquib and Sebastien Dulac, co-producer of their award-winning film Reuben

Kaisania Calubaquib’s Reuben wins more awards in int’l fests

After the first award it won earlier this year, Kaisania Calubaquib’s Reuben has won three more awards and one nomination, two from the New York City Indie Film Awards for Platinum Award for Best Short Films (for her and co-producer Sebastien Dulac) and for Golden Award for Best Director (for Kaisania who was also the film’s writer).

“The other award and nomination are from Barcelona Planet Film Festival in Spain where I won Best Director,” Kaisania wrote Funfare. “I was the only woman nominated for this category. Reuben was nominated for Best Narrative Short Film.”

Kaisania is an independent film director and producer from the Philippines who recently graduated from New York Film Academy. She produced and directed a variety of shorts around the US. Last April, she received the Grand Jury Prize – Best Short in Universe Multi-Cultural Film Festival in L.A., for her debut/thesis for Reuben which she wrote, directed and produced.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)