Dingdong directs Marian in Tadhana

MANILA, Philippines — The recent Hollywood blockbuster A Quiet Place features the husband-and-wife tandem of John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, with John, who also acts in the film, directing Emily to great acclaim.

Local power couple Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera has done almost the same for the upcoming first anniversary special of weekly GMA 7 drama anthology Tadhana.

But while theirs is not a full-length movie and Dingdong does not appear in it, the scenario gave the couple an opportunity to work together in a set-up new to them; a refreshing take on their lives as showbiz professionals.

“Yung takot at pag-iwas ko na i-direk siya ay naging opportunity,” assessed Dingdong as he eventually pushed his star-wife into delivering her best for a role that’s far from being glamorous.

In the special episode to air today on GMA 7 after Contessa, Marian, who is hosting the Saturday drama on regular airings, plays an OFW mother in the ‘90s — a period when the plights of domestics Flor Comtemplacion and Sarah Balabagan were making headlines. Expectedly, it’s a role that mirrors such sad stories.

Jackie is forced to fly to Arabian Gulf country Bahrain to address her family’s needs as her husband falls seriously ill. She ends up under a cruel employer who abuses her physically and does not allow her to even use the phone to call her family. What’s worse, the money and letters she has been sending do not reach her family.

Marian, trying to lighten up the mood, said of her husband seated in the director’s chair, “He’s a cool director kasi sinasabi niya ang direksyon na gusto niya. Nagbibiruan pa kami sa set at formally nagpapakilala ako bilang artista niya. This will not be his last time to direct me.”

Since last year, Tadhana has dramatized inspiring and heartbreaking stories of OFWs who endure hardships and in the end, overcome challenges to improve the lives of their families back home.

Marian expounded, “Ako mismo nai-inspire tuwing mababasa ko ang script ng bawat episode. At nakatataba ng puso na isang taon na tayong nagbibigay ng leksyon at inspirasyon sa ating mga kababayan para mag-ingat sila sa pag-a-apply nila ng trabaho sa ibang bansa at magkaroon ng katuparan ang pangarap nila sa buhay.”

She even related her idea to her own way of life. “Iba talaga ang nangingibang bansa kasi ako nga umiyak lang ang anak ko pag paalis ako para mag-work, ang hirap na.”

Playing special roles in the episode are veteran actors Jackielou Blanco, Emilio Garcia and Lotlot de Leon.

When informed that Emily, upon sensing a goldmine, allegedly asked her husband tongue-in-cheek to fire the original actress slated to play the lead in their watershed thriller, Marian quickly made a point that she won’t do the same if put in the same situation.

She intoned rather seriously, “Di ko ugali ang mang-agaw ng project. Naniniwala ako na yung para sa akin, sa akin.”

That sounds very much like the Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian.