Nadine Lustre and Carlo Aquino create chemistry on the set

There are loveteams and there are loveteams, and then come Nadine Lustre and Carlo Aquino who created some kind of chemistry on the set and became credible lovers even if, as we all know, Nadine is committed to James Reid and Carlo to a non-showbiz girl, never mind if his highly-monitored rumored romance with Angelica Panganiban turned out to be, “false alarm.”

Their starrer, Ulan, directed by Irene Villamor for Viva Films from her own screenplay, is a romance-drama about hopeless romantic Maya (Nadine), a young woman who, after getting her heart broken many times, unexpectedly meets Peter (Carlo), a young man who gives her new hope. But will her new-found love last forever?

Asked if she has ever been broken-hearted, Nadine was mum while Carlo admitted that eight years ago he suffered his worst heartache without naming the girl who broke his heart. “I didn’t handle the situation very well. Buti na lang I had friends who helped me heal and, of course, my family was a big help, too.”

But Carlo was rather coy when asked, honestly now, what is his current status (single or committed?). Nadine was straight-forward about her relationship with James. “I am on Cloud 9 with him,” she said.

Describing her character, Nadine said, “I’m a big advocate of self love. That’s what Maya is missing. And there lies the difference between Maya and me.”

Said Carlo, “l love my character, Peter. He’s very optimistic, maganda ang pananaw sa buhay, and you can see that in how he deals with people, even those he’s meeting for the first time. He loves doing charity work and he learns even from small kids.”

Since they come from different partners, how did they manage to create chemistry to make their characters credible?

Nadine: “I think we both just started talking, started making conversations. We talked about random stuff. Direk Irene was a big help. She joined us in deep conversations. I think the three of us have a good connection.”

Carlo: “Surprisingly, Nadine is very open. I never felt any resistance or any sign na ayaw niya ng ibang partner other than James. That’s important to me because I am very shy, especially with a new acquaintance. Importante sa akin na mag-try din ‘yung co-star ko to converse with me and reach out to me.”

How do they know that they are in love?

Carlo Aquino

Nadine: “I get awkward when I am with him.”

Carlo: “I don’t know. Siguro it’s more ‘I feel’ than ‘I think.’ Your heart tells you na you’re fond of someone na hindi mo kayang hindi siya makikita or makakausap. It’s sweeter to feel it rather than to think about it.”

And while Carlo excused himself from answering the question if he’s the possessive/jealous/suspicious type (“Better ask my ‘ex’,” he said without saying who his “ex” is), Nadine flatly replied, “No!”

By the way, what has the rain (ulan) and water got to do with Maya and Peter?

Well, it was raining when Maya went through tragedies in her life such as when her parents perished in a shipwreck and when her grandmother first kissed the man in whom she found true love.

Before Ulan, Irene wrote and directed several films for Viva — Camp Sawi, Meet Me in St. Gallen (with Carlo as lead actor) and Sid & Aya (with Dingdong Dantes and Anne Curtis). With Bb. Joyce Bernal as creative producer, Ulan also stars AJ Muhlach, Joseph Elizalde, and Perla Bautista. Showing nationwide starts on March 13.

Marco Gumabao

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