AJ Raval says she struggled in love scenes with Kiko Estrada

AJ Raval said that every movie she has filmed is very close to her heart. However, the one that has truly made a mark on her is Taya (2021), opposite Sean de Guzman and helmed by Roman Perez Jr.

Taya saw AJ meet direk Roman and his team for the first time and became friends with them. “That’s why I love the film so much, nandun po lahat eh,” she stated during the virtual media conference of her latest starrer Sitio Diablo, also megged by Roman. “There’s not much pressure (while filming it). We didn’t think about, ‘Kailangan magaling ka talaga dito.’ Napaka-pure po ng Taya while we did it.”

From Taya to Sitio Diablo, the sexy actress is elated that she gets to reunite with direk Roman, citing his “connection” with other actors on set. “Direk Roman is like barkada to us. At the same time, we’ve maintained our respect for him. We’re just portraying our characters and doing our jobs as actors. Parang wala po kaming hinahabol na kompetensya, parang ginagawa lang po namin sya na trabaho lang po talaga, we are not expecting anything.”

AJ and Kiko in a scene with Karl Aquino.

The director is likewise proud of what his “children” have become. He said, “I’m like a proud ‘father’ to ‘my kids.’ Merong naging AJ Raval, Sean de Guzman, Pio Balbuena, Jela Cuenca, and Angeli Khang because of Taya. Iba yun. Iba yung nasa cinema at ‘tsaka yung sa streaming cinema.”

“Taya opened the doors kaya tayo may ganito ngayon. That’s huge. After a year, Taya will come back. Babalik ang Taya,” he reiterated. “But before that, gaganti muna ang Sitio Diablo, kailangan makuha ang korona ng Sitio Diablo na pinakamalakas na streaming sa Aug. 26.”

In the sexy-action thriller, AJ and Kiko Estrada play a gangster couple who returns to Sitio Diablo, a gangland in Manila, and forms a new gang, Illustrados. A bloodbath is set to happen when they face their old gang, Los Hijos Diablos that rules Sitio Diablo.

The cast members also include AJ’s brother, Ace, Benz Sangalang, Joko Diaz, Azi Acosta, Pio, Cean Jr., Just Hush, Because, Ruby Ruiz, Karl Aquino, Alvaro Oteyza, Massimo Scofield and Sheina Yu.

The toughest part for AJ while taping was her love scenes with co-star Kiko. “Kasi umabot po sa point na napaso ako ng sigarilyo and nagkaroon po ako ng mga pasa sa katawan. I think it was Kiko’s first time to do a love scene na ganun,” she explained.

“Actually, we didn’t talk about our love scenes (especially in terms of) restrictions. Parang kusa na po yung respect galing kay Kiko. Parang hindi na po namin siya kailangang pag-usapan. Parang nagkusa na po siya mismo na hanggang dito lang, ganyan,” furthered AJ.

Kiko agreed, adding that “the whole thing was a challenge,” but direk Roman was there to help him on set.

Meanwhile, siblings AJ and Ace recalled how they figured in a gang war when the former was just 17. “We were immature at that time,” AJ told The STAR. “Pag bata ka kasi sobrang lakas ng loob mo eh. Parang wala kang kinakatakutan. We reached a point where Ace was rushed to the emergency (room). Napuruhan talaga sya ng mga tao dun. Hindi ko na sya makwento ng buo kasi sobrang haba ng story.”

AJ defended her brother, saying, “There’s a reason why it happened to us. Ako po yung inaano nun eh, parang binabastos po ako. Kinuwelyuhan na po ako. Imagine, lalaki kinukwelyuhan yung batang babae. That’s what happened. Nagalit lang din po yung kuya ko siyempre kapatid.”

Ace admitted that the incident had an impact on him and led him to develop trust issues with other people.

On the other hand, rapper Because recounted he also got involved in a gang war when he was 11 and “still confused” in life. Back then, “I was in the company of people who were older than me. I became mature at an early age. Psychologically, parang mas naging survival of the fittest… I became more sensitive. Mas nakakaramdam kami when it comes to… ’pag may ayaw sa amin na tao. Kapag may gusto sa aming kumanti, may negative energy kaming na-pi-perceive. We’d usually detect it easily because physically, we became part of a (group).”

“But I think it doesn’t add or nakakabawas (of being human), it was more of an experience where one gets to pick up lessons from other people. The greatest lesson there is nakaalis ako dun,” he mused.