AJ Raval is glad that after doing violent dramas like “Death of a Girlfriend”, “Nerisa” and “Taya”, she has now just finished doing a comedy, “Shoot! Shoot! Di Ko Siya Titigilan” with Andrew E.

“This is something very light compared to the other movies I did,” she says. “Wholesome din and walang pagpapakita ng katawan. Laugh trip lang at talagang matatawa ang viewers. Siguradong malilimutan nila ang kanilang mga problema when they watch this movie.”

So how is it working with Andrew? “Noong una, medyo kinakabahan ako kasi matagal na siya sa industry. Icon na siya sa comedy. Tapos baguhan lang ako. But it turned out, napakagaan pala niyang katrabaho. Kwelang-kwela siya sa shoot. He shares his experiences sa movies na nagawa na niya before and I learned a lot from him.”

The film’s trailer has already garnered more than 8 million views and one of the most talked about scenes is when Andrew kissed her on the mouth while trying to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. How was it shooting this scene with Andrew?

“Actually, ‘yung kissing scene na ‘yun, kinunan noong first shooting day pa lang namin. Kissing agad, ni wala pa kaming connection. So when Direk Al Tantay told us na we’ll shoot the kissing scene, I tried to connect with Andrew muna through sa mga kuwentuhan namin. So, no second thoughts, ginawa namin agad, pero inabot ng three takes. Madali naman akong naging comfortable sa kanya kasi very caring siya, e. Tapos nung actual scene na, parang daya lang kasi sa side lang ng bibig ko niya ako hinalikan.”

After that, she became more relaxed in Andrew’s company. “Lock-in taping kami and tuwing kakain siya, niyayaya kami ng co-star kong si Sunshine Guimary to join him. Noong birthday ko, pinadalhan pa niya ako ng gift kahit tapos na ‘yung shoot namin and I appreciate that. Naging mas feeling close ako sa kanya.”

“Shoot! Shoot!” is her fifth movie in less than a year. How can she explain that Viva is giving her one movie project after another?

“Well, siguro because I give my best in any project that they assign to me. E, siempre, on my part, I don’t want to waste naman the opportunity and their trust in me kaya ginagalingan ko talaga.

I’m just thankful to Viva kasi kahit may pandemic, bumongga talaga ang showbiz career ko ngayon. I just hope magtagal pa siya.”

Her ex-BF, PBB alumnus Axel Torres, has been signed up with Viva. Would she be willing to work with him? “Ay hindi muna po siguro. Kasi hindi naging maganda ang breakup namin. We’re not okay. Alam naman ‘yan ng Viva. If ever, magpaplastikan lang kami, so ‘wag na lang.”

Don’t miss AJ in her first rollicking comedy, “Shoot! Shoot!” when it starts streaming on Vivamax on October 8.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Mario Bautista