AiAi Delas Alas on switching off her role in GMA series ‘Raising Mamay’: ‘Nadadala minsan kahit wala nang take!’
On April 25, Comedy Concert Queen AiAi Delas Alas‘ newest series is set to premiere on GMA Afternoon Prime. “Raising Mamay” is a heartwarming drama on the reversal of roles between a mother and her child. Shayne Sava plays the role of AiAi’s daughter in the story. The young character takes care of her scornful mother who was stricken with brain regression after being shot in the head.
Surprise bida role
In an intimate press conference last Tuesday, AiAi shared having known about the project for quite some time already before finding out that she will be one of the lead stars. “Akala ko nanay lang ako ng mga stars ng GMA. Nagulat talaga ako noong isa pala ako doon sa mga bida,” she said. “Noong nabasa ko ‘yung script, ang ganda-ganda niya! First time kong gaganap na may regression na nanay. Kasi naaksidente ako [sa story].”
“Isip-bata siya talaga. Mga six or seven years old,” AiAi introduced her character to gmanetwork.com’s Nherz Almo. She then shared having an online immersion with children via video to prepare for her character. Through her interaction with children, she was able to observe their gestures and nuances. For the rest of her acting plan, the comedienne jokingly said, “Inano ko na lang kay Lord, ‘Lord, tulungan Mo ako! Sa’yo galing itong talent na ito kaya tulungan Mo ako na maging maayos itong palabas na ito. Ganern!”
“Makikita natin dito ang sacrifices ng mga anak. ‘Di ba usually, ‘yung mga palabas ko, makikita ang mga sakripisyo ko para sa mga anak ko. Ngayon, baliktad naman,” AiAi explained how different this role is from her other mother roles.
“Nadadala! Minsan sabi nga ni Direk, kahit wala nang take, minsan kinakausap ko ‘yung mga crew nang ganun,” AiAi revealed the difficulty of detaching from her character when I asked about the challenging role. She re-enacted with childlike demeanor how members of the production staff got influenced by her character’s ways.
What makes the role extra challenging is how acting like a child can sometimes make AiAi and her co-stars laugh in the middle of a scene. When asked about this, she said, “Maraming beses kaya lang pinipigil ko or sila pinipigil din tawa nila! Kasi ‘di ba, minsan, ‘pag inosente ang bata, ang daming sinasabi na dapat hindi mo sasabihin. Pero bilang bata, ‘di ba masasabi mo, dahil hindi naman niy alam ‘yun eh! ‘Yun ‘yung nakakatawang part na hindi naman sila makatawa kasi bata ako.”
Given AiAi’s caliber in both drama and comedy genres and her frequent travels to the US, I couldn’t help but ask if she has considered trying out for international projects. “Oo! Marami akong auditions na. Hindi ko lang sinasabi. May manager din ako sa Amerika,” she revealed. “Siguro, mga nakasampung auditions na ako!” AiAi admitted later having made an attempt at getting the role of Filipino-American standup comedy star JoKoy in a project. While she did not end up with the role, AiAi was able to get through some levels in the audition process.
Catch AiAi on Monday at 3:25PM on GMA. Here’s the trailer:
