“Sobrang takot talaga ako sa role na ganito,” admits Kim
Kim Chiu says it was not an easy process when she decided to say yes to doing “Linlang.”
It is Kim’s most controversial and daring role yet—playing an anti-heroine who cuckolded her husband (Paulo Avelino) over his brother (JM de Guzman).
Upon the airing of “Linlang” on Prime Video, Kim’s role as Juliana was met with intense reactions on social media, with most of the comments expressing rage and anger towards the character.
This is a far cry from most roles Kim had tackled in the past: sweet, hopeless romantic, and faithful.
During the press conference for “Linlang: The Teleserye Version” on January 15, FreebieMNL asked Kim what led her to say yes to such a daring role.
Kim explains, “Mahabang proseso, mahabang pag-oo kasi sobrang takot talaga ako sa role na ganito.
“Never ko in-imagine na gagawa ako ng ganito ka-mature, ganito ka-offbeat, malayo sa sarili ko na tawa tayo here and there.
“Pero umabot din doon sa desisyon ko na kailan ba ako makaka-land ng ganitong klaseng role, ganitong klaseng kwento, stellar cast na ngayon ko lang makakatrabaho halos lahat?
“Actually, si JM lang yung nakatrabaho ko, silang lahat ngayon ko lang naka-work talaga at saka alam ko rin naman na Dreamscape, aalagaan ako, mataas yung tiwala ko sa kanila at saka I think it’s part of my career growth.”
But Kim is thankful to “Linlang” director FM Reyes for helping her in terms of Juliana’s characterization.
“Si Direk FMR, siya talaga ang nag-simula kung sino si Juliana, tinatakan niya. Sabi niya, ‘Ito ka.’
“Yung dimple ko dito, ginawa niyang nunal kasi pag nagsasalita ako, may butas, so, naba-bother siya. Hindi raw nakaka-mature and sopistikadang babae, so ginawa na lang namin nunal.
“Di ba, ganun siya, ganun ka-metikuloso! Pero halos lahat ginagaya ko lang sa kanya ‘tapos pinapaulit niya sa akin ng pinapaulit kapag nagiging Kim Chiu na hanggang sa mahuli ko na talaga si Juliana.
“Malaki talaga pasasalamat ko sa mga writers, directors, taga-ilaw namin, and wardrobe. Lahat.”
“Linlang: The Teleserye Version” premiered on Monday, January 22, on TV5, A2Z, and other ABS-CBN platforms.
READ ALSO: Is Kim Chiu Ready To Fall In Love Again?
60% of the show are yet to be aired
If anyone who watched “Linlang” on Prime Video last October thinks they have seen everything, a lot is still in store for the viewers of the teleserye version.
According to Direk FM Reyes, 60% of the original story that they were able to tape will be shown in the free TV airing.
He explains, “We wrote the series as a weekly show, so yung storytelling noon, 30 minutes at least kada araw, so that’s roughly around 2 and a half hours isang buong script.
“Then we presented it to Amazon, they just asked for an hour per episode and 14 episodes.
“So, you can just imagine, roughly 60 percent of the original story, nawala. Kaya iba yung experience.
“It’s gonna be a lesson on structure and storytelling kasi while you say it’s very successful in Amazon, yun kasing structure noon, one hour kaya di ka tinigilan.
“Now if you have a 30-minuter show, iba rin yung experience.”
“Linlang” also features Maricel Soriano, Ruby Ruiz, Kaila Estrada, Heaven Peralejo, Jaime Fabregas, and newcomer Race Matias in important roles.
Co-directing the series with Direk FM is Jojo Saguin with a script from the creative team headed by creative manager Danica Domingo.
Banner Art Dani Sison
