Sunday November 8, 2009
Making waves overseas
By ELIZABETH TAI
Dyesebel and Fredo, mermaid and man, love each another against all odds in this quaintly Filipino story.
ONCE upon a time, a woman gave birth to a mermaid.
When her village was hit by a series of catastrophes, the villagers believed that the mermaid child, named Dyesebel, was an ill omen and demanded that she be killed. The woman had no choice but to give her daughter to the sea.
When Dyesebel grows up, she falls in love with a man named Fredo, and she begins to wish that she were a human being....
The story, written by well-known Filipino graphic novelist Mars Ravelo, was so popular that it had been made into several films since 1953. The latest incarnation, a 64-episode series called Dyesebel, first premiered in the Philippines in April last year and became a hit.
Malaysian viewers will be able to follow the series on Astro Prima from tomorrow; it’s the first time that the channel is airing a Tagalog series. (There will be more coming in the future, said Astro Prima channel manager Nirzam Sani.)
Nirzam described the show as a classic “love against all odds” tale at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, which was also attended by the two gorgeous main stars.
“The story of Dyesebel is very close to the hearts of Filipinos. Most of us can relate to it,” said Filipino actor Dingdong Dantes when I met him and Spanish-Filipino actress Marian Rivera who plays Dyesebel.
Dantes, 29, and Rivera, 25, are rising stars in their country’s entertainment industry. Both gained prominence after playing the lead roles in the 2007 Filipino remake of the Mexican telenovela MariMar, a story on the love between an impoverished woman and a rich man.
The show was a hit, and it catapulted Dantes – who started acting when he was 18 – and Rivera – who stepped into showbiz after graduating with a Bachelor in Psychology from Manila’s De La Salle University-Dasmarińas – to great stardom.
Dantes, whose real name is Jose Sixto Raphael Gonzales Dantes III, is one of the Philippines’ hottest bachelors. Dingdong is a nickname given by his father.
“I like my name to be a mystery,” he said of his sobriquet. But even if he’d like to give an answer to why “Dingdong”, he couldn’t as his father, till this day, refuses to divulge the meaning behind the name. “There’s a story behind it and I don’t know what it is. And I’m already 29!” an amused Dantes said.
Mermaid’s tale
At a pre-arranged one-on-one interview with the stars prior to the press conference, I found myself seated at a table surrounded and watched by delegates from the Philippine embassy and some Filipino fans. The uncomfortable feeling was not helped by the duo who appeared terribly shy and reticent during the interview. I only managed to elicit friendly but brief answers though I had wished to hear more from the cast members themselves.
When asked how Dyesebel is different from its previous film productions, Rivera and Dantes said – perhaps jokingly – that it has “lots of special effects” and that the mermaid’s tail is special.
And how has starring in the series changed their lives? Dantes said: “Oh, a lot. We learned to discipline ourselves ... That’s it.”
The two, however, noticeably loosened up and became more relaxed at the press conference as the Malaysian media and fellow Filipinos asked them questions about the show.
Dantes’ character, Fredo, is one of the hottest bachelors in the Philip-pines who doesn’t believe in love.
“Fredo met a mermaid in his childhood and he never forgets about it. When he grew up he still believes that there is a mermaid out there. Only she can make his heart beat,” he said.
“Dyesebel, the mermaid, falls in love with a handsome boy. And the fish becomes a woman,” said Rivera of her eponymous character.
Dantes is really chuffed with the fact that Dyesebel is being seen by viewers overseas.
“We never knew that our work would be shown abroad. It’s a bonus,” he said. “Expect to see Philippine culture, characters with a big heart, great special effects, great storytelling and great actors.”
Underwater challenge
Being a mermaid is not an easy task, said Rivera.
Dyesebel was filmed in the open seas of Palawan, Batangas and Pangasinan, and sometimes in a swimming pool. The actors, especially Rivera, had to be in the water for as long as they could.
According to Dantes, they took a total of 24 hours to film the series’ underwater scenes!
“We only came out of the water to have toilet breaks!” Dantes said with a laugh.
Rivera had to swim in water that was between 4.5m and 7.3m (15 and 24 feet) deep. To prepare for the role, she had to train with a swimming team for a month.
“Many a time I cried because of the underwater seas,” she related.
“The tail was so heavy that it was difficult to swim in it,” she said, adding that she needed the help of at least three people to get into the mermaid’s tail. (According to Wikipedia, the silicone tail cost around US$2,500/RM8,000.)
In fact, Rivera nearly drowned once, revealed Dantes.
“It was a scary experience for us; it’s a good thing that we had a rescue team around – we immediately saved the mermaid,” he said, laughing.
Ironically, these challenging underwater scenes are also Rivera’s favourite.
“I saw a lot of corals and fish ... I enjoy swimming,” said Rivera.
Dantes is now working on the Filipino drama Stairway to Heaven while Rivera will be playing a superhero in the television show Darna (incidentally, also based on a Mars Ravelo graphic novel).
Love on the horizon
With leads as good-looking as Dantes and Rivera, naturally this has triggered speculation of a budding romance between the two. The duo evaded all the reporters’ questions about the status of their relationship – although the two seemed to get along extremely well – and politely said that it was a joy to work with each other.
“Our job is all that matters now,” Dantes said during our earlier interview.
However, later at the press conference, he said, teasingly: “Marian is very professional, talented and very beautiful – so it’s easy for me to do my job.”
Rivera playfully replied: “I like working with him because he’s very sweet and protective. And handsome, mmm.”
“I wouldn’t mind being an item with her,” Dantes said after being inundated with more questions about his relationship with his co-star. Cryptically, he added that they’ll “get there soon”.
‘Dyesebel’ premieres at 2pm on Astro Prima (Channel 105) from tomorrow. The series in Tagalog with subtitles in Bahasa Malaysia airs Mondays to Wednesdays.
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