Everything’s okay fine with Aga

Aga Muhlach is a changed man. Since he married Charlene Gonzales in Baguio on May 28 last year and she gave birth to their twins, Atasha Aaron and Antonio Andres, Aga’s thoughts have always been on his family.

Gone are the late night-outs, the regular gimmicks after taping or shooting – the restless spirit.

Domesticity becomes Aga. The bachelor who didn’t know whether he was coming or going is no more.

He now has what he’s always been dreaming of: a solid anchor to pull him down to Earth amidst all the trappings of showbiz.

"I have lost my obsession for material things," says Aga. "I have stopped seeing my old friends because a lot of them are single and still love going out."

He now hangs around with a new set of friends – family men like him who’d rather stay home after a hard day’s work and mull about their loved ones’ future.

Charlene has nothing to worry about when it comes to her husband’s fidelity. Aga himself assured her of his faithfulness.

"I told her she has nothing to be jealous about," relates Aga. And he means it.

Immediately after their wedding, Aga placed his properties and other assets under both their names as a hedge against any crisis that could happen in the future.

Having invested his money wisely, Aga need not fear about what will happen tomorrow, financially. In fact, he and Charlene don’t even discuss money matters at all.

What they talk about instead, are things closer to their hearts: the twins, growing old together, making things work.

So far, so good. The spats have been minor: the TV remote control has not been returned to its proper place on the table and some such trivial things.

"The real Charlene is the t-shirt-and-jeans type of person who is different from the glamorous beauty queen one is used to seeing," Aga describes his wife.

He has forbidden her to make movies, now that the twins are still babies. Television work – such as the one she’s doing for ABS-CBN – Feel At Home With Charlene, is okay.

"We make it a point to always be around for the twins," he says. When Aga is out taping or shooting, Charlene is home. And vice-versa. During the rare times both must be out of the house, the twins stay with their grandmothers – Elvie (Charlene’s mom) or Anita (Aga’s mother).

The babies are now starting to walk around, with the boy being the more active of the two.

"He eats more and bawls as if someone is giving him a whacking during feeding time. He also loves messing around with his toys. The girl is content just playing on my chest," relates her doting father.

Their parents being who they are, Aga will not be surprised if they end up in showbiz themselves. That can’t be avoided. And Aga knows he can’t stop them, if and when.

"If they want to join the movies later on, there’s nothing wrong with that," muses Aga. The big question he would like to ask his children is, "Are you doing this for the glamour or for the love of acting?"

Meantime, commercials are just fine for the twins, provided they don’t have a hard time doing them (e.g. the shooting hours don’t drag on and on, their regular sleeping and feeing schedule is not disrupted, etc.).

After all, wasn’t it while shooting a commercial that he and Charlene fell in love? Like he and Charlene, and the rest of the children who left home once they felt ready to leave the roost, Aga knows his twins will grow up and be on their own someday.

"As a parent, I’m just here to guide, not control them. By the time the twins grow up, I hope they’ll be strong enough to cope with the challenges of life," reveals Aga.

Such maturity easily fits into Aga’s new role as Michael, a responsible guy who easily wins the hearts of those around him, in the ABS-CBN sitcom OK Fine, Whatever! (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.). Odd as it may seem, unlike the put-together Michael, Miguel is clumsy. But like his twin brother, Bayani’s character is as lovable as ever.

Aga himself requested that Bayani play his twin because "he (Bayani) is a good comedian and there’s never a dull moment on the set with him around."

The admiration is mutual. Bayani lauds Aga "for having no star complex at all."

The result is a free-wheeling, happy interaction that shows on the witty punchlines Aga, Bayani, and their co-stars, Gloria Romero, Rica Peralejo, Nikki Valdez, Onyok Velasco, Heart Evangelista, Christian Vasquez and Michelle Bayle, exchange on the set.

The punchlines work because Aga and the rest of the cast members are themselves in feel-good mode most of the time. That, if you ask the experts, is the best way to keep a sitcom like OK Fine, Whatever! smooth-sailing and up to par in the tough-as-nails ratings game.