...and mellows in the process

Hilda Koronel was the signature actress of National Artist Lino Brocka in the ’70s. She starred in some of the late director’s most memorable films, like Insiang (that won raves in the 1977 Cannes Filmfest), Santiago (which won for Hilda her first acting prize, the FAMAS Best Supporting Actress Award), Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang, Tubog sa Ginto, Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa, Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag, and Angela Markado.

Susan Reid in real life, Hilda was only 15 when Lea Productions discovered her in a slum area in Pasay City and launched her to stardom in Haydee in 1971. Her bedimpled face was quickly hailed as one of the most beautiful faces in local cinema. Lino first directed her in Now with Tirso Cruz III and it became the start of a life-long friendship.

"Lino was not only a friend to me," Hilda recalls with a smile. "Naging nanay ko rin siya. My mentor. When we attended the premiere of Insiang in Cannes, he was even the one who arranged my hair and put a flower on it. Once, when I was having a fight with one of my ex-husbands, I called him up and he rushed to the scene and had a fight with the guy. Pati siya, nabugbog. All I know about acting, I learned from him. He knew I had a hard life dahil galing ako sa squatter, and he always told me marami akong paghuhugutan ng emotions. The kind of acting he likes is one that is always sincere, not faked, so the audience daw can feel it. I only agreed to show some skin because of him. That was in Hayop sa Hayop where I showed my entire back. I trusted him because I know hindi naman niya ako bababuyin. When he died in a car accident, I felt an entire chapter of my life had ended. I got so depressed."

Lino was there when she fell in love with her leading man in the films she did for Lea Productions, the late Jay Ilagan, with whom she has a daughter, Leona, now 23. "We were forbidden at that time to fall in love. But how can you tell your heart not to do so? Jay died also in an accident just a few months after Lino passed away. I got even more depressed kahit wala na kami that time."

After Jay, Hilda married businessman Bambi del Castillo and they have a daughter, Isabel, now 21. "When we parted, there was a court battle for the custody of our daughter, but he took her to the US and we have lost touch because they prevent her from communicating with me."

After Bambi came Spanky Monserrat, a marketing executive, and they also have a daughter, Gabrielle or Gaby, now 19. After Spanky came Victor Reyes, a doctor with whom she had a bitter falling out. They have a son, Diego, now 12. Now, she finally found a lasting romance with an American businessman, Ralph Moore.

"Seven years na kami and I hope and pray he will be my last," she says.

Do they intend to have their own kids? "No more. Graduate na ako riyan. I don’t want to start all over again. Besides, I’ll be 47 on Jan. 18, so tama na."

Any regrets about her past loves? "I have many," she replies. " But at least, the mistakes I made came from my own decisions and I learned from each of them. I guess that’s what happens when you rely so much on your heart and not on your mind, but I have to move on. It seems the wrong guys are the ones always attracted to me, and vice versa. There was a time I cried so much but I told myself to grieve for only two days and then tama na, go on, humanap na ng bagong boyfriend. I can now sometimes see myself in my own daughters. I try to talk to them and explain things, but you really cannot do anything except pray they won’t be making too many mistakes. I don’t want them getting hurt. Kaya nga I refuse to allow my daughters to join showbusiness because there are too many temptations here and they might just end up getting pregnant."

Known for being confrontational, Hilda says she has mellowed. "Before, when my co-stars would be late on the set, I would surely confront them. I’d get so angry kapag may addict kaming kasama sa cast. But now, I’m more patient. Well, after all, hindi na ako pressured to carry a movie so I can even take any role now, kahit mother roles, basta maganda. Life is short, there’s no use in getting angry all the time. When I’m not busy, I just exercise. It helps you relax while keeping you fit. I used to do power-walking around Greenhills but the air has become so polluted I feel like being strangled so I just work out in the gym."

Her last film was Tanging Yaman with Laurice Guillen, for which she got several acting nominations. It was a Metro Manila Filmfest entry. Now, she has an entry again in the Metro Manila Filmfest, Unitel Pictures’ Crying Ladies, written and directed by a newcomer, Mark Meily.

She plays the role of a one-time movie extra who’s now pushing her daughter, Jem Estrada, to be a movie star. To earn some money, she agrees to work with Sharon Cuneta and Angel Aquino as paid mourners in the wake of Eric Quizon’s Chinese father. She knows the role was originally intended for the late Nida Blanca but she doesn’t mind if she’s the second choice.

"Tita Nida is a multi-awarded actress so I’m really honored I’m chosen to replace her," Hilda says. "And the role is really good. Lutang na lutang, particularly in the scenes where I take my daughter to auditions and I meddle with the director so I’m driven out of the audition room."

She is lucky that aside from Lino, she has also worked with the country’s best film directors like Mike de Leon in Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising, Ishmael Bernal in Working Girls, Laurice Guillen in Kasal and Kung Mahawi Man ang Ulap, all acclaimed films.

How would she rate her director in Crying Ladies?

"He’s very good," Hilda says. "He knows what he is doing because he has directed several TV commercials. We even worked with storyboards. He himself wrote the screenplay so talagang inalagaan niya ito from start to finish. Also, he’s straight and I’ve worked mostly with gay directors who are more temperamental and fond of screaming: ‘Ay, masisira ang beauty ko!’ In contrast, Mike is very cool on the set. The material is treated as a comedy but it has a lot of heart so I’m sure Cyring Ladies will touch the hearts of viewers."