Angelica Panganiban has reached the stage where she’s not supposed to feel squeamish about love scenes anymore.
The first time she played a rebel daughter in Santa Santita, Angelica didn’t know what to expect. She felt ready for the daring new dimension in her career, but was tentative about playing it.
Today, however, times have changed. Angelica is more confident about crossing the line that separates the wholesome from the daring. At 21 and of age, she’s entitled to it.
As flight stewardess Karyn Torres who falls for businessman Ian Montes (Aga Muhlach) in Star Cinema’s upcoming film, A Love Story, she does a couple of love scenes with her leading man. But she doesn’t spend sleepless nights worrying about its effect on moviegoers.
All Angelica knows is that she has a competent director in Maryo J. delos Reyes; respected co-stars in Aga and Maricel Soriano (as a doctor who finds love again). No way will the movie exploit Angelica’s to-die for body just for the heck of it.
So she meekly submitted to a love scene by the swimming pool which Aga and Angelica shot from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The weather was oh-so-cold at that time. Her sexy body, clad only in a bikini, quivered, not so much from the close encounter with Aga, but from the drop in temperature. To top it all, the area where the scene was shot gave Aga and Angelica little room to move around.
But there was a job to be done. So Angelica closed her eyes, forgot all about the discomfort around her and did it.
Mission accomplished, she got home after sunrise the next day.
“Yes, I felt nervous,” she admits. But with all the cameras focused on you, you just have to go ahead and do it.
Boyfriend of eight months Derek Ramsey would ask her how the kissing scene went. But he doesn’t raise a fuss. He’s also in showbiz and knows it’s just part of Angelica’s job. In fact, he should even expect these kinds of scenes from time to time. So he doesn’t get in the way.
Besides, Derek has no reason to feel jealous. Angelica is on Cloud Nine when her hunk of a boyfriend becomes the topic conversation.
“We see each other daily,” she admits. “He’s fond of surprises. Time flies whenever he’s around.”
Angelica has learned a couple of sports from her athletic boyfriend. He has taught her how to play frisbee (he’s now nursing a knee injury after playing the game in Brazil). She and Derek also bond in the golf course.
The guy, nine years her senior, is ultra-sensitive to Angelica’s feelings about the way he plays frisbee.
“He apologizes when his team doesn’t win because he thinks I’ll get disappointed,” Angelica reports.
It’s still too early to tell if the relationship is serious enough to end up in the altar. They’d rather take things one step at a time. They’re enjoying each other’s company and that’s good enough for now.
Suffice it to say that Angelica is happy. She and Derek count each month that passes by since they first met as their anniversary. And they celebrate with a quiet dinner in a restaurant whose name Angelica refuses to divulge.
Suffice it to say too, that Angelica’s protective mom has yet to complain about how Derek treats her only child.
Now all we have to do is sit back and relax. Angelica Panganiban is having the time of her life.