Crossing swords with Panday

MANILA, Philippines - You’ll never see Bong Revilla idle. Whenever he’s not busy with the legislative tasks (He is one of the senators who has authored the most number of bills, the latest of which is the Helmet Bill), his mind is focused on fulfilling his heart’s other desire: Acting.

These days, he aims to see the return of Flavio to the big screen via Ang Panday, a GMA Films and Imus Productions’ joint venture for this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival.

“It is my tribute to Ninong Ronnie (Fernando Poe Jr.),” Bong says. “When he was still alive he said, ‘Bong, take care of Panday, that’s yours.’ Natanim sa utak ko yun kaya hangga’t di ko nagagawa ito di ako mapakali.”

That’s why planning for the Panday prequel started as early as November of last year. Bong wanted to give the story a different flavor that would fit in today’s generation. “This is a modern Panday,” he enthuses, “with direk Carlo (Caparas) incorporating new ideas and characters to give a new twist to his original story.”

Thus, additional characters like that of Rhian Ramos and Geoff Eigenmann will heat up the emotional aspect of the story while dragons and serpents make the adrenaline rush in action-filled sequences. Of course, direk Mac Alejandre, visual effects director Rico Gutierrez, production designer Richard Somes and editor Ogie Salvador are on hand in giving Ang Panday a different approach.

Still, executing plots the production team had come up with when cameras started grinding in February didn’t come easy. Each scene required a different location that took them to Laoag and Paoay in Ilocos; Sariaya, Quezon; Batangas and Tanay, Rizal. There were even times heavy rains caught them unawares and had to wait for two to three days before getting back into action.

That is not all. The biggest blow for Bong came through a blog comment saying he is not fit to reprise FPJ’s role because he is too “big and heavy” as compared to Da King.

“It was a real challenge so I devoted an hour of jogging to eight to 10 km. every morning around Alabang. I also lifted weights to firm up my muscles and trim excess fat around the abdominal area,” Bong offers during a set visit in their last shooting day in Tanay.

But what keeps Bong on his toes is the idea of having Phillip Salvador around. No, he is not there to give an acting tip or two to the former but to fill the shoes of Max Alvarado’s character as the villain Lizardo.

“This is our first time to work together in a film at first time ko din to be a contravida so I asked Bong for a week to decide as there are some things to consider,” Phillip says.

First, he needs to be separated from the old Lizardo’s long-haired look. Second, he initially seeks the advice of his pastor since Phillip is a born-again Christian.

“The prayer warriors prayed for my safety while Bong is surprised upon seeing me bald-headed. Una kwatro muna tapos dos hanggang naging uno ang gupit ko. I told myself bagay naman so I shaved off my head,” Phillip says.

Does Bong ask permission from Susan Roces before shooting the FPJ classic?

“Yes, I asked Ninang Susan’s permission but she told me it’s Carlo J.’s story pero syempre as a sign of respect nagpaalam ako,” Bong replies.

What should audience expect from Ang Panday?

“It is filled with heart, fantasy and action. It is also nice to see places that are never before seen in other movies ,” he affirms.