Bong & Carlo J.: A partnership that works... and works

MANILA, Philippines - The successful professional partnership of Sen. Bong Revilla and National Artist Carlo J. Caparas is expected to again set the box-office ablaze in the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival with yet another much-awaited outing of the indestructible blacksmith first brought to life on the big screen from the komiks pages by the late FPJ.

Carlo J. Caparas’ Ang Panday 2 marks the second time for Bong to play the legendary hero whose adventures have been retold many times over and yet the public doesn’t seem to get tired of them.

Co-produced by the Revilla family’s Imus Productions and GMA Films, Carlo J. Caparas’ Ang Panday 2 is expected to equal, if not surpass, its box-office record at the 2009 Metro Filmfest when Bong first stepped into the formidable boots of FPJ who happened to be his ninong in real life.

“Ninong FPJ gave me his blessing to carry on the Panday legacy,” said Bong who never fails to acknowledge “Da King” and his widow Susan Roces who always tops Bong’s list of invitees to any Panday events (preview or premiere, etc.). “I owe it to him to take care of the character and the franchise. I cannot afford anything less.”

With the author’s name forming part of the title, the franchise is guaranteed success at the box office. Carlo J. Caparas is perhaps the only auteur who is accorded the same honor bestowed on such icons as Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King whose names spell magic at the tills.

Panday’s heroism was introduced to the public by Caparas in the mid-‘70s in graphic komiks details. From there, the hero leaped to the big screen in 1980 in the movie topbilling FPJ, followed six times since then: Ang Pagbabalik ng Panday (1981), Ang Panday…Ikatlong Yugto (1982), Ang Panday 4 (1984), Dugo ng Panday (The Blacksmith’s Legacy, 1993), Hiwaga ng Panday (1998) and Ang Panday (2009).

The franchise was also serialized by ABS-CBN with Jericho Rosales in the title role.

In the latest incarnation, directed by Mac Alejandre, Bong gets several leading ladies led by Marian Rivera and Iza Calzado, with Lucy Torres, Rhian Ramos and Alice Dixson cast in special roles. Again, as in the 2009 Panday, Phillip Salvador plays the major villain.