Shayne and Abdul to touch hearts in their first project as Sparkle Sweethearts

Shayne Sava and Abdul Raman jumpstarted their acting career via the cultural drama series, Legal Wives. The StarStruck Season 7 graduates surpassed then their baptism of fire.

With their undeniable potential as actors and loveteam mates, the two are touted as among the Sparkle Sweethearts, who will brighten up the small screen. Shayne and Abdul’s official team-up project is Raising Mamay, with Ai-Ai delas Alas in the title role. The drama series will premiere today at 3:25 p.m.

Again, as Sparkle Sweethearts, Shayne and Abdul, who take on the roles of Abigail and Paolo, respectively, will delight and touch the heart of viewers.

Raising Mamay is the perfect platform for them to show more what they are made of as up-and-coming actors after appearing in Legal Wives, as their talent management has raised the bar for them. They will deliver the goods.

“My character is Paolo, who may seem harsh or hard on the outside, but deep inside is very kindhearted,” answered Abdul when The STAR asked him and now his perennial onscreen partner, Shayne, to describe their characters, in a recent virtual one-on-one. “He is really a kind and charming person. I want viewers to see that when they watch Raising Mamay. I want them to see how my character and Abigail (played by Shayne) will interact and eventually like, bit by bit, the presence of each other.”

As for being Abigail, Shayne shared, “She’s 15 years old, (needs to grow up fast) and has lots of responsibilities. Viewers will see how she handles those and what she has gone through before she becomes mature enough to accept her situation.”

As one can glean upon the show’s title, Shayne’s will raise her Mamay, also known as Letty, while the mother-and-daughter relationship reveals the theme of the story.

“Most teleseryes (about parent and child) we know, they focus on the sacrifices of a mom for her child,” said she. “This time, it is the other way around, about the sacrifices of a child for her mom.”

To get into the context of Abigail, Shayne used her first-hand experiences of how her mom has raised the young actress and her sibling. “Kami ng kapatid ko tinaguyod niya kaming mag-isa (She raised us single-handedly). She would do (her best) to feed us every day. She’s really my inspiration for this as well as my motivation.”

Asked how different his character Hammad of Legal Wives from Paolo, Abdul generously gave details by saying that, “I can assure you that Paolo is more developed as a character. With Legal Wives, I can understand that Hammad and Jamilah (played by Shayne) had their own little side story, which I found cute. Here, I felt my character is more involved in the story and has more screen time. In terms of dramatic (portrayal), I, as my character, have more moments where we can see his character development. In terms of enjoyment, it also helps that Paolo has more screen time. I had so much fun (playing the character).”

Abdul added that Paolo belongs to that kind of persons “who are always in all black and with lots of chains.” The character’s looks reveal that “he seems to have a chip on his shoulder, but not too much. He is still lovable,” said the new actor.

The Sparkle Sweethearts were grateful for the opportunity and trust that have been given to them by their network. Since the set serves a classroom to neophytes, even to veterans, in learning and re-learning the ins and outs of acting and the entertainment industry, Shayne and Abdul had the opportunity to see how fellow creatives are at work.

“What I noticed that when we were doing Legal Wives, I had a lot of scenes with Shayne,” said he. “This time around, I’ve had a lot of interactions with the veteran actors and it’s an honor for me because I’ve learned a lot from them. When I don’t have a scene to tape and I’m just waiting for my next scene, what I tend to do is sit next to the directors and watch how they work para may matutunan po ako, it’s a great learning experience and I enjoy it. I have had so many breakthroughs in this lock-in and project alone. Sa mga natutunan ko, I can say with confidence that I’m more relaxed now and more ready for the next project.”

Shayne described her work experience as “very fun, exciting and (has) made me knowledgeable,” and said her co-actors “would also give me pieces of advice and we would talk about their experiences. From there, I learned a lot. We had fun working on the set. Happy po yung mga crew, para kang ‘di ka nagtatrabaho. And at the same time, you had the chance of doing your passion, sobrang nakaka-enjoy talaga.”

Viewers can say that Raising Mamay is a family drama, but there is more to it, as implied by Shayne.

“Through this show, you will understand those with this kind of condition,” said Shayne, whose character’s mother has age regression-regressive behavioral disorder. “Mas maiintindihan ninyo kung bakit sila ganyan, maiintindihan mo kung anong nangyari sa kanila. Also in this drama, you will learn a lot, such as not to be judgmental about those who have such condition. Mostly, kinukutya sila, tapos sinasabihan sila ng kung ano-ano.” There is an explanation to it, as she suggested. It’s fulfilling for actors like Shayne and Abdul that, aside from entertaining viewers, they are advocating something with the show.

“I’m always an advocate for spreading knowledge for people to become more open-minded,” said he, who considered celebrities have “the power to do that” and added that one of his career goals is “to make people kinder towards each other and to be more understanding and to just be a better person. I think this is really a great project, along with Legal Wives… I do believe that with ignorance, duon lumalabas ang hatred. With knowledge, we can also fight it.” Legal Wives is a platform for viewers to understand and appreciate Filipino Muslims and their culture.

Given their works, Sparkle Sweethearts, Shayne and Abdul, may tread this brand of drama that does not only delight viewers but truly touches their hearts, and advocates something.