Heaven Peralejo is Ian Veneracion’s ‘sugar baby’ in Nanahimik Ang Gabi

MANILA, Philippines — Heaven Peralejo takes a departure from her usual “tweetums” roles in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2022 entry Nanahimik Ang Gabi.

The 22-year-old portrays a “sugar baby,” which by definition refers to a young female (or male) who is “financially pampered” by a sugar daddy (sugar mommy) in exchange for favors, companionship or relationship. In the Shugo Praico-directed film, Ian Veneracion is a corrupt cop who becomes Heaven’s “sugar daddy.” Their “happiness” during a secret weekend getaway gets disrupted by an intruder played by Mon Confiado. Nanahimik Ang Gabi is described by the stars as a horror-thriller and social commentary.

During a recent visit to the shoot location somewhere in Tagaytay, Heaven, whose sultry images on Instagram she said were part of her preparation of playing the part, explained why she agreed to the project.

“Ang ganda nung script. And like, I really loved it,” she said.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t an easy yes. The script had to be pitched to her at least three times. This was because, she felt that “there were scenes lang na parang hindi pa siguro ako ready. Parang hindi pa papunta dun, ganun. Parang konting-konti pa lang, tease-tease, mga ganyan.”

What ultimately convinced her was how the team was “very understanding” towards her.

“And we had like, what do you call it? Compromise. Yes, we had a compromise,” she said.

Heaven also described the production as collaborative where she’s allowed to offer her inputs. “So, hindi lang director ang masusunod,” she added. “Dahil binibigyan nga namin ng buhay itong Nanahimik Ang Gabi, as artists, we’ve also been giving our suggestions.”

In terms of acting approach, Heaven said she tried to find some similarities between her character Me-Ann and who she is as a person.

The Star Magic artist is paired for the first time with Ian Veneracion (second from right) in the horror-thriller. Joining them in the interview at the Tagaytay set location are director Shugo Praico (rightmost) and co-actor Mon Confiado (leftmost).

But at the same time, she relied heavily on the script. “Kasi ang script namin, maganda eh. Maiintindihan mo agad yung kung ano ang personalities nila, kung paano magsalita. Parang mabi-visualize mo kumbaga?” she said.

“Kasi, ano lang siya eh, parang fun-fun muna, di ba? Parang dapat yung dynamics namin, andun na. Dahil nagkaroon kami ng mga meetings with the director, with the cast, kami, alam na namin. Napag-usapan na din namin kung, ‘Paano kaya tayo?’ Like, what is the difference between Chief and sugar baby?”

Heaven also spent time together with Ian in workshops to build their chemistry and be physically comfortable with each other.

Although sugar daddy-baby relationships exist in the real world, Heaven said the role is tough to execute because she has no “real-life” pegs to reference or draw inspiration from.

“Actually, kaya nga ako nahirapan sa character na ‘to kasi, wala akong paghuhugutan,” she said.

“Wala akong paggagayahan, kumbaga. So, I really created Me-ann with the help of my director also… Kung paano namin bubuhayin itong character na ‘to at bigyan ng justice itong Nanahimik Ang Gabi.”

When asked by the press about her thoughts on the 47-year-old actor’s portrayal as a “sugar daddy,” she quipped, “Perspective ba ni Me-ann o ni Heaven?”

“Sa perspective ni Heaven, mahirap siya actually. Kasi, isipin mo yun, I’m an independent woman. Parang ako yung padre de familia sa aming pamilya. I’m the provider kumbaga. And being an independent woman, it’s kinda hard to love someone who is an opposite of me,” she said.

“Like, I ask him for money, you know, loving a corrupt and abusive cop na alam ko rin naman, at the end, may return din naman sa akin. So, why not, di ba?

“But as Me-ann, siempre masaya!” Heaven laughed.

Isn’t she scared of falling for her leading man?

“Hindi naman. Kasi, kailangan ko talagang ma-in love eh,” said Heaven.

“Totoo yun, we have to fall in love with each other. And… it’s not naman mahirap. Pero mahirap lang siyang mahalin as Chief. ‘Pag nakikita ko na yung pagiging Chief niya lumalabas na yung (yes, dark side), yung dynamics namin.

“Pero kailangan ko ‘to eh. That’s how hard work is. Because we want to give justice to this script. And reading the script, it makes you realize, ano nga ba yung tama at mali (what is right or wrong)? Parang, mali pa ba yun? Dahil naiintindihan mo naman yung character mo? Ano bang tama? So, it’s for viewers to decide also,” she added.

Meanwhile, Heaven was asked if Nanahimik Ang Gabi signals the start of more “daring” roles to come.

She smiled, “I’m taking my time. I’m just 22.”

Nanahimik Ang Gabi is produced by Rein Entertainment, co-founded by Lino Cayetano, Philip King and Shugo Praico, the makers of Bagman series for iWant and BetCin for WeTV, among others.