For ‘Born Beautiful,’ Martin del Rosario gets a taste of ‘tiis ganda’

CEBU, Philippines — Depending on how you look at things, the end can also mean the beginning of something else. Three years after the end of critically acclaimed blockbuster hit “Die Beautiful,” its creators widened the Beautiful Universe – as they like to call it – with a sequel dubbed “Born Beautiful” starring Martin del Rosario.

Directed by Perci Intalan, “Born Beautiful,” in cinemas tomorrow, picks up where “Die Beautiful” left off, this time telling the transgender experience from the perspective of Barbs Cordero, originally portrayed by Christian Bables for which he reaped Best Supporting Actor honors.

After the sudden death of her best friend Trisha (Paolo Ballesteros), Barbs goes on with her life  as a mortuary beautician at Happy Ending Funeral Homes. But when another friend dies, she decides to start again, this time as a straight man, triggering a chain of events that will lead her into the arms of Trisha’s ex-boyfriend, Michaelangelo, her own ex-boyfriend Greg, and a woman that barges into Trisha’s life and turn it upside down (yet again).

Martin considers his work in “Born Beautiful” the highlight of his career.

“Gusto ko magpasalamat kay Direk sa opportunity. Ito ang pinaka-malaking break na natanggap ko. Ito rin ang pinaka-challenging at pinaka-fulfilling. Hindi ko pa siya napapanood pero alam ko kasi ang effort na inexert ng lahat para pagandahin ito,” the actor said in a press conference at One Central Hotel alongside director Perci Intalan.

To become Barbs, Martin took acting workshops and watched “Die Beautiful” twice to get the feel right. He was also taken under the wing of model-actress Wilma Doesnt who taught him how to walk.

“Ang natutunan ko kay Miss Wilma is confidence. Yung form ng katawan hindi mo mababago, pero pag inisip mo na maganda ka magagawa mo na din,” Martin chuckled.

Slipping into the shoes of a transgender woman, Martin said getting used to the transformation was a bit difficult: from the pain of waxing, to the feeling of wearing tight clothes. But he slowly got used to the routine of people touching him, putting stuff on his face and body while he memorized his script. In short, he experienced the expression “tiis ganda” for himself.

In the film, Barbs is torn between two men. He is seen in passionate lip-locking scenes with male co-stars. For Martin, there is no difference kissing a woman or man in a scene. He felt nervous the first time, but the novelty soon wore off.

“Yung una lang naman ako pinaka-kinabahan. The rest, hindi naman namin pinag-uusapan. Game na, sunggab na. Yung una nakakakaba kasi medyo intense. Yung suguran kasi…kahit naman sa first time ko na kissing scene sa girl noon nakakakaba rin.”

The 26-year-old actor said he accepted the role because he wanted to be challenged. He also trusts the producers, having admired their films and having once worked with the production in “Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B.”

Martin doesn’t mind if his sexuality  will be questioned by taking on, and fully diving into, the transgender role.

“Yung gay roles ko naman hindi paulit-ulit, lagi naman iba. Hindi ko naman hahayaan yung chismis, yung sinasabi about me na i-limit ang craft ko. Paano ako magu-grow as an actor kung iisipin ko nalang lagi yung sinasabi ng iba. And ang tagal-tagal na naman ng mga issue na yan.”

Martin is open to comparisons between him and Paolo, the first installment’s lead star, saying he looks up to the actor-TV host the same way that Barbs looks up to Trisha.

“Okay lang naman. Tatanggapin ko ang comments. May kanya-kanya naman tayong opinion. Ang tingin ko sa kanya [Paolo] ngayon parang si Trisha, as in my godmother. Para ko na rin siyang ate-ate din. Gusto ko rin magpasalamat kasi from day one nakita ko ang support niya sa akin as the new Barbs,” said Martin, who said the “Eat Bulaga” mainstay taught him the secret to long-lasting fake nails: Mighty Bond adhesive.

As for his family, Martin says they’ve been very supportive. His father accompanied him on set, often scolding him when he sleeps with his wig on. His dad also told his director that his son made a beautiful Barbs.

Asked how this differed from his previous gay roles, Martin said that in “Born Beautiful,” he was inside Barbs’ life completely.

“Hindi bago sa akin ang paggawa ng gay role. Pero first time kong gawin na yung character is buong buo. Nasundan ko talaga ang storya ni Barbs,” he said.

In playing Barbs, he got a glimpse of what’s commonly important among trans people: acceptance, love and the little things like the effort they put into making themselves look and feel beautiful.

“As Barbs, kapag nagmahal ka, ibigay mo ng todo-todo. Walang masama kung nagmamahal ka lang ng tao. Lahat naman tayo nagmamahal, lahat tayo alam ang ginagawa natin because of love. Kapag nag-love ka and alam mong hindi mo pa kaya ibagay lahat-lahat, huwag muna. Kapag alam mong ready ka na magbigay ng sobra-sobra…”

Director Perci admitted that there is pressure trying to follow up the Metro Manila Film Festival 2016 hit “Die Beautiful,” one of the highest-grossing entries that year. They thought the story was over.

A lot of things had to fall in place to put the serendipitous “Born Beautiful” together. While they submitted the film for the 2018 MMFF, he said it was a blessing in disguise that they were not a part of it. As its own release, they get to call the shots and are licensed to be as real about their vision without having to sugarcoat.

Rated R-18 by MTRCB, “Born Beautiful” also has an unrated version. He reassured audiences that the rated version’s content is still very much intact.

“We understood din naman. I think it’s better na nahiwalay siya [from MMFF] kasi now, we can really say who we are. Pwede kaming maging matapang,” he quipped.

Originally made as a TV series commissioned by Cignal Entertainment, the production realized that the material just had a lot of potential for film. They are thankful to Cignal for putting the value of film over business. The production also made sure that the sequel didn’t depend too heavily on the first film and would establish an independent trajectory.

Direk Perci explained how “Born Beautiful” is past what “Die Beautiful” tackled. The sequel answers the question “What now?” and is a “level up” from “Die Beautiful.” After all, it was written by “Die Beautiful” creator Jun Robles Lana alongside screenwriters Elmer Gatchalian, Ivan Andrew Payawal, and Cebu’s own Fatrick Tabada of “Patay Na Si Hesus” fame.

Unlike “Die Beautiful” which told the story backwards by rewinding on the colorful life of Paolo’s Trisha Echeviarra, “Born Beautiful” moves along with the full throttle of life through Barbs’s eyes in the present.

“This is about Barbs searching for happiness. Hindi na issue dito yung identity. Napagdaanan na natin ‘to. I say this from experience as a gay man,” Direk Perci said.

“Ganyan talaga pag nag-come out ka. After that the question is kung ano ang susunod na mangyayari sa akin? Paano ako maghahanap ng love? Tapos na ako doon sa identity crisis, fighting for I am and then what? Ganoon ‘to. How does a Barbs search for happiness?”

They are confident that “Born Beautiful” is a worthy follow-up and has maintained the fun, well-rounded characterization, unpredictability and universality of “Die Beautiful.” One need not be a member of the LGBTQ community to appreciate and be moved by the film, they said.

“Born Beautiful,” produced by Cignal Entertainment, Octoberian Films and The IdeaFirst Company, also stars Lou Veloso, Chai Fonacier, Kiko Matos, Akihiro Blanco, Elora Españo, Joey Paras, Jojit Lorenzo, Gio Gahol, VJ Mendoza, with a special participation from Paolo Ballesteros.