The Angelica Panganiban film That Thing Called Tadhana was a sleeper hit, grossing over a hundred million pesos (approximately Dh10 million) in the two weeks that the movie has been in theatres for the past two weeks.
The film won Panganiban a Best Actress award from Gawad Tanglaw, in a tie with legendary actress Nora Aunor.
The film is still going strong at the box office and continues to earn rave reviews, but Panganiban is saddened by news that a pirated DVD version has also been selling briskly. In this interview, she speaks to tabloid! about her new advocacy.
Congratulations on the success of That Thing Called Tadhana. It’s a hit among critics and the movie public. Your thoughts?
I am very happy. Actually, it’s more than that I just can’t describe the feeling in words. Imagine, we have an indie film that has achieved great success like a mainstream movie. To gross over 100 million pesos at the box office in two weeks, it’s a like the results from a major production. I am fortunate to have been made a part of this movie, and I am so thankful to the cast and crew for the wonderful experience we had on the set.
What do you think made it click?
I guess the story is something we can all relate with. The struggles that we go through in our daily life, and how we cope. We Filipinos have a very happy disposition and that’s what makes us resilient. We look at the hardships and still be happy about it — that’s how we manage. We portrayed that in the film, and the language was a key part of the success. The movie was like just a conversation that we are all a part of, and we get to enjoy.
Sadly, DVD pirated copies are also now proliferating. This is what really is killing the industry. It is very frustrating when this happens. Even more annoying, I got tagged in a post showing the DVD pirated copies. I strongly reacted — piracy is killing the industry. Piracy will discourage producers and because of that we may not be able to watch the films that we like, or see our favourite stars in theatres. I will try my best to stop this practice, among my fans at least. That’s a start.
You also received an acting award because of your performance in the film. Share with us how you felt when you received the news?
Again, it was indescribable. Imagine sharing the honour with Ms Nora Aunor — that is quite an accomplishment. To be on the same stage with her, receiving the same honour, is something not every actress gets to experience. It’s very fulfilling, I can say that I am real actress now (laughs).
