Rachel Alejandro says she ‘enjoyed’ shooting seduction scene with Paulo Avelino

Rising leading man Paulo Avelino and singer Rachel Alejandro are set to star in the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry musical film, “Ang Larawan.” While Paulo admitted that it was ‘nerve-wracking’, shooting the love scene was quite the opposite for veteran actress Rachel.

Speaking to showbiz website PEP during the movie’s press conference, the actor said, “It wasn’t an easy thing to do. Because prior to that, we had a lot of rehearsals, we had to do different versions of it.”

“Fun and intense sa shooting,” the 29-year-old added.

Paulo was all praises for co-star Rachel during their intimate scene together. It was tedious, but made easier with a professional like her.

“I think since we’re both professional, we just tackled the roles professionally,” he explained. “Professional naman lahat ng tao sa set, alam mo yun?”

“You always have to get over that shyness or that wall that prevents you from making a scene better,” Paulo added.

For Rachel, she joked about enjoying the shooting for the delicate scene, quipping, “Nag-enjoy naman kami ni Paulo! Huwag niyo na lang sabihin sa asawa ko kung gaano kami nag-enjoy!”

The veteran theater actress turned serious and commended Paulo.

“Hindi… It was actually a great experience kasi nakita ko talaga, like everyone mentioned, his humility and his willingness to learn. Lesson sa akin ‘yan e,” Rachel explained.

Likewise, she compared the difference in doing the movie now versus the musical she did back in 1998.

“Actually, sobrang nahirapan talaga ako because of the fact na feeling ko na alam ko na yung part, na 20 years ko na ‘tong kinakanta in my head,” she pointed out.

“I was so confident that I would ace this and it would be so easy. But in fact, it wasn’t because ibang-iba yung dynamic ko with Paulo, ibang-iba yung dynamic ko with Joanna Ampil,” Rachel said.

The movie’s screenplay was based on National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin’s play entitled “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino”. In the film, cash-strapped Marasigan sisters, played by Rachel and West End star Joanna, cling on to their father’s masterpiece, despite attractive offers from would-be buyers.

Although the film will be pitted against other potential box-office hits in the MMFF roster, Paulo still believes in the film’s charm in drawing viewers.

“Dapat siyang panoorin kasi marami siyang sinasabi tungkol sa atin bilang Filipino, kung paano nawawala ang kultura natin,” he said.