Sylvia Sanchez, Juday-Angelica starrers open today

At the age of 27, Sylvia Sanchez played the role of Judy Ann Santos’ mother in the drama series “Esperanza.” Even though she was surprised to be given a mother role at such a young age, like a true soldier, she accepted the task and did it with gusto.

Looking back, Sylvia said the role prepared her for doing more mother roles, like Nanay Gloria in “The Greatest Love.” Said role gave Sylvia several best actress trophies last year from various award-giving bodies. It was a sweet victory for her.

After her first reading of the script for “Mama’s Girl,” where she plays the mommy of Sofia Andres, she told her manager to accept the offer right away. She loved the script.

“Cute at kakaiba ang role. Ibang klaseng nanay role ito. Kahit na saan mapunta ang nanay, malayo man siya sa anak, hinding-hindi niya ito iiwanan. She guided her hanggang matapos ang lahat,” said the lead actress of the ABS-CBN afternoon series “Hanggang Saan” where she plays mom to her real life son Arjo Atayde.

“Kahit na nalilinya ako sa role ng nanay, masaya ako. Lahat nang ginagawa ko nagdudulot ng aral sa mga kabataan at sa mga nanay. Ang sarap magbasa ng comments sa Twitter. Maganda ang movie ni Sylvia, may aral. Positive ang dating sa tao kaya happy ako.”

She doesn’t mind playing another mother role in a TV or movie as long as the role she’s playing is different from the last one.

Sylvia believes portraying different moms on screen is some kind of a mission for her. “I was offered a mother role at the age of 27 and with my stay here in the industry, maybe this is my mission – to play the role of a mother in various projects that impart good lessons in life,” she said.

The actress is being praised, not just for her acting, but also for keeping herself fit. She is back training with Elma Muros. She needs to lose weight for a movie that she is set to do next month and for an action film.

With her sexy figure, will she bite an offer from FHM Men’s magazine to do a sexy pictorial, just like what Ina Raymundo did?

“Tapos na ang chapter na iyon sa buhay ko. I am happy with I have. If I was younger and my kids were still small, I would have probably accepted the offer. But not anymore. Baka iwanan ako ng asawa ko. Respeto ko na iyon sa asawa ko at mga anak ko. Medyo payat ako ngayon kaya I feel good wearing sexy clothes. Pero hanggang doon na lang ako,” said Sylvia.

“Mama’s Girl” opens today in cinemas nationwide. Also featured in the film written by Gina Marissa Tagasa and directed by Connie Macatuno are Diego Loyzaga and Jameson Blake.

Angelica Panganiban and Judy Ann Santos of Star Cinema’s “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes”

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Director Jun Lana jokes that the script of “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes,” with Judy Ann Santos and Angelica Panganiban in the lead roles, is based on a true story. Playing the husbands of Juday and Angelica are Joross Gamboa and JC De Vera.

In the movie, Juday and Angelica discover that their husbands have a relationship. The movie follows their journey in trying to win back their husbands and in the process learn about acceptance and forgiveness, among other things.

Direk Jun said he wrote the script in 2008 with Elmer Gatchalian, his friend since college, but it has undergone revisions as there had been changes especially in gender politics.

“There are projects that wait for the right time, opportunity and right casting. And we are happy we did it with the right cast. The way this story started, it the story of some of our friends. I don’t know why we have so many stories like this in the Philippines,” said Direk Jun.

“I was able to get a lot of input from my friends and we were able to make a full story. The lines that we used in the movie were the exact lines that they used after they were left behind by the people that they love.”

“Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes” is a journey of two women who pursue their erring husbands. Their seemingly happy marriage are put to the test when both wives discover that their husbands have an affair, leaving the two wives in a series of misadventures in the hopes of foiling their husbands’ relationship.

“Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes” is produced by Star Cinema, Quantum Films and The IdeaFirst Company. Rated A by the Cinema Evaluation Board, the film also opens today in cinemas nationwide.