Ayanna Misola recalls anxiety attacks filming Ang Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili remake

Essaying the role originated by Dina Bonnevie as lead actress in the 1989 erotic thriller Ang Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili is not an easy task. Sexy star Ayanna Misola, who plays the title character in the Vivamax remake of the movie, felt the pressure and exhaustion while filming, to the point of her experiencing anxiety attacks and high blood pressure.

The reimagined version is directed by Roman Perez Jr. and is currently streaming on Vivamax. The story centers on Albina (Ayanna) who “gets entangled with three men who want her: her suitor, her ex-boyfriend and her boss. But there’s another one who wants to control and turn her into a sex monster.”

“No one put pressure on me but myself. Of course, nakaka-pressure po na ma-compare especially with the people na parang nakabantay palagi. Nakaka-pressure but we’re done taping and I hope that you guys will like it,” said Ayanna in a virtual call.

For her preparations, she watched Dina’s classic film before heading to the lock-in taping. “But the story is really different in the remake. Sobrang layo ng background ko now as Albina compared to the previous movie. Magkaiba po yung approach na nagawa ko, it’s not like Miss D’s,” she clarified.

“It was very challenging for me kasi sobrang idol ko po talaga si Miss D — as in childhood idol. Of course, gusto ko po mahigitan yung mga nagawa ko before na films. And also, this is a remake, I hope I did justice to the role as Albina,” she furthered.

On the first day of filming, the new actress narrated how she experienced anxiety attacks while doing a scene with co-actress Ava Mendez. “It was a heavy scene,” she started. “I need to act like I was having difficulty in breathing. So habang ginagawa ko sya, unti-unti namanhid yung buong katawan ko — from legs hanggang sa ulo. Sobrang namamanhid sya pero tinutuloy ko pa rin yung kailangan kong gawin na i-acting. Hanggang sa hindi ko na kinaya bigla na lang akong naiyak.”

She went on, “Natakot din ako kasi namanhid yung buong katawan ko so hindi ko din po alam kung bakit naging ganun. Siguro dahil sobrang heavy na scene.”

Ayanna admitted she had anxiety before but it was the first time that her blood pressure shot up.

Direk Roman also got worried and scared due to the incident, mindful that the filming location was in a 75-year-old antique house. He shared, “Medyo marami talagang spirits. Tapos nung na-high blood na si Albina, natakot ako. ‘Matatapos kaya natin ‘to?’ Kasi wala pa yung exorcism scene pero parang nasapian na siya.”

“Her body was weak because she was tired already,” he recalled. “Di ba usually kapag pagod na pagod ang body, pinupuntahan yan ng spirits eh. We prayed every day on set. Hindi natin masabi… since it was an old house, baka may maligaw na spirit at puntahan si Ayanna. I was really nervous baka maging Ang Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili talaga si Ayanna.”

“I saw her face, ‘Si Ayanna ba ‘to?’ Parang namumutla tapos maputla yung labi tapos yung ginagawa namin na scene na sinasapian siya. Natakot ako so sabi ko pahinga muna tayo ng two hours. Let Ayanna sleep and rest,” he continued.

That episode and the “spirits” that he felt inside the house were the challenges they encountered while taping, according to direk Roman. Aside from those, there were no major issues that hampered in pushing through with the film as they had already prepped up weeks before they met on set.

Meanwhile, direk Roman said that there were a lot of modifications in the modern version of the movie as compared to the original. “The structure was based on the original but the story it’s not the same as the 1989 film. We made changes,” he explained. “Mas makabago, mas Gen Z audience at mas Pinoy. Nilagyan lang natin ng kunting milieu na modeling. We added that context and nilagyan natin ng kunting advertising yung milieu ni Albina.”

They followed the structure of the original film but they deconstructed it, he added.

Vivamax’s Ang Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili also stars Diego Loyzaga, Adrian Alandy, Mon Confiado, Allan Paule, Carlene Ocampo, Micaella Raz and Andrea Garcia.