I remember I also recall it from my mother the superstition about the Tikbalang when it is pouring rain in the middle of a sunny day which describes that there are Tikbalang being wed together. Though the story is not about the Tikbalang itself, Viva Films latest movie offering ULAN (Rain) is about the character of Nadine Lustre as Maya who finds love in the story.
The movie ULAN is tagged as a romantic drama with a hint of fantasy. It is about the character Maya who was raised by her grandmother and was made believed about the mythical creature called Tikbalang (half-horse, half-human) plus about the superstition that when the rain pours in the middle of a sunny day, there are Tikbalangs being wed.
Nadine Lustre, the Multimedia Princess, plays the character of the hopeless romantic, Maya. The director who brought, Camp Sawi, Meet Me in St. Gallen and Sid & Aya, Irene Emma Villamor, personally pick the best fit for the character of Maya, which is Nadine Lustre. Direk Irene describes Nadine as "a modern Filipina and really has that depth to understand concepts like this. And brave enough to plunge in to a role of Maya."
The character Maya was already a character created by Direk Iren way back in 1999 from her film class. It is a 5-minute narrative about a girl named Maya. "Her dream was to climb a tree in their backyard," Direk Irene continued, "but her mother would always catch her and reprimand her." Until one day, she finally climbed it "and saw what a fantastic view it was - roofs of different corrugated, rusty metals, top of other trees, some birds. And she was wishing her mother could also see it."
"That was really the germ of the character Maya, and she never left me since," as shared by Direk Irene. "She evolved into a short story when I was already a script continuity supervisor under the helm of Direk Joyce (2004- 2005). By this time, I was reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Allende stories - all those fantastic stories with magic realism elements. So I wrote about Maya seeing tikbalangs, and the mother became the Lola. and I love the rain so nagsama-sama na siya sa utak ko," she also added.
The character of Peter, the current partner of Maya, is played by Carlo Aquino, who is by the way the main pick of Direk Irene because the concept was shared to him.
The movie ULAN also features Marco Gumabao and AJ Muhlach, the most promising actors of their generation, as Maya's ex-lovers.
The young Maya is played by the cute and lovely Ella Ilano, while grandmother is played by Ms. Perla Bautista.
ULAN is a product of hard work and passion. Part of the team is the award-winning cinematographer Neil Daza.
Another interesting part of the movie is the theme song and soundtrack which is from Riverymaya's 90s classic song "Ulan" turned into a much subdued ballad by the newest OST Princess Janine Tenoso. "Heto na Naman" by Rice Lucido is also part of the soundtrack.
Watch the movie and unravel how Maya cultivates self-love and more.
Catch ULAN in cinemas nationwide on March 13, 2019.
