Zsa Zsa Padilla performs in King and Queen of Hearts on Feb. 13 at Waterfront Cebu.

MANILA, Philippines – Fall in love over and over again with Zsa Zsa Padilla this Valentine’s eve in a special concert on Feb. 13, 8:30 p.m. at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino
titled King and Queen of Hearts.

Joining her in the musical event is international multi-platinum award-winning artist and songwriter David Pomeranz.

With Marl Lopez as the show’s musical director, fans, music aficionados and lovers can look forward to a classy evening of beautiful music as Zsa Zsa and David dish out a romantic repertoire of classic and contemporary love songs culled from their respective catalogue of multi-platinum hits. David, who is an iconic purveyor of immortal love songs, shall sing such hits as Got to Believe In Magic, Born For You and On This Day among many others. Zsa Zsa, on the other hand, will perform live her award-winning and commercially successful hit songs which rightfully canonized her as the country’s Divine Diva.

Zsa Zsa will perform Hiram, Ikaw Lamang, Minsan Pa, Mambobola, Kahit Na, Point of No Return, We’re All Alone as well as tracks from her album Unchanging Love such as Hanggang, Ibigin Ka Muli and Kung Alam Mo Lang.

King and Queen of Hearts is produced by Donato Gonzalez of 3some Productions.

For details, call 321-1310, 0917-9366600, 0908-8888850 or 0923-7118829.

Zsa Zsa Padilla makes a Mano Po comeback in one of the two MMFF entries of Regal Films this year. In an interview with PEP, she said: “I became part of 2, 4, and 6, so, I will have to force mother to put me in 8 and 10.”

“If it’s gonna be too much pressure to win, it will show in you performance.”

This quote came from Zsa Zsa Padilla, who did a remarkable job in assimilating the character of Olive Uy in Mano Po 6: A Mother’s Love.

But even if most people anticipated rave reviews for her portrayal, she told PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) that acting award is never her motivation to be an effective actress.

The Divine Diva added, “Kung talagang gusto mo magka-award, don’t think about. Example, foreigner ito ha. Hindi naman nakakaiyak yung situation sa TV pero parang nakikiiyak siya sa lahat ng eksena. Paano gusto niya magka-Emmy [a TV production award in the U.S.]…Pero hindi siya nano-nominate, kasi it was too obvious. She tried so hard, so it showed.”

So if you ask her how she prepared for her bitchy role in this Regal Films-produced movie, she said with a laugh: “I just read the script.”

PLAYING CONTRAVIDA. In Mano Po 2: My Home, she played the Chinese mistress of Christopher de Leon.

In Mano Po 4: Ako Legal Wife, which gave her Best Actress trophies, she was the Chinoy wife of a wealthy Chinese, who has two mistresses.

In Mano Po 6, she’s the bitch in the life of Melinda Uy (Sharon Cuneta), her Chinoy sister in law.

Talking about her role, “I was a teenager when my brother [Christopher de Leon] fell in love with Sharon. Alma niyang hindi papayag ang parents namin, so nagtanan sila. My whole life, this is a character na alam niya kung ano ang kinamumuhian ng magulang niya, so, loyal siya sa family niya. Kaya, galit din siya kay Melinda.

“And siyempre may discrimination pa. Brinand pa namin siya na malas…”

And true to her role, she made Sharon’s life a living hell.

She explained the reason why she’s a bad girl in the movie, “Ang pagka-bad niya, it’s out of her loyalty to her family and the family belief. Kung baga sinabi ng magulang niya, malas ‘yan, yun…Lumaki ka sa environment na ganun, malas siya, kahit na, little things na gagawin ay pinahihirapan namin siya. Talagang we didn’t treat her well-ginawang parang katulong, sobrang pang-aapi—lahat ng puwedeng gawin, ginawa namin sa kanya.”

How would she compare the previous Mano Po with the present installment?

“The last one was fun, the line so funny. Direk [Joel Lamangan] made it funnier. The execution was perfect. Recently, you know, [it's a] heavier material.

“You know my first day?  I didn’t have dialogue. Beauty shot lang ako dun…Sabi ko, ‘Oh my god, ako ba yan? Ang galing-galing naman cinematographer.’ Na-shock ako sa beauty ko doon…Pero masarap yung character ko talaga, e.

“You know why? I love acting and being like another person even for just a day…”

There are times, however, when she feels that she’s the antithesis of her role.

“My gosh, you’d wish it to end na, lalo na kapag soap pa,” she admitted. “If you don’t like what you’re doing…Dati kasi, dating sistema—mabilisan. Ibibigay sa ‘yo yung script, the next day na ang taping. Hindi mo naaral, ‘tapos ang feeling mo, hindi mo naman character yun…”

MANO PO WARDROBE. Her sense of fashion in the movie is “very conservative,” but she actually doesn’t mind if it’s for the role.

“I’ll be wearing shoes and clothes I don’t wear in real life,” she said. Good thing, “wala na akong pinagawa kasi may mga suits ako na sana ay for soap opera na hindi ako natuloy sa casting—that’s another topic…”

MANO PO 6 SYNOPSIS

Melinda Uy is a billionaire widow whose life is a rags-to-riches story. The daughter of a Chinese immigrant and a Filipino small businessman, Melinda had been a victim of discrimination in the local Chinese community, being only half-Chinese. Melinda was only in her late teens when she got married to Alfonso Uy, the scion of the wealthy Uy clan. But Alfonso’s parents frown upon the marriage, believing that it is cursed. Disappointed with Alfonso’s choice of wife, they disinherit him.

The couple strike out on their own, starting a small business from scratch as they raise a family of their own. . But, as Alfonso’s parents predicted, a string of misfortunes hounds the marriage. The business they put up enjoys only a brief period of prosperity before it goes bankrupt. And just when they are slowly recovering from their financial woes, fire breaks out in their residence, wiping out everything they own. But the worst is yet to come. By this time, the couple already have four children, namely Carol, the eldest, followed by Stephanie, Audrey and Walden. But the kids would not enjoy the company of their father for long. Unexpectedly, Alfonso dies of a massive stroke.

A widow at a young age, Melinda along with her children is compelled to live with her in-laws who maltreat her. One day, Melinda, along with eldest child Carol, returns to the house of her in-laws from a visit to her mother. Melinda is shocked to find out that she is no longer welcome. She is driven away after a failed attempt to take Carol away from her.

Little Stephanie, Audrey and Walden are left behind in the house of the in-laws. Melinda’s efforts to take custody of them come to naught as her in-laws manage to hide the children from her. Melinda goes through hell in her attempts to take back her children. But Melinda’s determination is no match to the power of her in-laws.

Short of giving up, Melinda vows to someday take back her children as she channels her efforts to succeed financially, while continually monitoring the condition of her three children from afar.

Growing up away from her mother, Stephanie learns to hate Melinda, thanks to the constant brainwashing of aunt Olive who finds pleasure in demonizing Melinda.

Melinda experiences a good turn of fortune in the years that follow. She becomes one of the most wealthy and powerful women in the business community. At about this time, the fortunes of her once powerful in-laws are on the decline.

But Stephanie, now a young adult who’s already taking over the businesses of her aunt Olive and grandparents, is about to get married to a shady character, the dashingly handsome Daniel Chan.

Melinda is now ready to revive her claim on her three children, but years of separation make it seem impossible for her to win back their love. But the news of Stephanie’s marriage to Daniel Chan alarms Melinda, forcing the powerful widow to act, thus putting her on a collision course with Olive and the in-laws.

This time, Melinda is determined to succeed in having back her grown-up children. And this time, events transpire to make Melinda prove to her estranged children how much she really loves them.

In this age of revivals, it is quite inspiring to know that Filipino music enthusiasts still appreciate and give due recognition to original Filipino compositions.

IIBIGIN KANG MULI surely found its way to the hopeless romantic nature of Filipinos as it talks about waiting for a lost love and the possibility of second chances. The song is composed by Diana S. Dayao and is included in Ms. Zsa Zsa’s album UNCHANGING LOVE released under Polyeast EMI Records. The same album has been awarded GOLD and is already nearing the PLATINUM mark!

CONGRATULATIONS, MS. Z! As always, we are very, very proud of you!

To all her friends and supporters, please keep on voting to get the single up in the charts. Just key in MYX (space) VOTE (space) IIBIGIN KANG MULI and send to 2366.

Thank you, guys!

By WALDEN SADIRI
November 21, 2009, 9:34am

In “Mano Po 6: My Mother’s Love,” where she joins a big cast of high calibre actors, awarded actress Zsa Zsa Padilla’s goal is simple – to make each of her scenes as memorable as possible!

A veteran of the “Mano Po” franchise from Regal Entertainment (she was in “Mano Po 2: My Home” and “Mano Po 4: Ako Legal Wife”), she said that her upcoming movie is different in a lot of ways especially when it comes to the actresses. She described the support roles of Ciara Sotto and Heart Evangelista also major dramatic feats in the film.

“Throughout the film I won’t always be seen so as an actress I have to find ways to make my scenes memorable in order for me to stick to the moviegoers’ mind,” she quipped.

With that in mind, prior to her first shooting day, she approached her director Joel Lamangan with her suggestions. She thought of putting a heavy Chinese accent in the way she would speak English as well as Tagalog. She was partly inspired by the parents of her Chinese friends who have such accent because they barely speak Tagalog or English.

But that’s just the speaking part. Phyiscally, Zsa Zsa like in her past “Mano Po” stints, is transformed into a chinky-eyed Filipina-Chinese woman through make-up. Emotionally, Zsa Zsa’s Olive, the sister-in-law of Melinda (played by Sharon Cuneta) would be her most antagonistic role to date!

“I hope moviegoers will hate me because then I would know I have done a good job…in the film, I will make Sharon’s life truly miserable…there will be physical and verbal abuse,” she described.

So what made her decide to accept another “Mano Po” project?

“I know that before this was offered to me, the script has undergone many revisions. Unfortunately when it was first offered to me I had to turn it down because I was supposed to be part of the “Dolphy at 80” tour in the States. But that didn’t push through. So the role was offered to me again and I told Joel Lamangan that I seldom do a bad person role. I asked that my character should make a mark in the film.

“So a lot of face slapping and confrontations were added,” Zsa Zsa said.

The challenge for her as an actress though wasn’t getting mad or letting lose her evil screen persona. It was how to stop it!

“When you’re in the zone, you have to make a conscious effort to stop when the scene is over. Otherwise you’d be hot-tempered all the time. I mean, before the shoot you’re psyching yourself to be shouting and cursing all the time and that’s hard to stop if you don’t know how to stop such situation,” she explained.

If Zsa Zsa seemed intense on breathing life to her Olive, the rationale is simple. When she was filming “Batang X” she was inspired by the late Nida Blanca’s acting. Becoming close to Nida because of her hubby Dolphy, she revealed that she was surprised that during their scene together, she saw not the person she knew but rather the character Nida was portraying then.

“I asked myself who was this person I was talking to. Where was Tita Nida? Oh my God, this is how an actress should be! I salute her and that’s what I want to happen to me as an actress that my personality disappears while people would only see my character in the film. I hope this will come across to people when they watch me in ‘Mano Po 6.” she related.

So far, for Zsa Zsa, she is positive that she is doing well in her character judging from her scene with Heart Evangelista who plays Stephanie the daughter of Sharon in the movie. She said that she remembered the “blank” expression of Heart on her face in one of their scenes.

“Heart is such a darling to work with. She is very quiet on the set. In our first scene together she was like dumbfounded. And I was pleased with her expression because it was an expression that was asking ‘Who am I talking to?’ Then I asked her if she saw me in character. And she said yes,” shared Zsa Zsa.

Bottom line for Zsa Zsa in “Mano Po 6” is that she has given her all for the movie. Even if she or Sharon were a bit hurt in their “realistic fight scenes,” she sees it as an honor to be working with a dear friend who is also considered as one of the country’s best dramatic actresses.

“I’m really happy to be part of the biggest ‘Mano Po’ project. You just couldn’t ask for more because the cast consists of great actors and actresses, and we have a multi-awarded director at its helm and a story from another awarded scriptwriter, Roy Iglesias,” exclaimed Zsa Zsa.

Also in the cast are Christopher de Leon, Dennis Trillo, Ryan Eigenmann, Boots Anson Roa, Kris Aquino, Nina Jose, Nicole Uysiuseng, JC de Vera, John Manalo and Ciara Sotto.

At the moment Zsa Zsa is busy preparing for her guesting in Sharon Cuneta’s shows at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas on Nov. 27 and at the Agua Caliente Resort at the Palm Springs on Nov. 28. Her latest album entitled “Unchanging Love” has been receiving good airplay with its second single “Iibigin Kang Muli.”

“Mano Po 6: My Mother’s Love” is Regal Films’ official entry to the 2009 Metro Manila Film Festival.