GETTING bashed for working with Vilma Santos anew, a calm yet unapologetic Lotlot de Leon explained her side in an interview.
Addressing her haters — particularly loyal supporters of her mom Nora Aunor — Lotlot pleaded, “Huwag na kayong magtampo. Nagtatrabaho lang po ako (Please don’t take it against me, I’m just working).”
Apparently, Lotlot’s doing another film with the Star for All Seasons didn’t gain traction from most Noranians — their idol being Vilma’s arch rival during the ’70s.
Lotlot plays support in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Uninvited” which also stars Aga Muhlach and Nadine Lustre.
This is the second time Vilma and Lotlot worked together after “When I Met You in Tokyo,” last year’s MMFF entry.
Lotlot de Leon says her ‘Uninvited’ co-star Vilma Santos and her mom Nora Aunor are good friends outside their on-screen rivalry. INSTAGRAM PHOTO/MS.LOTLOTDELEON
“In that movie though, Tita Vilma and I didn’t have a single scene together. We had, but we were just talking on the phone,” Lotlot shared.
It is in Dan Villegas’ Uninvited, however, that they did scenes together for which Lotlot is inordinately thankful.
Proof of her gratitude was Lotlot’s bending over backwards just to have their picture taken during the last day of the film shoot.
“I really made an effort even if I was a bit too shy! It’s such an honor to be working with Tita Vilma!”
The erstwhile child actress simply would want most Noranians to realize that not because her mom and Vilma were rivals once upon a time, it means she cannot get anywhere close to the latter. In fact, Lotlot only has tons of praises for Vilma.
Not everybody knows that the two movie queens are “magkumares” (co-godmothers) — Vilma is Nora’s other adopted child Kiko’s godmother.
Lotlot hastens to add, “My mom loves Tita Vilma dearly as much as Tita Vilma loves my mom. Tita Vilma is like family.”
Never to be missed out, too, was Lotlot’s first day-of-shoot encounter with Vilma.
“My call time was in the morning, so I reported on the set ahead of her. When she arrived, Tita Vilma proceeded to my tent. She goes, ‘Nice to see you again!’ We hugged and kissed. Tita Vilma is beautiful inside and out, and I just would like to thank her for her kindness and warmth. Also, thanks to the producer (Mentorque Productions) for giving me a chance to work with Tita Vilma.”
Note to a few Noranians: Lotlot’s appeal is so elementary as it is so easy to pick up.
Shouldn’t you be happy for your revered idol seeing her daughter maintain her close ties with Vilma?
The Nora-Vilma or Vilma-Nora fierce rivalry is “very 70s” — it has long died, ergo, no need to resuscitate it!
Leave the past behind, time to move forward. No one is “uninvited.”
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