With a lot of notable projects under her belt, Maricel Soriano could have turned down ‘Meet, Greet and Bye’ when it was offered to her. But she had no second thoughts in accepting the project because she fell in love with its story.
‘I like the story because it’s very, very real,’ Soriano said of ‘Meet, Greet and Bye’ where she plays Baby, the matriarch of the Facundo family. In the film, Baby’s cancer relapsed, which leads to her children Tupe (Piolo Pascual), Brad (Joshua Garcia), Leo (JK Labajo), and Geri (Belle Mariano) to nurse her back to health.
‘Ipinagpapasalamat ko sa Diyos kasi napaka-blessed ko, na ang mga kasama ko ay mababait na tao. Mababait ang mga bata, masisipag sila, wala akong masasabi kasi ang galing-galing nila,’ she continued, referring to Pascual, Garcia, Labajo, and Mariano.
(I want to thank God because I’m so blessed. I’m working with good people. These kids are kind and hardworking. I don’t have anything to say because they’re so good.)
The family drama marks Soriano’s reunion with Pascual after the 2001 film ‘Mila,’ while it is her first time working with Garcia, Labajo, and Mariano. Even if they jumped straight to filming on their first meeting, she had no problem getting along with her onscreen children.
‘Umikot na ‘yung utak ko [noong nabasa ang script] kasi binigyan din nila ako ng casting. Noong binigay sa’kin ang cast, sabi ko kailan ang shooting? Ngayon na. Nagulat na ako sa set kasi unang meeting pa lang, shoot na kami,’ she said.
(My mind was spinning when I read the script because they gave me the casting as well. When it was given to me, I asked when the shooting would be? Let’s do it. Yet I was surprised by the set because in our first meeting, we immediately went into filming.)
For outsiders, Soriano’s acting prowess made it seem that portraying Baby was easy – to which she said it is simply borne out of wanting to pull off her character well.
‘Hindi ‘to easy. Lahat naman ng ginagawa namin, hindi madali. Mukha lang madali kasi pinaghuhusayan lang namin ang craft kasi sobrang pagmamahal lang ang pwede mong masabi at nabibigay mo sa trabaho mo (This is not easy. What we’re doing here is not easy. It only looks easy because we do our best with our craft out of love. We want to say that we did our best with our jobs),’ she said.
One of the key points that Soriano took to heart while doing ‘Meet, Greet and Bye’ was how time was fleeting for parents, which she hoped the younger generation would realize at the right time.
‘Marami akong nakakasalamuha na bagets na naka-mini skirt sila and naka-bag sila, t’as lalapitan nila ako [para bumati]. Tapos tatanungin ko sila kung alam ba ng mga magulang nila kung nasaan sila ngayon,’ she said while looking back at a past encounter with young adults.
‘Alam niyo, importante na malaman ng mga magulang ninyo kung nasaan kayo. Para sa kalooban nila, kung hindi nila alam kung nasaan kayo, sino ang kasama niyo, anong nangyayari sa inyo, huwag niyong dedmahin ang mga nanay niyo. Isa lang naman hinihingi nila, ibigay niyo na,’ she continued.
(I would interact with a lot of kids. Some of them wore mini skirts and bags, and they would approach me to greet me. I would ask them if their parents knew where they were. It’s important for your parents to know where you are. For their peace of mind, they need to know where you are, whom you’re with, and what’s happening. Don’t take your mothers for granted. They only ask for one thing and I hope you grant them that.)
The screen veteran pointed out that there will come a time when parents would grow older, and the younger generation would grow up and have families of their own. ‘Huwag niyong isnabin ang inyong mommy and daddy. Huwag niyo silang pabayaan at dedmahin na lang.’
‘Importante ang magulang, sobra. And sana lagi niyong sinasabi sa magulang niyo kung gaano niyo sila kamahal,’ she continued. ‘Kasi walang magulang ang nag-isip ng pangit sa mga anak nila. Minsan, hindi nila alam para mag-meet lang ang ends, gagawin ang lahat para maibigay ang mga ginagawa nila. ‘Yun ang tinatawag na unconditional love.’
(Don’t snub your mommy and daddy. Don’t leave them alone. Don’t take them for granted. Your parents are very important. I hope you always tell your parents how much you love them. No parent would think badly of their children. Some are willing to do anything just to make ends meet and to give you everything. That’s what you call unconditional love.)
Directed by Cathy Garcia-Sampana, ‘Meet, Greet and Bye’ will hit theaters on November 12.
The film also stars Kaila Estrada, Kaori Oinuma, Matet de Leon, Jeffrey Tam, KD Estrada, Marnie Lapus, Kit Thompson, and Robbie Jaworski