MASSKARA  FESTIVAL  IN  BACOLOD:  KAPUSO  STARS  UNMASKED

[PHOTO AT LEFT - Rhian Ramos responds to the crowd’s warm welcome by singing Tell Me Where It Hurts at the Kapuso mall show. Bacolod City , Philippines]

MANILA, OCTOBER 25, 2009 (STAR) By Jerry Donato -  Her Welsh mestiza looks has never boxed Rhian Ramos in saccharine, rich girl roles. Rhian can deglamorize herself a bit and be a regular Jane like her character Jodi on GMA 7’s Stairway to Heaven.

Televiewers cry with Rhian whenever Eunice (played by Glaiza de Castro) becomes the green-eyed monster.

“I think I have become comfortable,” says the young actress of her portrayal of Jodi and the public’s observation that Rhian has now become her character.

“(But) we never intend to act the way the actors did in the original version,” adds Rhian. “We want to do things differently. I think Dingdong is very good as Cholo the way Glaiza is as Eunice. She’s convincing. When you watch her, you can say she’s really bad.”

The actors’ different take on the Korean characters and the other local flavors infused in the story keep viewers glued on their TV sets even though they know where the story is going and how it will end.

For Rhian, Stairway to Heaven’s total approach and treatment to the story encompassing acting and directing contributes to its solid following.

Take the case of the airport scene. Rhian says it was done the same way but the creative and production team gave it a different spin, with the characters having another reason to be there.

Although there will be few, minimal twists and turns, the Tagalog version will remain 90 percent faithful to the original.

“We’re not trying to change the story too much,” shares Rhian.

Is Jodi’s tragic ending inevitable?

“I believe so,” she replies.

In an AGB Nielsen report, Stairway to Heaven registered a 31.2 percent rating. This was conducted before Cholo tried everything to bring back Jodi’s memory and Eunice’s plan to put an end to Cholo and Jena’s closeness. Recently, the soap earned its highest rating of 33.4 percent.

The Cholo-Jodi craze was also evident in last week’s Kapuso Masskara Festival show in Bacolod City. As soon as Rhian entered the stage, our kababayan cheered, “Jodi! Jodi!.” Their warm welcome was reciprocated by Rhian’s singing Tell Me Where It Hurts and You. It was like Jodi joining the Masskara festivities. With her were TJ Trinidad playing Tristan in Stairway and Katrina Halili of Rosalinda. They also treated everyone to song numbers.

Earlier, Rhian and TJ attended an outreach program in Dr. Joaquin Villarosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Brgy. Sum-ag. They had fun games participated in by 100 children aged six to 12. Winners brought home GMA items and prizes.

The Kapuso stars also distributed 200 school bags complete with school supplies and umbrellas.

After Zorro, Rhian thought she would take the backseat and concentrate on doing two indies and recording an album.

Stairway to Heaven will end soon. But Rhian still has her hands full. She is set to do an album of rock and hip-hop tunes, which will reveal Rhian’s musical preferences.

Panday will also make her visible come Christmastime. Rhian vies for the fatherly/brotherly affection of Sen. Bong Revilla in the movie. Iza Calzado and Geoff Eigenmann are part of the cast. This excites Rhian because it’s her first time to grace the Metro Manila Film Festival. She looks forward to the parade of stars and the awarding ceremonies.

So, it’s a busy last quarter for Rhian.