ANGELES CITY?For her newest indie movie, multi-awarded actress Gina Pareño dyed her hair gray and learned two dialects.

After her moving performance as a jueteng collector in Jeffrey Jeturian?s ?Kubrador,? Gina returns to the indie route via the role of a strong-willed, principled matriarch in Dante Mendoza?s ?Serbis.?

?Her husband cheated on her, and she will stop at nothing until justice is served,? Gina said of her character, Flor.

?Serbis,? written by Boots Agbayani Pastor, is based on the lives of people living inside the Family Theater in San Nicolas, Angeles City, where much of the film was shot. It is also about boys who offer sex inside movie houses.

During a chat with Inquirer Entertainment, Gina said her hair turned brittle and dry after it was dyed. ?But it had to be done, to make the role believable. Nakakatulong din kasi sa emosyon,? the veteran actress said. ?Direk Dante said I can?t change my look for a month, so tiis muna ako.?

Gina also said she agreed to color her locks because she could not pass up the chance to work with Mendoza. ?He?s young and brilliant. He works swiftly and accurately. I can see that he really enjoys what he?s doing. Love n?ya ang paggawa ng pelikula. I?m happy to be finally working with him.?

Gina added that she was so impressed with Mendoza that she had no qualms about learning Ilocano and Kapampangan, as the director required.

One single request

In one particular scene, Flor?a Manileña who marries an Ilocano, then relocates to Pampanga?scolds her children for taking the side of their father during a court hearing. ?The idea is that when a person is angry at someone, lumalabas ang totoo sa dila. It was a tough scene. Pero nakaraos naman,? she said. ?My only request was to not shoot that scene on the first working day. I told Direk that, while I had memorized my Ilocano and Kapampangan lines, hindi pa pumapasok sa katauhan ko si Flor.?

How did she pull it off? ?I did my research,? Gina shared. ?I asked help from a friend who speaks both dialects. I recorded her voice, listened to it and practiced a lot.?

Gina?s character is mother to four children. Jaclyn Jose, as Naida, plays the eldest. Also in the film are Dan Alvaro, Coco Martin, Kristofer King and Julio Diaz. Amado ?Bing? Lao is creative producer.

Mendoza?s CenterStage Productions recently signed a co-production deal with the French outfit Swift Distribution for ?Serbis.? The French company is expected to shoulder a portion of the film?s $500,000 cost. Swift is also the distributor of Mendoza?s ?Masahista? and ?Tirador? in France.

Gina will soon be seen in Dante Nico Garcia?s ?Ploning,? featuring Judy Ann Santos. In June, she will team up with Jeturian once again to work on the gay film ?Parangal,? which will be produced by MLR Films.

Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph