MANILA, Philippines?Although he is grateful for the success of his mainstream movies, drama actor Piolo Pascual insists that he is more than ready to tackle roles that don?t necessarily stick to his matinee idol persona.

?Most of my movies are commercial,? he admits in an exclusive interview with Inquirer Entertainment. ?They follow a certain formula: romantic, feel-good, happy ending.?

When he read the script of Raya Martin and Adolf Alix?s independent film ?Manila? ? a twin bill inspired by Lino Brocka?s ?Jaguar? and Ishmael Bernal?s ?Manila By Night? ? Piolo was immediately ?excited.?

?It was dark,? he quips. ?It?s something the audience won?t expect of me.?

But he?s certain that his fans also want to see him in different kinds of roles. For ?Manila,? he is playing a druggie rocker and a slum-dwelling bodyguard.

He wasn?t even afraid of being unrecognizable?sporting dark skin and looking deglamorized in the two episodes.

Updated classics

?I want to offer something new to viewers. It?s one way of uplifting and educating them as well,? he explains. ?A lot of people from my generation didn?t get to see Brocka and Bernal films. With this movie, we are giving them the chance to see updated versions of classics.?

That was how he convinced his handlers in Star Magic to allow him to do ?Manila? ? his third indie project after the short film ?Kagat ng Dilim? and the feature ?Chopsuey.?

?I told my management company that this movie is important to me ? I believe in it,? he asserts.

He has so much faith in the project that he also signed up as one of its producers ? a first for him.

?It?s risky. You need to be careful in executing it, especially since we are re-telling classic movies,? he notes. ?But I?m confident because everyone in this team is passionate ? and they are not doing it to make money.?

He says that he is learning a lot on the set.

?I?m very much involved in it,? he relates. ?I learned that each day is important and that it costs a lot to pack up a shooting.?

On his first day in the slums of Baseco, he recounts, ?I was exhausted. I hardly slept and came straight from a taping of [the ABS-CBN soap] ?Lobo.? But I didn?t want to cancel the shoot because it would be very expensive [to do so].?

It?s tiring, he concedes, ?but all worth it because we are doing something worthwhile.?

Piolo and his co-producers in Bicycle Pictures and MJM Productions hope to ?market the film abroad and enter it in international festivals.?

?When I attended the Paris Cinema festival [last month], I realized that even though we?re a third world country, we can compete with the best movies from abroad,? he says.

Although he?s gone indie, he?s not completely turning his back on mainstream cinema.

He?s currently shooting a new romantic flick with Angel Locsin, tentatively titled ?Australia,? produced by Star Cinema and directed by Rory Quintos.

Needless to say, he?s devoting just as much time and energy to this mainstream project. ?Before going to my ?Manila? shoots, I take horse-back riding lessons in the morning. It?s rigorous ? a crash course because I have to look convincing as a cowboy.?

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