MANILA -- Kim Chiu couldn't hold her tears when she took the stage Thursday night during a thanksgiving celebration for the box-office draw of her debut flick with "love team" Xian Lim.
The 23-year-old actress, in her speech before the cast and crew of "Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?" and ABS-CBN executives, turned emotional as she thanked individuals involved in the film's success.
"Iyong 'Thank you,' maraming napupuntahan 'yon, 'yung dalawang salitang 'yon. Habang buhay kong sasabihin 'yon sa mga taong nasa paligid ko. Grabe talaga, wait lang," she said as she tried to compose herself, laughing.
"Basta sobra akong -- ano ba 'yan! -- sobra akong nagpapasalamat kasi angdami nang nangyari, pero... Basta sobra akong nagpapasalamat sa lahat ng taong nagtitiwala sa akin," she added.
Taking on Sandy
Explaining she was hesitant to take on her first-ever comedy role as the "ugly duckling" Sandy, the actress continued, "Kasi hindi ko talaga inisip na kaya ko magpatawa. E ba't ako umiiyak?"
"Hindi ko talaga inatim na magpatawa ng tao. Kaya kong tumawa sa mga jokes ng mga tao, pero 'yung ako nagpapatawa sa big screen... kaya sobra akong thankful," she said.
Chiu credited the film's director, Joyce Bernal, for guiding her in accomplishing a convincing portrayal of Sandy, whose hysterics after a break-up is seen as one of the movie's comedy highlights.
"Basta sobra akong masaya, hindi niyo alam kung gaano ako kasaya. I'm so happy! Bata maraming salamat, and more power and more happiness and more laughter!" she said.
'Unexpected'
Speaking with reporters shortly after the thanksgiving party, Chiu expressed disbelief in the box-office performance of "Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?," which breached the P100 million mark in earnings less than three weeks since it opened in cinemas.
"Hindi namin inaasahan na ganito siya tatanggapin ng mga tao, pero ginawa naman namin lahat ng dapat naming gawin para mapaganda 'yung pelikula tsaka 'yun, masaya kaming tinanggap siya ng mga tao," she said.
She added: "Masaya ako syempre. Sino ba ang may ayaw no'n, na umabot ka sa gano'ng punto na mapatunayan mo 'yung sarili mo. So masaya ako and thankful sa lahat ng taong nanood, dahil kung hindi dahil sa kanila, hindi kami aabot dito."
The comedy film, inspired by the Ramon Bautista humor and "self-help" book of the same title, is among the 20th anniversary film offerings of ABS-CBN's film arm Star Cinema.
