Melai Cantiveros has always carried her Bisaya roots loud and proud, be it through her humor or her digital talk show "Kuan On One," where she converses with fellow Bisaya celebrities in their mother tongue. Thanks to Melai and platforms that celebrate regional voices and content, more people are now appreciating the charm of the Bisaya dialect.
And if you’ve ever wondered what iconic Filipino movie scenes would sound like if delivered in Bisaya, watch Melai take on Kapamilya Chat's acting challenge where she was asked to reenact some iconic movie scenes but had to deliver all the lines in straight Bisaya.
Melai started off with the unforgettable “There was never an us” scene from "Maybe This Time," originally by Sarah Geronimo and Coco Martin. Our Kuantie was fully in the moment as she delivered the Bisaya version. We also learned that “’Di na ko nimo igat-igaton” is the Bisaya translation of "Huwag mo na akong landiin."
Next up was Claudine Barretto and Piolo Pacual's iconic scene, "Mahal mo ba ako dahil kailangan mo ako, o kailangan mo kaya mahal mo ako?” from "Milan," which is one of her favorite flicks. Of course, she delivered it in Bisaya like a best actress, but ended up laughing right after, saying she got a little lost in the line as it started to sound like a tongue twister, “Parang minekaniko ni Monico ang makina ni Monika.”
Melai also went all out in her version of Liza Soberano’s “Pangit ba ako? Kapalit-palit ba ako?” scene from "My Ex and Whys," pouring every bit of emotion into it that everyone in the studio was impressed, prompting her to joke, “Naramdaman nila na pangit ako." Melai revealed that Liza's 'hugot' hit so hard because she had actually been there before, recalling how her first boyfriend in General Santos City cheated on her, adding in jest, "Gano'n din sinabi ko, 'Pangit ba ako?' Tapos may narinig ako, 'Oo.'"
Melai as Kathryn Bernardo? Of course, she was game. She didn't hold back as she copied that rain-soaked confrontation scene from "The How’s of Us," which she considers her favorite KathNiel film.
This challenge is making us want to manifest a full Star Cinema movie in Bisaya—starring Melai, of course.