What I missed on TV5′s bio on Vilma Santos
As a confirmed TV addict, I have yet to watch a revealing biography, warts and all, of any local celebrity. That's true of TV5's feature on Vilma Santos on its late evening documentary, "Anggulo." Most of the revelations on the show are public knowledge -- how she got her first break as a movie star at age nine on "Trudis Liit," her thriving and multi-awarded showbiz career, her unsuccessful venture as movie producer, her failed marriage to Edu Manzano, her success as mayor and governor, etc. etc.
Vilma's life is full of interesting details that TV5 would have uncovered if it did not limit its interviews to Ate Vi herself, Sen. Ralph Recto, their children Luis and Ryan Christian, Christopher de Leon, director Joey Reyes, her classmate, Aida Sagum and her loyal fan of 40 years, Yolly Santos.
There are other personalities who could have given more insights into her life, her personality, her frustrations etc. After all, "Anggulo" purports to look at a person or issue from several angles and it did examine Vilma's life as a showbiz personality, a politician and as wife and mother. The show only scratched the surface.
I'm not even suggesting that "Anggulo" devote time to lurid details like a showbiz gossip columnist would. I'm just asking for more depth. Maybe I'm being unfair to TV5 which only had one hour to spare to tell Vilma's story. "True Hollywood Story" on E channel allocates two hours to its celebrity bios.
If this were featured on THS, the bio would have presented a more detailed analysis on why her movie venture floundered. Corollary to that, THS would have examined her life when she was in financial distress early in her career, how she had to take one movie assignment after another to pay off her creditors. THS would have dug deeper into her political career.
"Anggulo" mentioned her first marriage to Edu in passing without going deeper into why the union failed. There was nothing on her other romantic relationships with other notable personalities like Romeo Vasquez and many others.
Instead, Vilma's story is presented like a fairy tale where everyone lives happily ever after. Even Luis, her son by Edu, when asked how his parents' separation affected him said, "I'm sure they explained it well. It was never an issue for me." He was only four and life proceeded smoothly after his parents' broke up?
Maybe Luis was telling the truth but THS would not have left it at that and interviewed other people who were knowledgeable about the subject matter.
However, I'm thankful for little revelations I personally didn't know that any devoted Vilmanian like my friend, Rey Manalo, probably knows by heart:
●She is left-handed and boasts that she's good at drawing and sketching. She would have enrolled as a Fine Arts student if showbiz had not intervened.
●She has a mini statue of the Virgin Mary in her P5-7 million bus converted into a mobile office. The Virgin Mother has a seat all to herself, with a seatbelt all her own.
●She carries a hankie which has become her security blanket. She clings to it when there's tension in the air and uses it to wipe her face.
●She has a net worth of $418-M. She jokes, "Ngingiti lang ako sa isang araw, six zeros na kaagad."
●She says her husband (Sen. Ralph Recto), who is 10 years younger, wooed her 24 hours a day. He would attend her shooting till the wee hours of the morning, bring her home, go to his house and take a shower, attend school then return to her shoot.
●Senator Recto has one "tampo" that he has not forgotten up to now. She was unable to attend his graduation.
●Luis revealed that Vilma exercises her face constantly to tighten her skin. One time, she experienced a locked jaw which took a while to get back to normal.
●Vilma does not excel in the kitchen. She can't even cook rice.
Finally, I wonder why TV5 did a show on Vilma as the miniseries of her rival Nora Aunor is about to air on the Kapatid network? The Vilma-Nora rivalry is another angle "Anggulo" did not examine on the show.
Disclaimer: The views and observations of the author do not represent the position of Yahoo! Southeast Asia on the issue or topic being discussed.
