‘Estong’ Takes Us Behind the Scenes of ‘Katips: The Movie’ in Exclusive Interview

Films are executed depending on their genre, concept, and narrative. In historical films, the objective is to exhibit what happened in the past and enlighten the audience using research-based and truthful events.

In Philippine history, the country has a long and distinguished political past during the “Marcos Sr. era.” In 1972, the late dictator and former president Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under Martial Law, which led to various corruption and well-documented abuses.

On Aug. 3, a Filipino musical drama film titled “Katips: The Movie” was released, which is based on the 2016 stage musical “Katips: Ang Mga Bagong Katipunero.” Written and directed by Vincent M. Tañada, "Katips: The Movie” tells the story of activist groups who protested the declaration of martial law.

The Beat Asia got the chance to speak with one of the actors in the musical film, Joshua Bulot, who played the role of Estong.

Joshua finished a marketing degree at San Beda University in Manila. He started his career as a theater actor in 2016 when he performed as Tolits in PETA's hit musical, “Rak of Aegis.” Before he entered professional acting, Joshua was part of a band called JBK, which came from their initials as a trio — Joshua, Brian, and Kim.

What influenced you to pursue a career as an actor?

“[N]agsimula ako sa music lang... nag-audition kaming tatlo [JBK] sa ’Rak of Aegis.’ ‘Di naman ako actor talaga, singer talaga ako (pero) nakuha ako du’n... and na-enhance na lang ‘yung (acting skills ko) siguro nung training. Pero kasi dati nung bata ako ‘pag nanunuod ako ng movie mahilig ako, yung paglalabas ng sinehan, gagayahin ko yung bida, ganun.”

(I started with [my passion for] music...me and my bandmates tried out for a role in “Rak of Aegis.” I'm not really an actor, I'm actually a singer but I was chosen and perhaps [my acting skills] improved during our training. But when I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do after watching a movie in the theater was to imitate the hero or main character.)

Describe your role as Estong in the musical film “Katips: The Movie”

“[M]arami kasing lider diyan [sa movie]. Lider ng kabataan, lider ng mga kababaihan mga ganun. So ako (si Estong) yung lider ng mga manggagawa, like mga jeepney drivers, magsasaka. Tapos mga pinaglalaban namin mga kamalian sa gobyerno, yun yung role ko. Panuorin (niyo) kung ano kinahinatnan ni Estong.”

(There are different leaders shown in the movie, including students, women, and the like. Estong, my character, is the leader of a labor group including jeepney drivers, farmers, and others. Our objective is to fight against the injustices of the [Marcos’] government. You should see the movie to know what will happen to Estong.)

In what ways are you similar or different to your character as Estong?

"Medyo different kami ni Estong. Si Estong kasi matapang, kung ano yung kailangan niya panindigan, yun yung papanindigan nya. Ako naman, as Joshua, ayoko lang kasi ng stress kaya kung mas maganda na lang magbigay, magparaya, magpaparaya ako. So magkaibang-magkaiba kami kasi matapang to si Estong.”

(Estong and I are different in our own ways. Estong is brave and stands for what he believes in. As for me, as Joshua (in real life), I really don't want any stress , so if it's better to just give in and tolerate it, then so be it. [My personality] is different from Estong’s due to his bravery.)

How long did it take to finish the film production?

“Last year, di’ba uso yung lock-in taping. Shinoot namin siya for one month. Matagal din kasi may bagyo kasi nung time na yun. So ang dami ring schedule ang na-delay na hindi natuloy sa araw na yun.”

(Last year, lock-in taping became the new normal [for movie or series production], right? We worked on the film for one month. It took us a long time because there was a typhoon during that month. Most of the schedules did not take place according to plan.)

How’s the experience of sharing the screen or working with other cast members?

“[P]inakamaganda nangyari is, lock-in siya [namin shinoot] magkakasama kami lahat. Si Direk Vince pa naman napaka-walang arte, parang tropa-tropa lang kami kesyo direktor siya o aktor siya, nag-iinuman kami du’n sabay kwentuhan kung ano dapat gagawin. So ‘yun nakaka-create

na kami ng camaraderie, so di na kami nagkakailangan. Tapos natural na magkakakilala kami du’n, magkaka-grupo kami kasi nagkaka-inuman na kami lalo na pag naka-cancel yung shoot kasi maulan. Sila kuya Mon Confiado nagkwe-kwentuhan kami about the film kung anong gagawin para ‘pag nandun na sa shoot hindi na siya yung hilaw at madali na.”

(The best thing that happened during the lock-in taping was that we were all together. Director Vince was there. He really has no airs and graces despite being a director or an actor, he would drink with us and chat about what we should do. I developed camaraderie among my fellow actors because we would drink together especially when the shoot would get canceled because of the weather. Kuya Mon Confiado and I were also discussing the film and what we should do to prepare for the set so that we would be less nervous and have an easier time [delivering our lines])

How was your experience of being part of this musical film?

“S’yempre masaya. Kumbaga first time ko makasali sa isang musical film, ngayon lang ako nakagawa ng musical film kasi usually musical theater lang. Bigla na lang kumakanta, so parang na-excite ako pa’no mapu-pull off na hindi siya corny na parang umiiyak [ako] tapos biglang kakanta.”

(Of course, it's fun. It's the first time I've been part of a musical film because I've only ever performed [live] in musical theater. I was excited about [the musical film] and how I could pull off [the scenes] without being corny, like, I would be crying then unexpectedly start singing.)

“So una, kabado, kung kaya ba? Pero nung nalaman ko naman na ang nagsho-shoot ay magagaling at award-winning, so nagtiwala na lang ako sa kanila which is naging maganda naman talaga ‘yung kinalabasan...Lalo ako natuto kung ano ba nangyari dati. Hindi naman siya, para sa’kin, anti-Marcos na direkta talaga. Hindi [lang] siya yung tungkol kay Marcos, actually tungkol siya dun sa mga naapektuhan nung Martial Law. More on, kung ano ba nangyari sa mga tao nu’n dati, ‘yung ibang mga naapektuhan.”

(At first, I was nervous and kept asking myself if I could do it. But then I learned the film consists of a great production team and award-winning [actors], I decided to put my faith in them, which turned out to be a really good film. I learned even more about what happened before. For me, the film is not [only] directed at Marcos, it is about everyone who suffered under martial law. The fate of those people [who fought] back then.)

Let’s talk about your torture scene as shown in the trailer, how did you rehearse it? Can you give us some details behind it without spoiling anything?

“Kabado ako nu’n kasi ‘yung torture scene na ‘yun, first day ko ‘yun. Isipin mo ‘di ko pa nararanasan ‘yung ibang scenes ni Estong na parang relax lang, parang nakikipag-usap sa tropa, mga ganun. Tinorture na agad ako! So, first day na first day ko ganun ‘yung nangyari. Binigay ko na lang talaga lahat, yung mga naaral ko naman sa workshop sa GMA nagamit ko and collaborative naman sila direk [at] yung mga camera [men], kung pa’no ba dapat gagawin ganun. Tapos nahirapan ako dun kasi nga s’yempre tino-torture ka tapos kumakanta ka parang “Les Misérables” ang dating di’ba?”

(I was nervous because that torture scene was my first day [in taping]. Think about it, I haven't experienced lighter or more relaxed scenes, like simply chatting about our group’s plans and things like that. On my first day, I was put through the wringer straight away! I just gave it my all [and] I was able to apply the [acting skills] I learned during my workshops in GMA. Everyone’s collaborative—the director, the cameramen—on how the scene should be done, things like that. It was challenging for me, of course, I was being tortured and then I needed to sing. It seems like "Les Misérables," doesn’t it?)

“Medyo nahirapan ako kasi parang ’okay umiiyak ako tapos bigla kang kakanta’ dapat di siya magmukhang performance, kumbaga kasi ‘pag kumakanta ka diba nagpe-perform ka pero dapat habang kinakanta mo siya parang sinasabi mo lang yung kinakanta mo. So ‘yun, maganda naman ang kinalabasan.”

(I had a bit of a hard time because I was like, "okay, I'm crying and then suddenly started singing" [and] that shouldn't look like a performance. Because when you sing, you're actually performing, right? But [in the musical film], what I’m doing is like singing while naturally delivering my lines. Well, the outcome turned out good.)

What did you learn from the experience of playing as one of the activist leaders in the movie? What piece of advice would you give to the audience, especially the youth?

“For me, ang lesson na nakuha ko, sa buhay ‘pag alam mong tama, ipaglaban mo. ‘Tsaka aralin mo muna kung tama ba yung pinaglalaban mo o hindi kasi mahirap yung go ka lang nang go tapos mali-mali naman pala ‘yung information mo. Maraming fake news and all, [berepikahin mo muna at] ‘dun mo malalaman kung dapat ba tahimik muna ko dito o lalaban na ‘ko.”

(The lesson I learned is that it’s important to stand up for what you believe in. Also, you must discern if what you are fighting for is right or not, because it’s difficult to argue with distorted information. There's a lot of fake news everywhere, [assess the situation first] that’s when you know whether it’s time to speak up or not.)

“Para sa mga kabataan naman na nanuod...aralin natin ‘yung history din natin, na ‘di natin pwede kalimutan ‘yung mga nangyari — good side and bad side. Actually, sa “Katips” naman, may mga good side naman na pinakita dun, may mga bad side din gaya nu’ng nangyari sa’kin [kay Estong] pero ‘yun nga at least fair parin naman yung film para sa’kin.”

(For the young people who watched the film, of course, the lesson here is that we should also learn our history and that we can't forget what happened [in the past] — the good side and bad side. In the movie“Katips,” there were good sides that were shown, there were also depictions of bad sides like what happened to me [with Estong]. But for me, the film delivered a fair performance.)

Any upcoming projects/roles that you would like to talk about?

“[A]ctually ngayon, hinahanap ko lang yung right sound ko, kung ano ‘yung mga ire-release ko [na solo music] kasi dapat pag nag-release ka ng isang kanta dapat as yourself, as Joshua. Ikaw

yung makakaalam, na parang ‘si Joshua ‘yan! Ganito yung tunog nyan.’. So, ngayon parang nandun pa ‘ko sa process na ‘yun at magko-collab pa ‘ko sa mga producers ko.

(Actually, I'm just trying to find the "right sound" because whenever you put out new music, it should be as yourself, as Joshua. When you hear that music, you’ll know that it resonates with Joshua. At present, I’m still working and collaborating with my producers.)

“Sana suportahan [niyo] parin yung kanta namin as JBK, which is yung ’Porket.’ Available na siya sa iTunes, Spotify, and Apple Music and music video namin nasa YouTube na din.”

(I hope you will still support our song as JBK titled "Porket." It is now available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, and our music video has already been uploaded on YouTube.)