Gen Zs and the younger generations may not know who they are, but for millennials and the older generations, Dindo Arroyo, Rez Cortez, and Bembol Roco are among the most dreaded personalities in local TV shows and movies since they’re usually seen playing cruel and fearsome villain roles. However, in iWant original action-comedy film “Kontrabida,” they turn into real-life heroes.
Let us watch them take on the mind-boggling yet fun game brimming with nostalgia—the “Sino Ka Ba Challenge.” In this game, which they played during their Kapamilya Chat guesting, they had to guess from which film and whose character was being shown in the pictures that were flashed on the screen.
They may have had a hard time figuring out whose photo was being teased on the screen, as well as recalling which movie each came from, yet they enriched our knowledge of Pinoy films. In every movie, each of them either reminisced on their fondest memories or shared a never-before-known fact that we indeed found really interesting.
The first one was a screen-grabbed photo of Dindo from the 1996 film “Ang Probinsyano,” on which the long-running Kapamilya teleserye “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” was loosely based.
According to him, he was only notified by the late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr., who was the lead star, co-writer, director, and producer of the said film, that they were going to work on a project together.
He only learned about his role and the other details of the movie as soon as he arrived on the set, so he was a bit clueless then about what he was supposed to do and did nothing but listen to their director. Nonetheless, he was still able to pull it off, with Da King repeatedly telling him that he did a good job after shooting their scene together.
With his distinct Afro hair and eyes back in his younger years, it was easy for Rez to distinguish that it was him in the picture, which was taken from the 1976 drama flick “Insiang.” It was helmed by the legendary Lino Brocka and was the first-ever Filipino film to be brought to the Cannes Film Festival and be shown around Europe.
The third image was of Bembol in the 1975 neo-noir drama mystery film “Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag,” which, according to him, was the first-ever major big-screen project that he had ever done in 1975.
Since it was only his right ear and right arm that were seen, Rez did not realize that it was actually him who was in the fourth photo. It was from the 2011 Visayan horror movie “Di Ingon Nato,” which required him and his castmates to learn and speak Bisaya.
Bembol also failed to recognize himself in the image taken from the 2017 social realist dramedy flick “Pauwi Na,” directed by Paolo Villaluna, which won an award from the Shanghai Film Festival.
Lastly, we got to see Dindo again with a long mane when a picture of him from the 1991 action film “Contreras Gang” was flashed on the screen, in which Rez was one of his co-stars.
The host wrapped up the episode by asking them if there are still things that they wish to happen in their careers. Bembol said that he’s just waiting for whatever comes by since he feels like he has already done everything in the 52 years that he has been in the industry.
Rez, meanwhile, dreams for the glory of Pinoy films to come back and for more of it to be shown internationally. Dindo seconded this, adding that we have talented and brilliant actors and directors, so it’s going to be a waste if the world won’t be able to see them. He also hopes to experience becoming a director like Rez and make movies through which veteran and young actors can work together.
Directed by JR Reyes and produced by iWant and MAVX Productions, “Kontrabida” offers a thrilling and humorous twist on the action genre, blending nostalgia, wit, and heartfelt moments.
Watch the country’s most iconic screen villains turn into unexpected heroes in “Kontrabida,” now streaming exclusively on iWant.