Aga Muhlach Plays a Sinister Role in Uninvited
Celebrated matinee idol Aga Muhlach has won numerous acting awards in his more than 40 years in show business. Three of these were Best Actor awards given by the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). The most recent was 2019's Miracle in Cell No. 7, where he played an intellectually-challenged man who was wrongfully accused of murder. The other two were for 1992's Bakit Labis Kirang Mahal and 1993's May Minamahal—two films that cemented Aga's status as a romantic leading man.
For decades, Aga's career thrived on playing likeable and sympathetic roles. At 55, he still gets cast as the ultimate dreamboat. Just this year, Aga was paired with 27-year-old Julia Barretto in the music-themed light drama Ikaw Pa Rin Ang Pipiliin Ko.
His career longevity is a testament to his exceptional talent, as well as to the audience support that he continues to enjoy.
"It's either you'll like my character or you would want to kill him!" says Aga about his role in Uninvited.
Against the Grain
For MMFF 2024—the festival's 50th edition—the actor dares to offer the public a movie in which his role is against type. As Aga told Esquire Philippines, "It's either you'll like my character or you would want to kill him!"
The project is the mystery drama Uninvited where Aga stars alongside fellow MMFF winners Vilma Santos and Nadine Lustre. The rest of the formidable cast is composed of Ron Angeles, Cholo Barretto, Gio Alvarez, Ketchup Eusebio, Elijah Canlas, RK Bagatsing, Gabby Padilla, Lotlot de Leon, Mylene Dizon, and Tirso Cruz III.
The director-producer is Dan Villegas, the MMFF Best Director for English Only, Please, and the company behind the film is Brian Diamante's Mentorque Productions, which made the MMFF 2023 horror Mallari.
The story takes place at the birthday of the rich Guilly (played by Muhlach) whose party guests include the gate-crashing Eva (Santos), a mother out to seek vengeance for the death of her child. Lustre plays the role of Guilly's fierce daughter, Nicole.
Based on the trailers, Guilly smokes, throws tantrums, is hated by his daughter, and also tortures at least one female character. Rated R-16 without cuts by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), Uninvited is perhaps Aga's most provocative movie to date. (The only other sinister role of his that comes to mind is 1996's Sa Aking Mga Kamay where Aga played a serial killer.)
"Now I am more comfortable about doing edgy roles," says Muhlach.
'Worst Sort of Evil'
Dodo Dayao, screenwriter of Uninvited, said that on a scale of 1 to 10, Guilly is a 10 in terms of badness. Dodo elaborated, "Guilly is the man who has everything, someone who has achieved the ultimate freedom: a freedom from want and as a result his desires, his lusts, have escalated, mutated even. He's the worst sort of evil because he doesn't believe he is."
Breathing life into Guilly was a fresh change for Aga. "At my age, I want something different to offer, and now I am more comfortable about doing edgy roles."
He didn't even think twice when it was offered. "I didn't ask for this," he averred. "It's God's gift."
Helping him make the transformation complete were the direction of Villegas, the set design by Michaela Tatad-King, and cinematography by Pao Orendain. "Pagdating ko sa set, it was a totally different world that they created. Kaya naging madali sa akin na maging si Guilly."
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During the phone conversation with Esquire Philippines, Aga was evidently proud about Uninvited. Weeks after principal photography had wrapped up, he was still giddy about the experience. "When I'd come home after each shooting day, the feeling I had in me was more of happiness and satisfaction," he said.
So did playing bad feel good? We can almost see Aga's twinkling eyes and trademark dimples as he uttered, "It was fun."
Uninvited opens in cinemas nationwide on December 25.
