- Direk Ruel S. Bayani noted that Wado, Derek Ramsay’s character, is not homophobic and wasn’t actually a particular gender.
- After watching the movie, netizens were quick to remark that Wado doesn’t have the right to out Philip, Paulo Avelino’s character.
- Direk Ruel shared that he doesn’t make other people’s opinions an issue.
Ruel S. Bayani recently directed the movie, Kasal. SPOILER ALERT! The movie has an unexpected underlying LGBT theme that can’t be seen in teasers and trailer. It stars Derek Ramsay, Bea Alonzo and Paulo Avelino. Derek plays Wado, the ex-boyfriend of Lia (Bea) who got engaged to Philip (Paulo).
In the movie, Wado discovered that Philip is actually a bisexual, a secret the latter has yet to reveal to Lia. This became the reason behind Wado’s advances towards Philip. Wado also hoped that these actions would reveal the secret and encourage Lia to leave Philip.
Netizens were also quick to remark that Wado doesn’t have the right to out Philip. Some also noted that only Philip can open the door to the closet and step out of it. He doesn’t need Wado to pull him out. In an exclusive interview with PEP.ph, Direk Ruel defended Wado against homophobic and anti-gay comments.
“Iba-iba ang tao. When you make movies like this, maiintindihan mo na iba-iba ang tao. If you pay close attention to the movie, malalaman mo na ang motivation ni Derek ay love, hindi hatred. Hindi naman niya inaano si Paulo sa simula ng kwento, e. It’s only when he found out. So doon mo malalaman na yung nangyari is conflict between two characters with obviously the same objective, to marry this woman, to have this woman as wife, so yun ang conflict ng isa pero hindi to bash him.”
Direk Ruel also noted that Wado is not homophobic and wasn’t actually a particular gender. He only wanted Philip to remain truthful to Lia if they are going to get married.
“[The character of] Derek was not homophobic at all, Derek was not against a particular gender. He was against him [Philip] lying to Lia and him losing Lia to someone who is lying to her. Yun yung idea that he is against the idea na matatalo na nga lang ako, matatalo pa ako ng isang taong may tinatago at nagsisinungaling, yun yon. In fact, nagdaan din siya sa sarili niyang journey when he made a lot of wrong decisions, at aware naman siya sa dulo ng movie that those decisions were wrong.”
Direk Ruel emphasized that he accepts any perspective from people who had voiced their opinions. He also encouraged people to discuss controversial topics like this. He doesn’t make other people’s opinions an issue.
“When you try to explore a theme, you always put extreme emotions like other characters who are judgmental, so that the characters who are more open-minded, you will have a reference of how different they are. Okay lang yun, konti lang naman yung nagsabi noon, e. Hindi issue sa akin yun, e, because iba-iba ang intindi ng iba’t ibang tao sa iisang bagay, the same way that we interpret literature differently or we interpret art differently, ganun din. You watch something, iba-iba tayo ng nararamdaman. To some people hindi naman offensive, to some people offensive, ganun naman talaga and it is not the objective of any filmmaker na dapat uniform yung maramdaman, especially movies with delicate, sensitive themes like this.”
