Ara is the ‘afternoon queen of mean'

After getting audiences riled up by playing kontrabida in Prinsesa Ng Banyera, Ara Mina holds onto her "Queen of Mean" title with the new daytime drama Ligaw Na Bulaklak.

The award-winning actress plays the role of Janet, a beautiful but distrustful assistant who will make Lea’s (Roxanne Guinoo) life a living hell. "Sobrang insecure ako kay Roxanne. Feeling ko siya yung karibal ko sa lahat ng bagay. Mapaghinala ako sa mga tao," she describes.

Her role as the scheming Cassandra in Banyera showed audiences a side of Ara Mina that they had never seen before. With the accolades she earned from her convincing portrayal, Ara was the immediate choice to play the main villain in Ligaw Na Bulaklak. But the actress clarifies that she is not being stereotyped into anti-hero roles. "Sabi nila effective daw ako sa mga roles na ganito. I remember sa Mano Po ako yung black sheep sa family. Dun ako nanalo ng Best Actress award. At least nakikita ng mga tao yung pagiging versatile mo as an actress, kahit saang role ka ilagay, magiging markado." she explains.

The real challenge for Ara in taking on kontrabida roles is that it’s the exact opposite of her own sweet disposition, something friends and co-workers can attest to. She has to shed her usually bubbly personality every time she gets into the role of Cassandra and Janet. As to where Ara gets her motivation to become "bad," she says, "Hindi kasi ako mapaghiganti sa tunay na buhay. Dito ko na lang binubuhos sa role ko para makita ko kung paano maghiganti."

Still, Ara looks forward to playing other roles, like being the poor heroine to someone else’s kontrabida. But for now, she’s focusing on giving her all to make the character of Janet as effective as that of Cassandra. "Kung tumatak sa inyo ang role ni Cassandra sa Prinsesa ng Banyera, asahan niyong tatatak din ang role ni Janet dito sa Ligaw Na Bulaklak," she promises.

Source: Kapamilya Central