Dimples Romana is probably one of the most loyal talents of ABS-CBN, starting her career with the Kapamilya network in 1997.
But long before borrowing talents from both networks became a trend these days, this was actually more frequent in the ’90 when talent exclusivity was still not observed.
One who experienced this was Dimples, who, at one point, was borrowed by GMA-7 when she became part of the Sunday noontime show, Anna Karenina, starring Antoinette Taus, Sunshine Dizon, and Kim delos Santos.
She recalled this in an episode of The Rewined Podcast, where she looked back at some of her iconic roles.
She said, “At the time, wala pa akong ginagawa, pwede pang hiramin ng GMA ang mga artista. May time na pwede pang hiramin. May time pa na open noon, na mas nakakatawid pa ng kaunti.
“So, bago ako nag-Tabing Ilog, nag-Anna Karenina muna ako! At that time, pwede pa kaming hiramin so pinahiram ako kasi wala pa akong ginagawa.
“So, nag-step in ako for Kim delos Santos. I think yun ang sabi sa akin. ‘Okay, you’ll step in muna as Kim delos Santos, kunyari parang nagpa-facial reconstruct ka.’ So, kino-convince niya na ako yung character ni Kim, si Nina. So, si Nina ako kaya nakapasok ako.
“Kaya back then, nakatrabaho ko na si Miss Sunshine [Dizon] and Miss Antoinette [Taus]. Kontrabida din ako doon, e.”
Soon after, ABS-CBN assigned Dimples to do the role of Jackie in Tabing Ilog, the rival show of Anna Karenina.
Tabing Ilog is headlined by John Lloyd Cruz, Kaye Abad, Paolo Contis, Jodi Sta. Maria, Baron Geisler, Desiree del Valle, Paula Peralejo, and Patrick Garcia.
As her taping schedules in Anna Karenina and Tabing Ilog overlapped, there were a few weeks when she appeared in both shows at the same time!
She continued, “After noon, Tabing Ilog got me naman. So, may time na I think, two weeks or three weeks, sabay na mapapanood mo ako sa pareho, kasi magka-[tapat] yun, e. So makikita mo ako sabay, may Nina tapos may Jackie.
“Nakapag-GMA Love Stories pa ako back when I was allowed. But ngayon kasi, we have exclusivity na. Kaya marami akong friends sa kabila.”
Playing Jackie in Tabing Ilog
Dimples may have played several kontrabida roles like in Agua Bendita, The Greatest Love, and Kadenang Ginto.
But she considers her role in Tabing Ilog as one of the most villainous roles she did early in her acting career.
Laughing, she remembered, “Hanggang namatay siya, nagsinungaling siya!”
Playing the role of Jackie trained Dimples in doing the roles she has now been known for.
“Kaya sanay ako sa mga kontrabida roles na kahit walang redemption, okay lang kasi usually, they would request na sana may redemption sa dulo. [Sasabihin nila], ‘Okay lang ako maging masama pero lagyan mo naman ako ng redemption.’
“Pero ako, hindi, kasi nga iniisip ko, not everybody gets to have a happy ending and sometimes, the most unconventional endings are the ones that stick to you na, ‘Ano yun?'”
In terms of working with the cast of Tabing Ilog, Dimples admits that she was not able to bond much with them as she was still in school at the time.
“Hindi ako masyadong naka-bonding sa kanila ng malala kasi at that time, nagsu-school din ako. E, modules yun, so ako rin yung gumagawa nun, ako yung nag-aaral so hindi ko sila masyadong naka-bonding. Although nakakapag-bonding kami, hindi lang yung sobrang kasing close knit nila.”
But she became very close with one of the show’s lead stars.
“Ang pinaka naging ka-close ko doon ay si Paula Peralejo talaga. Siya yung pinaka naging ka-close ko. She read a lot, she listened to Regine Velasquez a lot, meron siyang collection ng CD dati, ganun si Paula.
“Tapos gandang-ganda ako sa kanya at saka kay Ate Rica. Di ba, noong time na yun, super yung mga Peralejo? I was always a big fan of theirs even until now. So, noong time na yun, yun ang naging close ko talaga.
“Pero naging close din kami nila Idan (John Lloyd), nila Kaye, nila Des, nila Jowds, Paolo, Baron. at saka si Patrick. Si Patrick siguro yung hindi ko talaga masyadong nakakahalubilo kasi medyo may pagka-serious siya. E, parang noong time na yun, medyo nahihiya din ako kasi super crush ng bayan siya noon!”
To know more about Dimples’ other iconic roles on TV, listen to her Rewined podcast interview here:
THE REWINED CHANNEL 