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Ara may be a good girl but she actually prefers bad girl roles. These days, “Hindi na uso ‘yung kawawa na hindi lumalaban na martir.”
“Mabait ako sa totoong buhay!” Ara Mina exclaims with a laugh when we asked about her character in Lupin, the elusive and sinister Sister Anna Nicole. Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Promo photos courtesy of GMA Network. She shares that while she is a good girl, she actually prefers bad girl roles, adding that these days, “hindi na uso ‘yung kawawa na hindi lumalaban na martir.” “Kasi pag mabait ka, parang dull. And naalala ko, sa Mano Po (2002), nung una akong nanalo ng Best Actress Award, mean ako dun, e. So parang lumalabas ‘yung talent mo and ‘yung character mo pag bad ka.” In the glam action series Lupin, Ara plays Sister Anna Nicole, whose vile intentions are hidden under the holy habit she dons. It turns out that she heads a cult whose goals are to be fulfilled with Lupin’s help. “First time kong magkaroon ng kulto. Every taping, tinatanong ko, ‘Direk, bad na ba ako sa role ko, o good? Nagugulat na lang ako. So parang mas challenging, di ba?” Ara’s last primetime series was in Mulawin (2004), although she did a brief stint for Darna (2005) as Dyesebel. “Siguro tama lang ginawa ko,” she says. “Kasi noong time na wala akong ginagawang soap, busy ako sa singing career ko. Maganda din ‘yung nami-miss ako paminsan ng tao sa TV.” But there’s one thing that Ara misses most, and that’s doing drama. “Kasi puro adventure ‘yung napapasukan ko na soap. Hopefully, mabigyan ako ng drama, kasi yun naman ‘yung forte ko.” In the future, Ara wants to portray characters as complicated as psychopaths and kleptomaniacs. She cites her lead part in the 2003 film titled The Cory Quirino Kidnap: NBI Files as one of the most fulfilling roles she played. Business Girl Away from the cameras, Ara co-owns the restaurant Bubble Gang toppings (along Katipunan Avenue) with six of her Bubble Gang castmates. They had to close it indefinitely, however, while looking for a new location. “Kesa naman hintayin naming malugi, kasi hindi na namin naasikaso (at) napo-promote.” Osteria 88 (along Tomas Morato), Ara’s second restaurant, offers fine-dining to its regular clientele. “Hindi naman sobrang lakas, pero kumikita siya,” she humbly says. Her third and last business is “Posh Models,” a modeling agency located in Makati. “It’s doing good naman, (now on its second year), and ‘yung “Loving Ara” (concert) ko sa Araneta, ‘yun ‘yung first (production under) Posh Entertainment. Kumaga modeling agency (siya and) at the same time, parang branching into events.” Although a rigid showbiz schedule prevents Ara from visiting her businesses as often as she would like, she makes it a point to call up her managers for updates. “Inaalam ko kung ano nangyayari, kung ano report nila,” she shares. Catch Ara as Sister Anna Nicole in Lupin, weeknights after Asian Treasures Do you think Ara should do drama again? Talk about it in the iGMA Forums!