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“Hindi totoo ang premise ng show,” says comedienne Tiya Pusit, who plays the multi-head geared Tiya Bella on hit sitcom Bahay Mo Ba ‘To
“Hindi totoo ang premise ng show,” says comedienne Tiya Pusit, who plays the multi-head geared Tia Bella on hit sitcom Bahay Mo Ba ‘To. Tiya Pusit is talking about the show’s plot, which revolves around two families fighting for ownership of one house. “Hindi totoo yon. Iyong mga galit-galit, that’s scripted,” she says. “Naku maniniwala ka ba, kapag nakita mo kami, bonding talaga kami. Family kami dito,” she says. Tiya Pusit paints a very vivid picture of her character, hinting that Tiya Bella isn’t mean, just misunderstood. “As they look at me, I’m the villain. But I’m not. I am a matandang dalaga. Unattached. Never been kissed, never been touched, but totally molested!” she laughs. “Pamangkin ko si Jingle, si Francine (Prieto). Magkamukha naman kami di ba?” Tiya Pusit asks as Francine walks by. “My character here is the owner of a carinderia. Patay na patay din siya kay Nene, kay Ronaldo Valdez. (Do I have a crush on him) in real life? Yes!” she says with a twinkle in her eye. Tiya Pusit says that she and Tiya Bella both have a penchant for speaking in loud voices, but unlike her character, she’s actually very conservative. “In person, in real life, disciplinarian ako. Medyo conservative. Virginal,” she says with a wink. She loves playing Bella because the character gives her a lot of room to be creative, both in her acting and her physical appearance. She gets her inspiration for Tiya Bella’s quirky fashion sense from what’s happening in the show itself. Tiya Bella has garnered a small following, all of them looking forward to what kind of outfit this outlandish fashion “icon” will sport next. “I have a different gimmick every week,” Tiya Pusit says. Tiya Bella’s unique fashion sense was Tiya Pusit’s own idea. “Actually, ako ang nag-iisip kung ano ang ilalagay ko,” she says. “I started with her clothes. After that, nagpa-tattoo ako, my whole body. Meron nga akong ahas. See how big my tummy is? That is how big the snake is, too.” After that came make-up. The more garish, the better. Lastly came her famous hair and head gear. Tiya Pusit admits that she had a bit of trouble with her hair because she had it colored so often. “I had my hair cut. Dati mahaba ang buhok ko. I used to dye my hair every three months. But since I played Tiya Bella, I ended up having it dyed a different color every week. It got so brittle I had to have it cut. Another time I dyed my hair blue. After three days of washing, it became green. Sabi ko ayoko na yata. Oo, nasira talaga ang buhok ko. So I went to the parlor and told them, ‘Putulin na natin!’” This isn’t the first time that Tiya Pusit has gone all out for a role. Her meticulous preparation has always been part of her effort to please the viewing audience. “Talagang sinasaktan ko ang sarili ko just for the character,” she says. It isn’t often that a character goes the extra mile for a role. That’s why Tia Pusit’s quirky characters have been winning people’s hearts these past decades. Text by Yvette U. Tan. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. Catch Tiya Bella’s antics on Bahay Mo Ba ‘ToTuesdays on GMA.