WHEN the scoring of the music for the film “Gensan Punch”, a story of a disabled—with a prosthetic leg—Japanese boxer (who rose to fame in General Santos City but is barred from fighting in his native country) was in the post-production stage, director Brillante Ma. Mendoza was bent on getting the voice of Cebuana singer Dulce to sing its theme song.
“Kaya lang, ang sabi ni Brillante sa akin, tinitingnan daw niya kung paano sasabihin sa akin o kung paano ako makokontak. Pinakiramdaman daw niya kung ano ang aking magiging reaksyon (Brillante told me he was sizing me up of what I would react if he offered me the role or how to get in touch with me. It was through a mutual friend that he was able to talk to me),” disclosed Dulce as she chuckled.
“Baka raw hindi ko tanggapin. Diyos ko naman, Brillante Mendoza ‘yan. Bakit naman hindi ko tatanggapin (He thought I would refuse it. My God! He’s Brillante Mendoza. Why would I beg off?),” she quipped.
It turned out the lyrics were in the Visayan language, and Dulce even got more excited about the offer.
To top it all, the piece was a winning entry to a music festival in Cebu. “Gano’n kagrabe ang istorya ng kanta (That’s how great the story of the song was),” she exclaimed.
“Laylay” was the title of the song and it has a very symbolic meaning to the movie which also tackled the unfortunate story of the main character as he grew up without a father apart from an accident he tragically figured in when he lost his leg.
“Karangalan ko bilang Bisaya na kantahin ang theme song ng (It’s an honor for me as a Visayan to have sung the theme song of) ‘Gensan Punch,’” beamed Dulce, the so-called Asia’s Timeless Diva.
“Gensan Punch” recently won the coveted Kim Jiseok Award at the 26th Busan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea. Kim Jiseok was the founder of the Busan film event and the award is to pay homage to his achievements as a film artist.
The film is also fielded at the 2021 Tokyo International Film Festival as a gala presentation in the non-competition section.
Who knows that maybe in other world film events, Dulce’s rendition of the theme music will be recognized. “Para sa Pilipinas, di ba? (For the glory of the Philippines, isn’t it?)” she said.