Nadine Lustre and Sam Concepcion have always been good friends, belonging to the circle Nadine’s boyfriend, James Reid, is in.

Nadine Lustre and Sam Concepcion

Yet it’s only now that Nadine and Sam are paired onscreen, in Viva Film’s dance movie “Indak.”

“It was fun and it became easier for us because we’ve known each other for a long time, ” Nadine said.

How did they pull it off as lovers in the movie? Did it feel” weird” at first?

“Whenever we do our scenes, of course, as much as possible, we put ourselves in the characters we are playing. As actors, we want it to look real and believable. So, even if we are good friends, we can’t put a wall between us. We are actors. So, as much as we can, we have to show that what we are doing is real,” Nadine answered as matter-of-fact.

Sam said it greatly helped that Nadine is excellent actress.

“She wouldn’t win best actress awards in the past couple of months if she isn’t serious with what she’s doing with her work. It’s easy to work with her. When we’re on the set, we play our characters, then cut, and we laugh,” he said.

Asked how they feel during romantic scenes, Nadine said jokingly, “It gets awkward. Parang incest. During our last scene, we were looking at each other, parang incest yung nangyari.”

Doing it to the beat
Doing a dance movie is a first for both Sam and Nadine. They went through a number of dance trainings, so it was physically challenging for them.

“It wasn’t easy because our production number were like for competition level. So, talagang hataw. On the set, we are all friends, so that sort of eased our trainings. There were lots of rehearsals and plannings,” Nadine said.

“Indak” also features dancers from dance groups, such as G-Force.

“Whenever we are all together, it gives us a different feeling. It gives us a sense of freedom to express ourselves through your body. Before, I felt conscious because it had been awhile since I danced. But when I’m with them, that awkwardness goes away,” she said.

While it was hard, Nadine and Sam enjoyed doing the movie because they have always liked dancing. Nadine said that even James idolizes Sam. Both Nadine and Sam performed the choreography and stunts on their own without having any doubles or dancers to do it.

“It was hard. Every time we rehearsed, our body would ache the next day. For me, I really like dancing because it gives me a different kind of adrenaline rush. So, even if it’s hard, we’re very passionate about it and we enjoy it at the same time. As much as possible, if ever there‘s a hard choreography or liftings, I really want to do it on my own. I want to experience it,” she said.

Nadine idolizes celebrity dance choreographer Georcelle Dapat-Sy, while Sam likes the Jabowackeez and Kinjaz.

“Every time I see her, she really pushes me to train. I look up to her because aside from the fact that she really dances well, she puts up a lot of talents, like the G-Force members on the stage. Whenever I watch her, I really get inspired. The videos she released, like with ate Sarah Geronimo to all of our concerts, tatak-G Force talaga. That’s very inspiring,” she said.

About ‘Indak’
The movie follows the story of simple island girl named Jen (Nadine), who loves dancing, but is shy to show it to anyone until a video of her dancing went viral online . Vin (Sam), leader of Indak Pinas, invites her to come to Manila and join them.

“My character taught me to even push harder to reach my goals. Before, I sometimes still get scared. But after playing her character, it taught me to just keep going until I reach it. If I fall, I can just get up again,” she said.

Nadine learned a few things from working with Sam—to be comfortable with her body and be natural.

“With the dancing, I wouldn’t say that I’m really that good already. So, that’s why I always ask them to train. It’s important that I keep on learning and you never stop dreaming,” she said.

Fresh from winning two best actress awards, Nadine feels more inspired to strive harder withour pressuring herself. She won in Famas and Gawad Urian.

“I feel like if I add more pressure to myself, it might even be harder for me. Because if at the back of my head that I need to please everyone and match up what I’ve achieved in the past, of course, it’s gonna be hard for me. So, as much as possible, like “Indak,” to just enjoy. What’s important is as long as you love what you’re doing,” she said.

Sam, on the other hand, feels grateful to be chosen for the movie, amid many other actor-dancers from his generation.

“I’m very thankful to everyone that trusted me to be part of the movie. I’m really only as good as my last performance. It makes me keep doing better and keep growing. It also adds to have a supportive family and friends behind you,” Sam said.

“Indak” opens in cinemas nationwide on Aug. 7.