An Older Interview: Who’s Afraid of Lualhati Bautista?, Part 2

Continued from yesterday…

Original source here.

What is your writing style? Do you, say, start work on a novel and then at mid-point, leave it for a while and start another one? I don’t do that. I finish one thing at a time, I don’t overlap writing commitments. For instance, at the moment, I’m supposed to finish seven scripts for the NCCA. I’ve already done two, five more to go. So I tell people I can’t start work on another project for the next two months. By then, however, I’ve already set my priorities for the succeeding periods of time. And if I don’t like certain projects, I tell people right away. Interest in a project, for me, is very important. If I have the slightest doubt about a project, I don’t accept it.

Favorite work
From everything you’ve written, do you have any favorite literary work?
Ah, ‘yong ‘’Bata, Bata…'’ pa rin. “yong ‘’Deakada,'’ mahal na mahal ko ‘yon. With ‘’Bata, Bata…,'’ my enthusiasm never died down. When we were doing the movie, I was attending presscons and premieres. Of course, I also treasure my having done ‘’Dekada,'’ but ‘’Bata, Bata…'’ had created a greater impact in the market.

How would you describe your style in writing? Any disciplines you observe?
None. Even with young writers, I tell them not to observe any guidelines. They should feel free, they should experiment. They should discover and develop their own bent.

Can you cite two things you love about yourself?
I love feeling free. I love locking myself up in my room. I love being able to go wherever I want to go and be with the people I want to be with.

Two things you hate?
My smoking, I’ve long wanted to give it up. And then there are the tantrums I can’t control. I wish I could be a more diplomatic person. Like Marilou Diaz-Abaya, she can say anything in a nice way. For example, I wouldn’t be reluctant to ask at the recent Famas awards: How could I win for Best Story when I was not even nominated in the Best Screenplay category? It is through the screenplay that one learns about the story.

Citations
‘’Bata, Bata…'’ garnered a lot of citations from award-giving bodies this year…
It won Best Picture and Best Screenplay from the Urian. Best Picture and Best Screenplay from the Young Critics Circle. From the Famas, Best Story.

Where did you get your idea for writing ‘’Bata, Bata?'’
The idea came from a long period of experiences of being a woman. When I was a young girl, the little boys would jump over flower pots and people would think that was OK. But when I did it, they would say: ‘’Ka babae mong tao, ginagawa mo ‘yan!'’ And then, the young boys could slip a note into young girls’ books to propose, but people wouldn’t expect young girls to do the same.

If we were in an ideal world, you would say that even the girls would have the right to propose?
I have taken that right a long time ago!

How much of yourself do you see in Lea Bustamante?
A big part. Everybody’s been accusing me of that. A lot of her feelings and sentiments are mine. She had my heart.

When I was reading your novel, I told myself that what I was reading was true. That the writer was not simply fabricating things.
Through Lea, I had an opportunity to say whatever was on my mind. Like, when we’re mad, we curse.

I read a lot of that in your novel.

Real life
That happens in real life. So why should it be any different in a novel or a movie?

When Raffy and Ding were leaving Lea, she didn’t fight for the custody of her two children, she allowed them to make their own decision. Would you have done the same thing in real life?

Lea is confident of herself. She trusts in the love that she has shown her children.

The last time we talked, you were saying that you were working on a new novel.
Not exactly new. I started working on it in 1993, but I’m not done yet. I can’t tell you the theme for ‘’security'’ reasons.

How does the rest of 1999 appear to you?
There’s still a lot to be done. It was high gear in 1998, and it’s spilling over to 1999. But probably, in the next few months, I’ll declare a time-out. I need time for myself!

('’Bata, Bata…'’ the stage play, will be shown in August, 1999 at the UP, AFP and Greenhills theaters. For inquiries, please call 893-4492.)

For bulk orders and discounts, please call Cacho Publishing House, +632/6318361 or fax +632/6315244.