Actor-turned-politician Aiko Melendez is celebrating her 25th anniversary in showbiz with the color red, instead of the milestone’s traditional silver hue.

The daughter of the late ‘70s matinee idol Jimmy Melendez has dyed her mane a fiery red, but said it has nothing to do with making a statement or even as an attempt to look younger.

“It’s for good luck,” she laughed when she sat down with The Manila Times on Wednesday.

Apparently, her director in her forthcoming teleserye on ABS-CBN titled Apoy sa Dagat, Eric Reyes, practices Feng Shui and told her that red is very lucky for a person born in the Year of the Rabbit. Aiko was born on December 16, 1975.

“Thankfully, the hair goes with my role in the series. I play a former prostitute and the mother of Angelica Panganiban,” she related.

When it comes on getting luck on her side, Aiko will do anything these days, especially since she is marking her 25th anniversary with a dream come true. She is finally producing a movie, an independent film, titled Ika-pito.

“I’ve always wanted to produce a film so this is really a big achievement for me,” she happily shared. “I’m co-producing it with [Ilocos] Gov. Chavit Singson since we’re shooting the movie—a suspense-drama—in his province.”

Aiko will also star in Ika-pito, which will effectively be her comeback film, after she devoted the past nine years as councilor in Quezon City. She added that she chose to do a thriller as a new challenge since her body of work for the silver screen as well as television is mostly concentrated on drama.

“I want to do something new; to show a different side to my acting,” she elaborated.
‘Take it! Take it!’

Asked to recall the biggest highlight of her 25-year-career in show business, Aiko quickly replied, “Siyempre yung ‘Take it! Take it!’ sa Metro Manila Film Festival.”

She was referring to the controversial awards night in 1994, when the presenters read a different name for the Best Actor and Actress awards, the latter of which should have been hers. Long story short, she got her trophy in the end, and the surge of box office movies and top-rating TV shows followed for one of the most successful actresses of the 1990s.

“I have Tito Ronald Constantino to thank for discovering me; [the late] Tito Douglas Quijano for managing my career; Mother Lily Monteverde [of Regal Films] for producing my movies; Ogie Diaz; and director Maryo J. delos Reyes for giving me all my breaks, especially on TV with the Aiko Drama Special. That was the longest drama series at the time,” Aiko, who is now a Backroom artist, enumerated.

She added that she values the hardships she went through to become a full-fledged actress. From taking on the smallest supporting roles to seriously studying the craft of performing for the cameras.

“To be honest, ibang iba ang mga artista noon sa mga artista ngayon,” she mused. “I won’t name names, but because of the reality shows, yung mga winners niya, makikita mo na ang feeling nila artista na sila, sikat na sila. Wala na silang respect for the senior actors na talagang pinagtrabahuhan ang career nila.

“Kami dati nila Carmina [Villaroel], Gelli [de Belen], Ruffa [Guttierez],” Aiko said of her batch mates in showbiz, “pag may dumaan na mas senior na artista, tumatabi kami at pinapakita namin ang respeto namin sa kanila.”

She hopes that the younger generation of celebrities will change their attitude of entitlement. Aiko believes that humility is one of the reasons why she and her peers are still very active in the industry today.

Politics on hold
Tackling the other side of her public life, Aiko told The Times that she is not running for any government position in 2013.

“Hindi po ako nag-file for candidacy for any position in Quezon City,” said the former councilor and vice-mayoralty aspirant. “Ang reason is because I just signed a contract with ABS-CBN, and even if they said I could run, I felt it would be unfair to them and my constituents kung divided ang oras ko para sa dalawang endeavors. I also have the movie I’m producing so I will really be busy with showbiz in the meantime.”

She clarified, however, that she is not closing her doors on politics, and that it is very likely she will run again in 2016. Most probably for a congressional seat with the experience she has tucked under her belt during her incumbencies.

“There’s plenty of time to go back to politics. For now, dito muna ulit ako sa showbiz,” Aiko ended with a contended smile.