KIM: The New Sandara?
by Aprylle Liabres
Khaleej Times Online

EVER SINCE Kim Chiu topped Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition, people have been comparing her to Sandara Park, the Korean charmer who took the first season of Star Circle Quest by storm. The reason for the comparison wasn’t just physical.

Yes, the resemblance was there: both slim and chinky-eyed with long, jet-black hair — and both having traces of Asian ancestry (for Kim, Chinese on her father’s side and Filipino on her mother’s, while Sandara was Korean but had grown up in the Philippines) — there were plenty of similarities. The fact that they were both products of a reality-based talent search only served to further the comparisons between them.

And just when Sandara’s career seemed to grow cold, Kim’s was getting hotter and hotter. The last straw came this week, when Kim’s commercial for Rejoice — a shampoo brand that Sandara used to endorse — debuted on local TV screens.

Kim is clearly the hot young star of the moment. Her team-up with fellow PBB Teen Edition housemate Gerald Anderson scored big in the primetime drama 'Sana Maulit Muli'. After the series’ run ended, the two joined the cast of the youth-oriented show 'Go Kada Go', which replaced 'Let’s Go'. In the show, Kim plays Melody Go, an accounting major who is an interior designer at heart. Gerald plays Gabriel Fernandez, an arrogant working student from Cebu. He exudes a bad boy image but is a softie at heart —witness the fact that he cries secretly when he hears his and his ex-girlfriend’s theme song.

There is a lot of pressure on Kim (and on Gerald as well), because with a bunch of relative newcomers for co-stars, everyone will be looking to them to sustain interest in the show.

The fact that 'Go Kada Go' will now be occupying a choice primetime slot is indicative of how much faith ABS-CBN has in Kim and Gerald.

It’s said that after Go Kada Go, Kim and Gerald will be doing another soap opera to premiere during the third quarter of the year, although nothing is confirmed as of yet.

What’s more is that the pair is also due to start shooting their new movie for Star Cinema, which will also be the directorial debut of Lino Cayetano. The movie is said to be titled 'I’m Fallin’ For You', which is also the title of an old Jamie Rivera hit.

Despite all the good breaks she’s getting, Kim says she’s not in the business to compete with anyone, especially not Sandara. 'She did so much during her time, that I feel I don’t really have the right to compete with her,' says Kim. 'I’d rather just do my own thing and do my best while I’m at it.

'Kim says she feels really blessed. This new movie which they’re about to shoot is just the proverbial icing on the cake. 'I really want this movie to succeed, not just for us, but also for Direk Lino because it’s his first movie. Gerald and I will do everything to make this movie a success. We’re so grateful to Star Cinema and ABS-CBN, because even if we’ve only been in showbiz for a year, we’ve already done so much. So it’s only right that we give our 100 per cent best to every project.'