ALL LEGENDARY stuff has to start somewhere. And in the case of Filipino boxing superstar and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, his was in the provinces of Bukidnon and South Cotabato where he developed his skills as a fighter named ?Kid Kulafu.?
Teen actor Buboy Villar plays the young Manny Pacquiao in the biopic Kid Kulafu. — Star Cinema This early part in the life of the legend that is Pacquiao is the focal point of the latest movie offering of ABS-CBN, Star Cinema and Ten17 Productions titled Kid Kulafu.
Directed by award-winning director Paul Soriano and starring teen actor Buboy Villar as the young Pacquiao/Kid Kulafu, the movie documents the early years of ?Pacman? as a struggling amateur and pro boxer and how he tried to make ends meet as a teenager and his relationships with the people around him and those who provided opportunities that helped him become who he is now.
The movie title, the makers and Mr. Pacquiao himself said, was inspired by the fighter?s moniker back in the day where he also took to collecting empty bottles of Vinu Kulafu — a popular Chinese wine in the provinces — to sell to buy food for his family.
?This movie shows my life back then in the province when I was starting. I collected bottles of Vinu Kulafu that was why I was called ?Kid Kulafu.? It shows how life was tough for me before I entered boxing and the struggles I had,? Mr. Pacquiao said in a video feed during the press conference for the movie early this week.
?It is a story of a man with nothing who became something,? he continued.
GOING FOR YOUR DREAMS ?It is also about going for your dreams and making something out of your life,? Director Soriano added, underscoring how Mr. Pacquiao, despite the hardships in life, was determined to change his fortunes through the sport of boxing.
?In one of our talks during the filming, he (Pacquiao) said something that really hit me. Manny said: ?In boxing when you see me get hit and hurt? That?s not pain for me. Pain for me was having no house, no food to eat, no family. That?s pain. At least in boxing when I get hurt or knocked out I have money but when I was a kid I had nothing?,? Mr. Soriano shared.
For noted mixed martial arts fighter and Kid Kulafu fight director Erwin Tagle, the story of the movie is something that athletes and non-athletes alike can take cue from.
?The movie is very inspiring as it shows that anything is possible through hard work. As the saying goes ?Hard work means talent and talent means to work hard?,? Mr. Tagle said when asked by BusinessWorld of his take on the Pacquiao biopic.
?Pacquiao had the innate abilities as a boxer but he continued to strive to develop his talent. In fights, there is always his will to win even if things are not going for him. It stems perhaps to what he went through before boxing that made him strong as a person,? he continued.
AN INSPIRATION AGAINST MAYWEATHER While the showing of the film comes a few weeks before Mr. Pacquiao?s much-awaited bout against undefeated American Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the makers of Kid Kulafu said it was not necessarily timed for it but more of a case of ?it just so happens.?
?The film was actually three years in the making and we are blessed that we are going to open three weeks before the big fight against Mayweather,? Mr. Soriano said.
?Manny is very proud of the film because it shows his ?foundation? as a person and a fighter. And we hope the fans get to rally behind him through it. If Manny gets to be inspired even by 1% as he takes on Mayweather on May 3 because of the film and the reception to it, then we are very happy as storytellers,? Mr. Soriano said.
Kid Kulafu is to be shown in theaters beginning April 15.
