2021 is a breakthrough year for the love team of Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano. Only six months after their highly-successful romantic comedy series "He's Into Her," now comes their first full-length movie under Star Cinema "Love Is Color Blind" showing on Dec. 10.
It can be said that Team DonBelle is stronger and closer than ever. Their onscreen chemistry is unmistakable and their fellow actors in the movie are amazed how DonBelle are very at ease with each other. Could it be just friendship, or is real-life romance brewing between the two? Only time will reveal.
"Sobrang comfortable nila together. I had to sit down with them in the middle of shooting. Sabi ko, starting tomorrow, maghiwalay muna kayo so you can digest your characters," LICB director John Leo Garcia quipped.
Belle says that communication plays a big part in her partnership with Donny, especially as they have more projects lined up. They do a lot of script readings and character analysis together. After LICB, they're supposed to be prepping for the second season of "He's Into Her."
Donny says there are Top 3 things about his screen partner that earns his admiration. The fact that Belle has a good heart, how she loves her craft and how real she is.
The pair has been dubbed the "New Gen Phenomenal Love Team" that rose out of the pandemic. Their hashtag #DonBelle trended on Twitter several times, fueled mainly by die-hard fans. The same fans have mounted attention-grabbing LED billboards about the duo in areas like Times Square in NYC and Gangnam in South Korea. A lot of people also liken them to reel-and-real life couple Kathniel.
On the subject, Donny has this to say: "We do not want to compare ourselves to Kathniel, marami na sila napatunayan. Belle and I are focused on forging our own path and our own journey. We never stop learning our craft, and we keep our feet on the ground. Lastly, we give glory to God for everything."
"Love Is Color Blind" is the heartwarming story of Ino and Cara (played by Donny and Belle). The two characters thought they are the best of friends, until Cara feels something more. But there are many challenges along the way to turn the friendship into love. Another problem is that Ino is color blind, he only sees the world in gray and white.
The film's producers assure that movie watchers will see an entirely different Donny and Belle while keeping the kilig factor high. The two are playing characters they've never portrayed before, and that keeps the team-up fresh.
With them in the movie are the supporting cast which includes Jeremiah Lisbo, Angelina Cruz, John Lapuz and TikTok sensation Esnyr Ranollo.
LICB will be shown on select streaming platforms on Dec. 10, namely KTX, iWantTFC, TFC IPTV, Sky Cable PPV, Cignal PPV, and Smart GigaPlay. For those who want to watch one day early, a virtual premiere is scheduled on Dec. 9 over at KTX.ph and tickets are priced at P249 each.