“Mahirap yung workload. I mean, every day, 24/7, you got work. You know naman tapings back then hanggang alas tres ng hapon minsan. Wala pa yung, ‘O, hanggang alas dose lang ang lahat ng tao dito.’ Hindi, wala pa.
“Tapos lilipad ka pa for events in different parts of the country. Nakakapagod yon. So, for seven straight years, medyo nakakapagod din. And I would say it was good. I mean, it was so good na it really burned me out, nakalimutan ko na kung ano’ng realidad nu’n,” rason ni Jao sa kanyang showbiz hiatus.
Inamin din ni Jao sa amin na hindi naging madali para sa kanya ang naging desisyon na talikuran ang kasikatan sa showbiz.
“Yes, I had a hard time. It was a hard decision I had to make,” buntong-hininga niya. “You’re working 24/7 everyday tapos biglang, ‘Bang!’ hihinto ka. Parang the next day mag-i-expect ka na nagtatrabaho ka pero hindi.
“I would say na people asked, ‘Would you regret it?’ And I would say na… actually, talagang it was the decision I made for myself dahil gusto kong magpahinga after seven years in the entertainment business,” paliwanag ni Jao.
Patuloy ng aktor, “And I wanted also to finish my studies in college, which is true enough kasi I was able to graduate from UST. I have a bachelor’s degree right now for Fine Arts major in advertising and I graduated March of 2003.
“And now, looking back at it hindi na ako nagre-regret dahil nakatulong sa akin lalo na nitong pandemic. Nung nagkaroon ng pandemic, nawalan ako ng trabaho, and I was not that active, so, I started painting and I started selling my paintings online. To tell you the truth, siya yung sumalba sa pamilya ko, sa pagbabayad ng bills, pagkain sa table, etcetera.
“Kaya right now hindi ako nagre-regret na ginawa ko yon. Ang nakikita ko, ginusto ng Diyos para sa akin na naramdaman ko yung… basta, mensahe ito, this whole journey from the time I stop sa showbiz up to this day is a message of God.”
Ngayon ay aktibo na ulit sa showbiz si Jao. Bida siya sa pelikula ng Viva Films na Paraluman kapareha si Rhen Escano mula sa direksyon ni Yam Laranas.
“This is what I miss so much, yung umarte, kaya I am so blessed na nabigyan ulit ako ng pagkakataon ng Viva. My dream na lang is to maintain this status right now and I’m here to stay. I’ve been in a long hiatus and I miss it,” lahad pa ng dating matinee idol.
Nakaramdam ba siya ng takot sa pagbabalik niya sa showbiz?
“Just a fear na makakayanan ko pa kayang gumawa ng isang full lengt film? Pero I’d like to say na open arms naman akong tinanggap ng production team ni Direk Yam. It was really a surprise for me na yung mga fears ko hindi pala ganun. Niyayakap naman ako ulit ng industriya at eto niyayakap ko siya pabalik,” tugon ng aktor sa tanong namin.
Ipapalabas ang Paraluman sa mga streaming platform na Ktx.ph, IWant TFC at Vivamax sa September 24, 2021.
