COMMON in any other job, undertaking or preoccupation is the experience of burnout. It is such a rebellious feeling that can make anyone want to scream just to get out of it.
On this side of showbiz, a good number of celebrities find themselves stuck in it — despite the prestige and perks that come with it.
Creative burnout does not sound foreign to Bela Padilla, who lived through such an episode back in 2019, thanks to her heavy yet financially rewarding workload.
That particular year saw a terribly busy Bela who — in showbiz parlance — was doing “lagare,” with too much on her plate all at the same time.
Shuttling between shoots for “Vodka Beers and Regrets,” “Mañanita” and “Sino Ang May Sala? Mea Culpa” — who wouldn’t get physically frazzled and burned out?
For Bela, the only panacea to such unease was to hie off somewhere — outside the country, if need be.
The multi-hyphenate actress couldn’t have been more specific — her only choice was London, no matter how short her stay.
But first, what was it in those three projects that triggered Bela’s burnout? Well, it had little to do with her seven-days-a-week work schedule.
Hear this out.
Her call time for “Mañanita” was 6 a.m. at the Victory Bus Terminal on EDSA. However, cameras would not roll as the bus used in the set acted up and needed to be fixed right away. It would take at least half an hour to get the job done.
“Seriously?!” Bela told herself as she had to rush to her 7 a.m. shoot for “Mea Culpa.” How was that possible?
Anyway, she was left with no other recourse but to wait. Bela already had her facial prosthetics on — her face was half-burned in the movie — ready for a take anytime.
She whiled away the time by walking leisurely along EDSA until she ended up sitting on the gutter, watching passers-by.
Out of nowhere, a man walked past her, mistook her for a beggar and tossed a one-peso coin at her. Naturally caught by surprise, Bela lamented quietly, “Awang-awa ako sa sarili ko. Tinatanong ko ang sarili ko, ano’ng ginagawa ko dito?” (“I pitied myself. I was asking myself, ‘What am I doing here?’”)
Right then and there, the burned-out Bela resolved she needed to fly to London — where she would later be based.
Admittedly, it was her way of escaping reality — but did it in any way help her?
Already in the English capital, Bela recounted receiving a panicky call from two of her closest showbiz friends, Piolo Pascual and Kim Chiu. “Ano’ng ginagawa mo diyan? Umuwi ka na!” (“What are you doing there? Come home!”) the two alternately urged.
Bela entertained no second thoughts, realizing her friends had a point. “Oo nga, ano?”
Soon enough, Bela returned — this time with a lesson learned tucked in her luggage.
At times, we need to breathe a relieving wisp of air somewhere.
