With the success of Vilma Santos’ latest indie film Ekstra, the Star for All Seasons said she wants to avoid comparisons with Nora Aunor and her film Thy Womb. In an interview with PEP.ph, Vilma said she would rather think that she and Nora were doing these films for the Philippine independent cinema industry’s cause.

Vilma on the set of Ekstra (Photo taken from Yahoo! OMG! Philippines)

Comparisons continue to hound the two films in terms of box office gross and recognitions from the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Ekstra, a film co-produced by Star Cinema, premiered in commercial screens August 14.

Vilma asked the media not to make an issue of her and Nora, especially since her role in Ekstra had her mentioning the Superstar’s name. Upon learning that there would be a name-dropping dialogue in her script, she told director Jeffrey Jeturian about her qualms, saying “Direk, iintrigahin n’yo kami” (Director, people might start an intrigue between us). But Jeturian waved off Vilma’s doubts, saying he has her covered and that the dialogue served to confirm Nora’s iconic status in Philippine film.

Vilma reiterated that she and Nora have worked in a number of films in the past, and that these have not caused her and Nora any issues. She added that it was not impossible that they will work together again in the future.

When asked if there was a possibility that the two big names will soon join in an indie film, Vilma said she was open to the idea as long as the script is well-written. She said that “sa tinagal-tagal namin sa industriya, palagay ko hindi naman dapat mapahiya pa kaming dalawa” (Given the years we have worked in the industry, I believe we shouldn’t be given anything that would embarrass us). She also revealed that award-winning director Brilliante Mendoza already has a project in the works for the two stars. Coco Martin is slated to join the cast, but no script has been released to date.