Atasha Muhlach was chosen to be Annie Batungbakal

Actress-host Atasha Muhlach was entangled in audition controversy after she was cast to portray the title role in ‘Bongga Ka, ’Day!: The Annie Batungbakal Musical.’

This theater project is inspired by the songs of the iconic Filipino band Hotdog. The late National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Nora Aunor immortalized the character in the 1979 film of the same name.

During an interview, based on the article in Inquirer, Atasha expressed how ecstatic she is for this wonderful chance in her career.

She also stressed that she immersed herself in research and studied the songs featured in the musical.

“To be honest, it took a lot of studying, a lot of research, and of course listening to the Hotdog songs. Her whole storyline is in the song ‘Annie Batungbakal.’ Because of Hotdog and their classic songs, I have the opportunity to paint my own version of Annie Batungbakal,” Atasha Muhlach said.

However, a controversial comment surfaced on social media following the musical’s preview. A netizen on Reddit shared a screenshot of the comment from Rachel Libres, who competed in Idol Philippines Season 1 in 2019, and Tawag ng Tanghalan Season 8 in 2021.

Rachel happened to be one of the auditionees for the said musical. “Atasha Muhlach apparently was not present during open call auditions for the Annie Batungbakal musical, according to former Idol Philippines S1 and Tawag ng Tanghalan contestant,” the title of the Reddit post stated.

In her comment on the post about Atasha’s video, Rachel said that she has no hate posting this. She shared that she was present during the 2-day casting process. However, she never spotted Atasha on both days.

“Kaya sana huwag nating i-disregard and effort at hirap ng lahat na pumila, naghintay, kumanta, at sumayaw para mabigyan ng pagkakataon,” Rachel said. She added that if there was a separate audition or private casting, this is another story.

“Pero base sa mismong open auditions na dinaluhan ko, wala siya roon,” Rachel said.

Netizens in the comment section expressed their thoughts on Atasha Muhlach as Annie Batungbakal. Some netizens said that there is indeed “politics” and favoritism in auditions, while some netizens believed that Atasha is not yet ready to portray the iconic role. Here are some comments.