FROM LEFT: Dennis Trillo, Heart Evangelista, Sharon Cuneta, Zsa Zsa Padilla and Ciara Sotto

BEIJING, China – It was below zero here but for singer-actress Ciara Sotto it was hot and steamy – meaning, her love scene in “Mano Po 6: My Mother’s Love.”

Playing the rebel daughter of Melinda (Sharon Cuneta) in the film, Ciara’s love scene was with actor Ryan Eigenmann in a beach resort.

“It was my first time to do a bed scene. I was very nervous but it was really worth it. I really wanted to do it. It was worth it because it was needed in the story,” explained Ciara.

The actress added that she didn’t require any parameters about the love scene to get her approval.

“They just told me what to do. It was okay for me from the start because I know direk Joel Lamangan would take care of the shoots so it won’t look like a ‘bold movie.’ I just don’t know how many of our scenes will be used because ‘Mano Po 6’ is for General Patronage.”

According to her, the shoot was probably from 30 minutes to an hour including the set-up. What made everything a breeze too for her was her leading man Ryan.

“Ryan was really a gentleman. He was really careful with his movements. I was really taken care of in this scene so I didn’t have any worries,” quipped Ciara.

Coming from a family of showbiz personalities – her parents are former Senator and “Eat Bulaga” host and actor Tito Sotto and actress-singer Helen Gamboa – her love scene in “Mano Po 6: My Mother’s Love” is one way to showcase her maturity as an actress, since as they say, the baby is now a lady. More than that though, what people should also expect from her playing one of the daughters of Megastar Sharon Cuneta, would be her dramatic scenes with the latter. And Ciara has received good words from the Megastar herself.

“I’m super blessed because you don’t hear that all the time from Ate Sharon. I’m touched and it has inspired me to do better especially in acting. I always do my best in every project I do and I really prepare for my roles,” she expressed.

According to Ciara, though her scenes with Sharon are intimidating, she has to leave it to Sharon to make her and the other actors feel comfortable with her in every scene. She also gets acting tips and help from Sharon. In totality, Ciara described her scenes not just with Sharon but the rest to be fun and enjoyable, even in the scenes she had to speak in Chinese.

So how did she prepare for her role?

“Unlike in real life, I play the eldest daughter here so it was hard for me to relate to it. But it was a good thing that I like kids. I just read the script and analyze why my character is saying this or doing that,” she replied.

Landing her first “Mano Po” gig, Ciara is really meticulous when it comes to building her character. She is aware of the bigness of the movie in terms of production value and cost – imagine shooting important scenes in Beijing, China!

“This is a dream come true for me. It’s a big break for me. I really soaked myself into that character and I put my heart and soul into it. If I’m nominated especially for this project, that will be a big bonus already,” smiled Ciara.

At the moment, Ciara wants her showbiz to be headed to doing more acting in the near future. She is in fact going to do an indie movie, as the lead actress after “Mano Po 6.” And the role is very challenging according to her.

“I’m a teacher in the indie movie and I’m also single mom. It’s quite challenging because I don’t know how it is to have a child. An inspiration to my role is Patricia Borromeo, a rich girl who loves teaching,” she related.

She added that she is always on the lookout for good roles to hone her acting craft as well as help her grow more as an actress. She plans to develop herself as a versatile actress.

So does this mean that she’ll be putting on hold her singing career?

“No. I love to sing and this is my life. If I could do everything at the same time, I would. But since this is the project that I’m doing right now I’m focused on it!”

And how about politics?

“I don’t like politics. That’s really not for me. It’s not my thing. It’s my siblings.’ Si Lala and Gian yun. I can’t live in that world,” remarked Ciara.

“Mano Po 6: My Mother’s Love” is Regal Films’ official entry to the 2009 Metro Manila Film Festival.