Not your usual father and son story

VETERAN actor Aga Muhlach returns to television for the first time since 2010, for TV5’s new series Suntok Sa Buwan. The show — Mr. Muhlach’s first ever drama series — revolves around a father and son relationship.

Suntok sa Buwan (“a punch to the moon”) is a Filipino idiomatic expression referring to a scenario that seems impossible or a task that is too difficult to accomplish.

Set in Baguio city, the series follows a retired boxer and now taxi driver named Jimmy Boy (played by Mr. Muhlach), who has Stage 3 cancer. This diagnosis deeply affects his son, Dos (Elijah Canlas), who dreams of becoming a professional boxer like his father. The two will face conflicts and life-challenging experiences that would lead one of them to make sacrifices and strengthen their bond as father and son.

It is a dream come true for the 52-year-old actor to have accepted the role in his first drama series.

Mr. Muhlach said that it has always been his goal to shoot a show in Baguio and he was glad to play a boxer since he has engaged in the sport since the early 2000s.

“Ang sinabi ko talaga, ang unang serye na gusto kong gawin [gusto ko] sa Baguio, [at] mahirap ang role ko. Ito na ang nangyari and boxer pa ang role ko (I told myself that the first series I wanted to do would be set in Baguio, and would be a difficult role. This is what happened and I even play the role of a boxer). [Boxing] is one of my passions also,” Mr. Muhlach said during an online press conference on July 14.

Meanwhile, Mr. Canlas said he has developed a love-hate relationship with his character.

“Dos is very headfirst. He does not think of his actions, kung ano ‘yung gut feel niya, what he thinks is right in the moment, gagawin niya (Whatever his gut feel is, whatever he thinks is right in the moment, he will pursue),” Mr. Canlas said.

SHOT LIKE A MOVIEDirected by Geo Lomuntad, the show is produced by Antoinette Jadaone and Dan Villegas and co-produced by Project 8 Projects and Cignal Entertainment. Joining the cast are Maris Racal, Matet de Leon, and Rez Cortez.

In a behind the scenes video, director Mr. Lomuntad said that the team aims to show  the normal life and people of Baguio outside of its popularity as a tourist destination.

“We want to show the rural areas of Baguio, like the stacked houses, the crowded part of Baguio, and the normal people,” Mr. Lomuntad said.

The show is referred to as a “movieserye” because of the way they chose to shoot scenes and other technicalities.

“They are really treating this show like a movie. I’ve done TV before, usually we shoot more than 30 sequences a day. But here we really put time in every sequences especially the boxing scenes,” Mr. Canlas said.

“We wanted to shoot it like a film or online TV series where it’s not your regular teleserye look,” Mr. Lomuntad said.

The show’s co-producer — herself a director — Ms. Jadaone said: “Usually, we use zoom lenses for teleserye, but in Suntok sa Buwan, we shoot our scenes with prime lenses.”

“We are glad to finally share this newest movieserye with our Kapatid viewers and we would like to thank the creators, cast, and staff behind this series that will soon be available on TV5. Suntok Sa Buwan teaches an interesting take on values in terms of family and love so we really hope that our viewers will support this new movie series we have in store for them,” Cignal TV and TV5 President and CEO Robert P. Galang said in a statement.

Suntok Sa Buwan airs weekdays on TV5 at 7:15 p.m. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman