Why Aga Muhlach said yes to Suntok sa Buwan

MANILA, Philippines — Baguio is a place close to the heart of multi-awarded actor, Aga Muhlach. Twenty-one years ago, he tied the knot with beauty queen-actress Charlene Gonzales in this city. He made a wish that if ever he would do a series, he wanted to shoot in Baguio because of its cold weather.

No wonder, it has taken ages for Aga to accept a drama series, aware that working in one is doubly hard. Until Suntok sa Buwan, a movie serye produced by the award-winning tandem of Antoinette Jadaone and Dan Villegas, came along. And Aga lost no time to give his nod to the project.

“The best part is accepting this project,” Aga admitted. “Nagandahan talaga ako at ibang-iba ang story. Feeling ko, bagay sa akin and kaya kong gawin. Unbelievable that we will shoot in Baguio.

“The fact that I agreed to do this, everything fell into place. Lahat maganda na. I’ll be very honest, the first day of the shoot, I was really nervous. I was feeling my way in. But I believe in this project,” he added.

Aga essays the character of Jimmy Boy, a retired boxer who is diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. He is now training his son, Dos (Elijah Canlas), to become a professional boxer, too. Suntok sa Buwan, which starts airing July 18 at 7:15 p.m. on TV5, also stars Maris Racal.

“The fact that I said yes, that means I am happy with what I’m doing. From start to finish, buo ang story. Suntok sa Buwan is not just about the father and his son, but the life around the father and the son. All the things happening around them.”

Aga essays the character of Jimmy Boy, a retired boxer who is diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. He is now training his son, Dos (Elijah Canlas), to fight on the ring and become a professional boxer, too.

As an actor, Aga never relied on his acting awards and trophies, although he is grateful for winning them. “We always think about the project, not the awards,” he said. “We still get nervous on the set. We always want the guidance of our director.

“We believe that no matter how good an actor you are, if your project is not good, your acting will not be good either. I’m just happy that I’m working with Elijah. From the look-test, I found him to be a really good person.”

Aga believes that when a project is good, with a script that is good and lines that are easy to follow, the performers will find working on the scenes a breeze. “I see that Elijah also prepares for his scenes,” Aga said.

“I don’t purposely want to make him feel that I’m easy to work with. I also think how I will adjust while working with him. I just want to make him feel relaxed and comfortable.”

Meanwhile, the best part for Elijah is being offered to do Suntok sa Buwan, also his first series. “I am really grateful that I’m part of this,” said the Urian Best Actor awardee for Jun Lana’s Kalel, 15 (2019).

“I get to work with all the people in the cast and the entire team. In my role, I had to train for a month to play a boxer. Being in Baguio is such a blessing to me and to all of us.”

As soon as Elijah met Aga, the former immediately felt the pressure of the project he was about to shoot. “I got nervous most of the time,” Elijah attested. “But because I love what I’m doing, I really prepared every night.

“Sometimes, I even told direk Geo, ‘Feeling ko nag-over-prepared ako for this one.’ I asked for his help. I also asked advice from Kuya Aga. He is super generous with his wisdom, that’s why it was really a blessing that I was able to work on this project,” he continued.

“I’m one of the lucky ones and I’m sure I can use the wisdom he shared whenever, wherever. Kahit ano’ng ibato ni Kuya Aga, he always had lots of surprises, I had to be ready. It was smooth-sailing for me all along our shoot.”

Twenty-one-year-old Elijah is taking time away from his studies to give way for acting opportunities like Suntok sa Buwan. “Opportunities like this don’t come too often,” he said. “But I still want to finish my studies.”

He is now on his third year, taking up Philippine Arts at the University of the Philippines Manilla.

Bringing out the chemistry between Aga and Elijah playing father and son, was not all about Geo Lomuntad’s direction. “Just to make the two of them sit in one chair, their chemistry comes out instantly,” Geo noted. “They didn’t even need to talk. They simply look at each other in the eye and their chemistry comes out.”

Not surprisingly, Aga’s participation in Suntok sa Buwan went beyond acting, perhaps like in his previous projects. “I do everything here what I previously did in the films that I made,” Aga allowed. “I try to contribute in the music, editing, writing, direction, script. All my life, in all the films that I made, it was never about me, what I’ve done or what I’ve contributed. It’s always about my viewers.

“Sayang ang ginagawa kong trabaho if the audience will not like it or no one will watch. I try my best to work on the project, thinking always about my viewers when they see it, they will like it,” he added.

“They will enjoy watching the story. Now, if it doesn’t work, I practice in this movie series what I do in my films. I’m treating this series like my movie. I believe this will work. I hope so.”

Suntok sa Buwan starts airing July 18 at 7:15 p.m. on TV5. Completing the cast are Maris Racal, Albie Casiño, Matet de Leon and Rez Cortez.