Jojo Nones, the head writer for GMA’s latest prime series Mga Lihim ni Urduja, had one main goal when he wrote the groundbreaking drama set in precolonial and modern worlds.
In an interview with Manila Standard Entertainment, Nones said that the series is as colorful as the Philippines’ rich history. And its main focus is to uplift the viewers’ spirit and let everyone know that there’s so much talent and colorful stories in the Philippines.
“Sometimes we’re wrong about how we think of ourselves, our race, of our country. For the longest time, we were made to believe that we’re just victims, but our ancestors were warriors, mga maharlikang palaban at matatapang.
Urduja
We wanted the youth to unders tand that sometimes our stories, culture, and sociopolitical history are more colorful than our neighbors,” the television writer started.
Nones said that according to the series’ consultants, pre-colonial Filipinos had advanced societies compared to our neighbors or even to some countries in some parts of the world – the Philippines being the hub of commercial expansion during the pre-Spanish era.
“But most Filipinos don’t know that. They thought we were just underdogs and that we were victims. Actually, we’re so much more than that. And that’s what we would like to do with Mga Lihim ni Urduja. We wanted to awaken that spirit in our youth and make them feel proud of our culture and history,” Nones carried on.
Mga Lihim ni Urduja, which premieres tonight on GMA Network, follows the story of Gem (Kylie Padilla), a career-driven rookie cop, and Crystal (Gabbi Garcia), a budding entrepreneur and jewelry designer. They were assigned to work in a special law enforcement operation to recover priceless heritage jewelry. The said jewels are believed to have been used as magical amulets of the legendary Hara Urduja (Sanya Lopez).
The operation becomes more difficult because of their personal differences – Gem is a bit uptight while Crystal can be too spontaneous. But aside from their clashing personalities, they must also navigate through combat challenges and deadly opponents. Will they succeed amid the presence of bounty hunters who are out to possess Urduja’s jewels?
Meanwhile, the show also takes the viewers inside the Kingdom of Tawalisi located in the pre-colonial Philippines. There lives Hara Urduja, a mystical warrior queen who rules an army of strong, skillful, and extraordinary women.
She holds a big responsibility to lead her followers and maintain peace in their land. But will Hara Urduja be able to protect herself from people who want to dethrone her and use her power in vain? How will the lives of Gem, Crystal, and Hara Urduja intertwine in this epic-modern adventure?
“We created this series because we wanted to connect to a generation that speaks the same language. We aim to reach out and try to connect to the youth not just in aesthetics, not just in lingo or in music, but in many other aspects. This is the show that I allowed myself to be in it and to represent ‘me,’ my generation as well,” director Jorron Lee Monroy said of the series’s main objective.
Completing the star-studded cast are Zoren Legaspi, Jeric Gonzales, Arra San Agustin, Rochelle Pangilinan, Pancho Magno, Winwyn Marquez, Michelle Dee, Kristoffer Martin, and Vin Abrenica.
Mga Lihim ni Urduja – under the helm of director Jorron Lee Monroy and co-director Dominic Zapata with associate director Ralf Malabunga – airs weeknights at 8:00 on GMA and at 9:40 p.m. on GTV.