Fresh from the box-office success of his Metro Manila Film Festival entry Si Enteng, Si Agimat at Si Ako, Sen. Bong Revilla Jr. faces 2013 with his biggest showbiz project to date on television.

He leads the much-awaited drama-fantasy series Indio, which will premiere on January 14 on the GMA Telebabad block. The network held a press preview of what they tout as “the most expensive drama in local tele-vision history” on Wednesday night at the SM Megamall Cinema 5, and from what The Manila Times saw, what they say is not far from the truth. From the costumes, the non-stop CGI (compu-ter generated imagery) scenes, and the star-studded cast, Indio will undoub-tedly raise the bar for primetime productions come next week.

To give justice to the grand scale production and his equally gigantic role as Malaya/Simeon/Indio, Sen. Bong revealed that he underwent grueling preparations for the project.

Never satisfied with mediocre work, he said, “Bago ko simulan ang Indio, nag-acting workshop muna ako para maging maganda ang pag-portray ko sa role. At hanggang ngayon ay patuloy pa naming pinapaganda itong fantaserye namin.

“Malaki ang utang na loob ko sa GMA na ako ay binigyan ng ganito kalaking proyekto para i-alay sa ating mga tagahanga. Pinagpaguran ng lahat ng mga tao sa harap at likod ng camera para mabigyan ang tao ng isang bago at napakagandang pagkakalibangan gabi-gabi.

“Ang Indio ay isang pagbubunyi sa pagiging marangal ng bawat Pilipino—isang pagkilala sa mga magagandang katangian natin bilang isang lahi mula pa noon hanggang ngayon.”

Though staged in pre-colonial setting, the value of Indio’s beautiful love story traverses through generations, as its theme of earning dignity through selfless sacrifice for loved ones resonates strongly even for audiences of today.

In the series, the battle of goddess Ynaguiguilid against Spanish colonizers ensues when she vindicates the death of her husband protects her only son. Both hurt in battle, she passes on her supernatural powers to the swaddled baby before she casts her final breath. It is this baby who will grow up to be the brave and gifted Indio warrior Malaya.

Joining Sen. Bong in this action-packed saga are Jennylyn Mercado, Jackie Lou Blanco, Ramon Chris-topher, Michael de Mesa, Rhian Ramos, Sam Pinto, Rachelle, Ann Go, Ehra Madrigal, Ellen Adarna, Paolo Paraiso, Will Devaughn, Steven Silva, Kyle Jimenez, Solenn Heussaff, Jomari Yllana, Agot Isidro, Ronnie Lazaro, Sheena Halili, Daria Ramirez, Dante Rivero, Melissa Mendez, Vaness del Moral, Peko, John Feir, Marco Alcaraz, Ping Medina, Robert Arevalo, Maxene Magalona, Bea Binene, Jillian Ward, Alden Richards, Luis Alandy, Bobby Andrews, Chinggoy Alonzo, Lucho Ayala, Carlos Morales, Princess Snell, Winwyn Marquez, Jon Achaval and Mark Gil.

With the production team’s dedication to its craft, together with the guidance of historians from the University of the Philippines, Dr. Vic Villan and Dr. Rolando Borrinaga; production designer Rodel Cruz, and the soaring musical scoring of Von de Guzman, Indio promises to be the network’s most valuable prime time offering. It is helmed by director Dondon Santos with the creative engineering of Suzette Doctolero and the supervision of Jake Tordesillas and Jun Lana.