Petronas launches web film that pays tribute to India’s spirit of ingenuity

Ensemble Worldwide, and PETRONAS have unveiled the first chapter of a three–part web film titled ‘Land of Light Bulbs’, as part of PETRONAS’ long-term branding campaign in India.

The first chapter was launched at the PETRONAS annual reception in India which serves as a platform to appreciate and network with partners and stakeholders in further strengthening the company’s relationship with its counterparts in India.

This year’s reception theme celebrates India’s spirit of ingenuity with a story that explores friendship, energy and collaboration in resolving challenges.

Chan Woei Hern, Executive Creative Director of Ensemble Worldwide commented, “This project is a culmination of the partnerships and collaborative efforts of various stakeholders for PETRONAS and its partners in India. We were inspired by this friendship and wanted to bring it to life in Land of Light Bulbs. It was also an opportunity to create a branded content campaign tostrengthen PETRONAS’ presence in India.”

The collaborative effort is produced by Director’s Think Tank and supported by Fingerprint Films, with Executive Producer Madhukar Kotian. All 3 episodes were co-directed by India’s Rajesh Mapuskar, winner of the National Film Award for Best Director for his film Ventilator, and Malaysia’s Rajay Singh, one of South-East Asia’s most awarded director from Director’s
Think Tank.

Woei Hern adds, “We got a chance to bring this web film to life through a cross-country partnership of our own, similar to PETRONAS’ partnership with India. It was fun, hectic and action-packed. We had an epic tour of duty spanning 17 days from the shoot to the release of our first chapter.

There was definitely as much ingenuity and friendship behind the scenes as there was on-screen to pull this project off. The chemistry between agency, production team, cast and across Malaysia and India, you can feel it in every chapter of this film. We hope everyone in India and Malaysia will enjoy it as much as we did in bringing it to life.”

“We started with all guns blazing. Because the task of making this felt like the plot to The Magnificent 7. Our search for the best gunslingers in town took us to Madhu and Rajesh and before we knew it, it became the story of the magnificent 148 strong cast and crew. We could not have done this without a single one of them saddling up and taking on this wild ride with us.” said Rajay Singh.

I feel it’s quite evident in all three episodes. Me and Rajay connected from the word go to create a soul-satisfying journey.”

The main actors in the web film include Rahul Pethe (Aman), Shruthy Menon (Asha), Umang Vyas (Shiv),Rupesh Tilu (Javed) as well as Sunny Pawar (Chandar), star of Lion and winner of 19th New York Indian Film Festival Best Child Award and Rahul Kumar, who starred as Milimeter in 3 Idiots.

The first chapter of ‘Land of Light Bulbs’ titled Flicker is available for viewing on PETRONAS’ YouTube channel. Viewers can expect the second chapter by 10th December, and the third chapter by 23rd December.

Chairman of Petronas Energy (India) Private Limited, Rizan Ismail said: “Land of Light Bulbs is a reflection of the meaningful partnerships Petronas has cultivated in India over the years, built upon the essence of trust, collaboration and friendship.The film celebrates our mutual passion for progress towards achieving enriching solutions. It resonates with our brand and our aspiration to grow with India as the partner of choice,” he added.

The web film series is divided into three parts, each of 20-minute duration and takes viewers on a roller coaster journey of friendship and obstacles. The story centres on Aman, an organ donor, who grapples with impending death and makes an effort to give meaning to his remaining days by travelling across India to meet the child recipient of his gift of sight.

Along the journey, he meets three unique individuals – Shiv, Asha and Javed, who give him the strength in various ingenious ways, to complete his journey, exemplifying the ingenuity and resourcefulness in finding solutions to life challenges.

As the unlikely friendship blossoms among the four of them, Amar realises that it is not the destination that matters, but rather how they come together to enrich the lives of others.

Petronas is a pioneer of festive web films in Malaysia, and the company is known for its heartfelt and meaningful festival advertisements. Land of Light Bulbs is Petronas’ first effort in a movie-length production and collaboration with Indian filmmakers and actors.

The web film series can be viewed on Petronas’ official YouTube channel and Facebook page throughout the month, starting from November 18, 2019.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com