PETRONAS strengthens brand presence in India with 3-part film on friendship

PETRONAS has rolled out the first of its three-part web film titled “Land of Light Bulbs” as part of its 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.

The film was produced in collaboration with Ensemble Worldwide, Director’s Think Tank, and Fingerprint Films. All three episodes were co-directed by India’s Rajesh Mapuskar and Malaysia’s Rajay Singh. It features actors Rahul Pethe, Shruthy Menon, Umang Vyas, Rupesh Tilu, Sunny Pawar and Rahul Kumar. The second chapter will air on YouTube on 10 December, and the third on 23 December.

Ensemble Worldwide's ECD Chan Woei Hern said the project is a culmination of the partnerships and collaborative efforts of various stakeholders for PETRONAS and its partners in India. The team was inspired by this friendship and wanted to bring it to life in "Land of Light Bulbs". He added that it was also an opportunity to create a branded content campaign to strengthen PETRONAS’ presence in India.

“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," he said.

He explained that there was definitely as much ingenuity and friendship behind the scenes as there was onscreen to pull this project off. Consumers are able to feel the chemistry between agency, production team, cast and across Malaysia and India, in every chapter of this film, Chan added.

Meanwhile, Singh said the team started out with 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 Madhukar Kotian and Mapuskar 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," he explained.

Mapuskar said that like PETRONAS' partnership with India, "Land of Light Bulbs" was truly a collaboration of like-minded people with positive energy to create something that was unique. "I feel it’s quite evident in all three episodes. Me and Singh connected from the word go to create a soul-satisfying journey," he said.