KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Due to popular demand, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Entropia brought back Aida, a known and loved character from previous TNB Raya films. After Dugaan Raya Aida in 2017, Aida returns in 2021 to celebrate Aidilfitri once again!
No stranger to TNB’s festive campaign productions, the film was produced by award-winning director, Quek Shio Chuan, in a fresh and exciting style with comedic elements peppered throughout the main character’s emotional journey. Titled ‘Hikmah Raya Aida’, the tale emphasises the importance of spending time with family through any circumstances that may arise.
TNB’s Head of Corporate Communications, Shukreen Ma, said, “At TNB, we are guided by our Purpose of working together for a better world and brighter lives. This short but meaningful film brings this purpose into our own homes and families, emphasising the importance of spending quality time with family through good and challenging periods.”
Zaheer Kaisar, creative director at Entropia, added further, “Compared to 2020, this Raya will be more even challenging. But in these trying times, we realised there are ‘hikmah’, or lessons, we can learn and grow from. It forces us to focus on the people that truly matter, using this precious time to forge stronger bonds and create meaningful memories together. So, with hopelessness and despair looming, we set out to bring home a message of hope, joy and togetherness.”
The film follows the journey of Aida, an entrepreneur who started her small business selling Raya cookies in 2017 and has now found business success. In her focus on building her Raya cookies empire, however, she starts to take her family for granted and neglects spending quality time with them. Her family tries countless ways to get Aida’s attention, but to no avail. When she is devastated by the pandemic’s effect on her business, her mother encourages her to keep herself busy with Raya preparations. In doing this, Aida forgets her despair and comes to the realisation that family is, after all, the most important treasure of all.
April Toh, principal at Entropia, added, “The month of Ramadan teaches us the virtues of patience and gratitude, and Raya is mostly about instilling family values. So, rather than dwelling on negativity, together with TNB, we wanted to capitalise on the popularity of one of the brand’s most beloved festive characters to tell a story about gratitude for what we can already cherish – embracing the joy in spending time together as a family, wherever we may be, near or far. We hope Malaysians love this film as much as we enjoyed making it.”
Another notable feature of the film is how Jero, a beloved recurring character in TNB festive films, makes no appearance in the film this time around (except a mention at the end) to encourage viewers to follow his own Raya family story on TNB’s social media instead.
Since ‘Hikmah Raya Aida’ was released on YouTube (www.youtube.com/TENAGAofficial) on 6 May 2021 it has amassed over 5.9 million views, and it also started airing on terrestrial TV channels nationwide from 10 May 2021. It will also be accompanied by a print ad in Malay and English newspapers. Additionally, viewers can follow along with Jero’s cat family episodes through TNB’s social media (https://www.instagram.com/tenaga_nasional/).
