GB Srithar on romanticising Singapore in 'Lost and Found' film series

MX Studios has partnered with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and unveiled an interactive film on an Indian OTT platform which is titled ‘Lost and Found in Singapore’. The film showcases an out of the box choose-your-own ending approach, inviting the viewers to become a part of the narrative, navigating its course through the choices made by them as the characters lead us on a fun and frolic journey of self discovery and transformation through the enchanting streets of Singapore.

‘Lost and Found in Singapore’ features the journeys of a solo introverted traveler (Rithvik Dhanjani) and an adventure-seeking girl (Apoorva Arora), who thereby form a friendship. In the midst of the iconic landmarks of Singapore and hidden gems, their destinies are lying in the hands of the audience who get two options to choose from, which then decides what course their life is going to take. Viewers guide their choices, thereby creating differentiated viewing experiences and diverse paths. This immersive and unique collaboration is catering to younger Indian audiences, juxtaposing entertainment with novel seeking travel inspiration. Alongside, curated experiences like the Vespa Sidecar Tour through Joo Chiat and Katong, with its exploration of Babas, Nonyas and Peranakans, Design Orchard, Museum of Ice-Cream, and Bird Paradise @Mandai, provide textured exploration, coherently resonating with the modern 21st century explorers.

In conversation with Adgully, GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East, South Asia & Africa, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said, “Our expectation is that audiences will see the film, enjoy the film, enjoy the characters that Ritvik and Apoorva are playing. They will enjoy the twists and turns, enjoy seeing the series in different alternative endings. And then once they have enjoyed the content we are hoping that they will say, oh, I want to go and have this experience in Singapore.”

What is the concept and idea behind the interactive film ‘Lost and Found in Singapore’, and who has conceptualised it?

The key objective of our ‘Lost and Found’ project with MX Player was to engage in a very authentic, genuine and innovative storytelling fashion. It’s genuine, it’s authentic, with our young Indian audiences. Today, young Indian audiences under the age of 35 or 40, or the young at heart, are traveling and asking for very different types of experiences. So, we wanted to engage with that audience profile. And we were looking for a project that will allow us to present Singapore in a very creative way.

So, the MX Player project came up as a concept where we were very clear right from the start, this is not a destination cell video series. We reverse engineered. We were saying, let’s get the story right, let’s get the plot right, make sure that it is innovative and creative.

And the innovative and creative part in this particular storytelling was the interactive film content, where an audience can choose different alternative twists and turns in the story, and therefore, the story will develop in a certain fashion as per the wish of the audience. So, that was a very creative twist that we wanted to experiment with and experience and provide that experience for the audiences. I think in that regard, this was a creative, innovative project, to engage our target audiences and make sure that the content is relevant to them.

It is fun, it is colourful, it’s a nice friendship, rom.com kind of feel. It was in that kind of space that we decided to work with MX Player.

And then, of course, importantly for us, it must reach as wide an audience as possible. So, the distribution was important. And in that regard as well, MX Player had a very good subscriber base who was consuming the content on their base. So that’s why we decided that we would work with MX Player.

Who came up with a story concept?

It was co-created, as in any partnership. It was a content partnership. We sat down with MX Player, with a production team, with a creative crew. And we are very happy that the director and the talents and the storyteller, the script writer were doing this. All of us were aligned in coming up with the concept, story and the script.

How does it enable the viewers to choose their preferred storyline for the protagonist? And how does it encourage repeat viewing in order to explore alternate storylines?

The very first film, audience will see a common story. Then, at a certain point in the story, the audience will be given two options to choose, and then you choose that one option. And when you choose one option, you will go into a story that unfolds because of the decision you made to follow on one particular trajectory. So, throughout the story, there's junctures at which the audience will choose, am I going to go this way or that way? And then based on that decision, the story will unfold for that audience.

So, our hope is that every viewer will see it multiple times because they would like to see the different twists and turns and see how maybe one track they follow and then there's one story they will be told and then the next track that they come back the next time and do the viewing again, they will see another alternative story twist. So, it is the audience choosing how the story unfolds for them and how the characters develop their relationship on screen based on the decisions that the audience makes.

What was the reason for having Ritvik Dhanjani and Apoorva Aroda as the protagonist?

They are popular! But most importantly, they fit the characters that they were playing in the story. So, it was very important that the story dictated the kind of talents who are going to be involved in it.

So, when the characters were cast, it was made sure that they are relevant to the story. So the two characters and the talents that we hired, they were able to bring forth the story in a very engaging manner. So we are hoping Ritvik’s character as an introverted solo traveler. while Apoorva's character is a lot more adventure seeking girl. So these two polar opposites were well portrayed by the lead characters, both Ritwik and Apurva, and that, we believe, will make very engaging viewing for the audiences. And of course, the other very important persons to highlight would be the direction.

The director, Harsh Dadia, was very good in visualizing and presenting the story in the relevant locations that they had to do. There's a very packed shooting schedule within which he had to pack the story, pack the different experiences that the characters are having.

And then, of course, the creative writing of Kanishka Singh, who was the script writer to keep it a very fun, light, Hindi and English mixed Hinglish story plot that audiences will have fun watching.

How has content streaming become the new way to explore and choose the next travel destination for the consumers?

I think one obvious trend that is emerging in India, given the digital social media penetration, given the fact that there's a lot of content being consumed at your own time, own target, you want to consume content when you are free. You want to consume a type of content that you feel you want to consume. So you want to choose a type of content.

You want to choose when you want to see it. You want to choose when you want to pause and move on to something else and maybe come back to it, and also an audience which is increasingly mobile. They are on the move and consuming content.

I mean, nowadays when I move around, I see a lot of people with their what, college EarPods, and they're listening to music or listening or watching a series, and there's a lot of content being consumed on the move as well. So creative content today has to be relevant in many ways. Relevant in terms of story, in terms of plot, in terms of engaging the audience, yes, but it also has to be given in a platform in a format that the Indian consumers are willing to consume it in.

So increasingly, such content, long form content or short form content, whether it's OTT platforms or digital social media platforms, it will be very important. And for a destination like Singapore, we always want to be at the forefront of such content consumption. And we are constantly on the lookout for creative, innovative ways of presenting Singapore in those kind of platforms. So we are very happy that we were able to partner MX player in this particular project.

How does this film showcase ordinary experiences being transformed to extraordinary ones in Singapore? And what does it reflect about Singapore?

Singapore’s brand is passion made possible. And passion made possible then means how do we communicate that when an audience comes or when a traveler comes to Singapore, whatever his or her passions are, they can live up those passions in Singapore. So, in this particular ‘Lost and Found’ story, we were able to showcase different types of experiences to the audiences.

So, for example, we were able to showcase a sidecar tour, allowing audiences to enjoy the Joo Chiat Katong area in Singapore, which is a very unique area. So audiences are able to see that in the series. And then of course, there's also Museum of Ice Cream, which is an award winning attraction.

First ever location outside of the US. So Museum of Ice Cream is an interesting experience in the film. We have Bird Paradise at Mandai, which is a new attraction that has opened up.

And Bird Paradise at Mandai is very immensely popular with families with young Indians. And there are eight walk through aviaries in Bird Paradise, which is increasingly very popular among the Indian audiences. And they are visiting bird paradise.

And such experiences gives a new twist to the Indian audiences who are familiar with Singapore's offerings. And new offerings then makes them visit Singapore and experience Singapore in a different light. The other key thing is also, Singapore is increasingly a destination which gives very interesting lifestyle events, entertainment, F, B and dining options.

So for us, it's important that we are able to showcase this through the films and through other creative content projects as well. And that's how, as a destination, we say or rather we communicate what's new and interesting in Singapore to the travel audiences in India.

What are the expectations out of this brand film and who is the target group expectations for the film?

Our objective has been very clear. We wanted to tell a story. So it was important for the story and using Singapore as an integral part of the story. Our expectation is that audiences will see the film, enjoy the film, enjoy the characters that Ritvik and Apoorva are playing. They will enjoy the twists and turns, enjoy seeing the series in different alternative endings, enjoy the content. And then once they have enjoyed the content we are hoping that they will say, oh, I want to go and have this experience in Singapore. So whether it's Bird Paradise or WESTPA Sitecar Tour or the bungee jumping we are hoping that they will have a thought of visiting Singapore and enjoying those experiences for themselves.

 I think those are the objectives and expectations for the film. And we are hoping then therefore the audiences will see the film, enjoy the film and then come visit Singapore and revisit Singapore.