Nykaa, India's leading beauty and lifestyle platform, known for its campaigns with unconventional themes to reinforce messages of strength, courage and inclusivity, continued this narrative with a new film titled “Khoj”, that was specially released to coincide with Mother’s Day on Nykaa TV - Nykaa’s YouTube channel.
Within 48 hours of its release on Nykaa TV and Nykaa’s social media platforms, the film has crossed more than half a million views and has received a 98.5% like ratio with several positive and encouraging reviews.
Starring popular web series actor Akanksha Thakur and created by ICE Media Lab, this vertical format short-film uses the mobile screen interface to tell an emotional story. Khoj is about a young quarantined woman Vedika frantically trying to connect with her unreachable mother, staying in a different city amidst the current lockdown. She doesn't give up and continues to find ways to track down her mother - all the while trying to reassure her younger brother (who is living in a different city and fearing the worst) while swallowing her own panic in a world full of Covid 19 headlines. After some impressive and very resourceful digging around in her order history on the Nykaa app, Vedika tracks down her mother's co-worker and calls her.
The final unexpected twist in this story comes at the very end of the film - where, in a poignant, touching moment, it is revealed that Vedika's mother is a doctor and has been in the hospital, fighting on the frontlines in the battle against the pandemic. The film weaves an emotional, tension-tinged tale to fittingly capture the courage we sometimes discover in the midst of chaos.
“Khoj is Nykaa’s tribute to the extraordinary strength of women who could also be mothers, and more importantly, a heartfelt tribute and resounding thanks to the heroes fighting for our safety in the time of Covid.-19. Our aim with these campaigns is to grow stronger as a voice that celebrates women from all walks of life”, says Madhavi Irani, Chief Officer - Content, Nykaa.
The ‘smartphone interface’ vertical format used to make Khoj creates a unique, immersive experience for viewers. From the messages that come in, the notifications that appear, the video calls that are made, the TV that resonates from the background - all of it adds to the illusion that the events of the film are happening within the viewer’s own smartphone.
The film was put together in times of Covid by remote production in different locations across the country - director in Chennai, producer in Kolkata, post production team split up between Delhi and Mumbai.
“Khoj” the Mother's Day campaign is also spread across Nykaa digital platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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