Facebook's Diwali video is about a small, local business owner in Amritsar

The seven-minute-long film is the story of Pooja Didi, a milk centre owner, who employees those who have lost their jobs due to the COVID pandemic.

This year has been hard on all of us. The COVID pandemic-induced recession hit most business, small and large. While the larger ones are gradually recovering, many small ones had to shut their shutters, and the rest are struggling.

During times like these, with the festive season (Diwali) around the corner, brands, in their communication, have brought up this distress of small and local businesses. Social media platform Facebook's latest ad film is one such attempt.

Facebook has launched a seven-minute-long film underscoring the power of connections. It says that people can do ‘More Together’ than alone, for Diwali this year.

The film's plot is centred on the spirit of resilience of a 28-year-old woman Pooja (Didi) and how she helps sustain as many households as possible through the hardships of the pandemic via her dairy venture. The decision to hire more personnel, even when the business is low or not doing well, comes at a great personal cost. However, as the plot unfolds, it showcases the limitless possibilities when people come together.

Speaking about the film, Avinash Pant, director – marketing, Facebook India, said, “The film is a homage to the insurmountable spirit of the people and the good they can enable by coming together. It draws inspiration from the stories of resilience and hardships people overcame by helping one another over the last few months. Through the film, our aim is to showcase the journey India has taken over the last several months to emerge stronger together.”

Facebook collaborated with Amit Sharma, a renowned ad filmmaker and director of the National Award-winning film 'Badhai Ho' and Taproot Dentsu, to help bring this story alive, while capturing the essence of people coming together on the platform.

Added Neeraj Kanitkar, senior creative director, Taproot Dentsu, “For Diwali – the festival of prosperity, we wanted to tell a story that captured the very essence of what so many amongst us have been doing. Which is, they’ve been coming together and selflessly going the extra mile to be there for others. The film is both inspired by and is a tribute to all those who’ve harnessed the power of Facebook to amplify the good that’s within us all for the greater good. Affirming the Indian truism that prosperity too grows only when shared with others.”

“We knew we had something potentially special, when people were tearing up during the script narrations. Amit Sharma, of course, took the script to a whole new level. Over the four days of the shoot in Amritsar, he sprinkled his magic dust on all aspects of the story. Adding delightful dimensions and textures to the story, the characters and the performances.”

The film showcases the power of connections and people coming together to help, support and celebrate with each other. Throughout the year, Facebook has released films as a part of its 'More Together' campaign.

Agency credits

• Co-founder, Taproot Dentsu, and creative chairperson, Dentsu Aegis Network India: Agnello Dias

• Co-founder and chief creative officer: Santosh Padhi

• Chief executive officer: Umesh Shrikhande

• Executive creative director: Pallavi Chakravarti

• General manager: Ayesha Ghosh

• Head of strategic planning: Shashank Lanjekar

• Senior creative director: Neeraj Kanitkar

• Associate vice president: Radhika Sabherwal

• Account supervisor: Ana Iman

• Account director: Hemant Joshi