The vice president and head of Astro Shaw on what inspired the latest premium drama series 'Kuasa' and why authentic Malaysian stories are primed for the global stage
“There is this perception among some industry players and audiences in Malaysia that local films and series aren’t as good as international ones,” muses Astro Shaw's head and vice president Raja Jastina Arshad.
“It’s our part to change that perception," adds Jastina who started her career with the children’s channel Astro Ceria. "Right now, we’re serving the local market by creating Malay, English, Chinese or Indian dramas for multilingual audiences. But ultimately, we want to create Malaysian stories that are universally appealing to everyone. If we can get that right, we can export our content globally. It starts with winning over the Malaysian audience first.”
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Astro Shaw’s latest premium series in partnership with Skop Productions, Kuasa, is a great example of how they are upping the ante for production quality and fresh storytelling. The first Astro original series to explore the inner lives of a wealthy and influential family in the Malaysian entertainment scene, Kuasa follows the dramatic events surrounding media mogul Tan Sri Dhameer, whose recent announcement of retirement sparks a fierce competition among his three children on who the heir to their father's empire will be.
"Astro has worked with Skop Productions before to produce several successful films that collectively generated over RM40million at the box office. Now, we’ve extended this partnership to the TV screen with our first premium series together," Jastina explains. "The idea for Kuasa came from Skop Production’s Shamin Yusof, the daughter of director Datuk Yusof Haslam. So there was a lot of speculation about whether or not the series is loosely based on her family. But we'll have to leave it to Shamin to answer that question!”
Given the success of past productions like the historical drama The Garden of Evening Mists (which won best feature film at the Asian Academy Creative Awards 2020 and received nine nominations at the 56th Golden Horse Awards), it’s clear that Malaysia-inspired content has international appeal, thanks to the skill and ability of local creative talents.
“There are many captivating Malaysian stories that have yet to be explored or told, stories that capture the beauty of our country, the struggles, victories, the culture. Who can better capture the nuances of our culture and the essence of what makes us unique than us, right?” Jastina enthuses.
