TIARA Jacquelina needs no introduction.
She played the titular role in the 2004 epic movie 'Puteri Gunung Ledang' opposite Datuk M. Nasir's Hang Tuah, the film which she also co-produced.
Set in the late 15th century, it tells the story of a Javanese princess (Gusti Putri a.k.a. Puteri Gunung Ledang) from Majapahit who falls in love with a Malay warrior from Melaka, Hang Tuah.
The production went on to win five awards at the Malaysian Film Festival 2005, including best director, best screenplay, best art direction and best music score.
Tiara herself won the Best Actress category at the 50th Asia-Pacific Film Festival, as well as the Best Producer award at the inaugural Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore (2005).
EPIC FILM TO GLORIOUS MUSICAL PRODUCTION
The film's success led to the staging of its musical version the following year.
'Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical' made its debut at Istana Budaya in February 2006, co-directed by Datuk Zahim Albakri and Adlin Aman Ramlie, with music by Dick Lee and lyrics by Adlin.
It was restaged in August 2006 and February 2009.
Enfiniti Group later planned for another season run, slated for mid-2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic threw a spannar in the works.
Tiara had to postpone it twice before finally announcing in May 2022 that, with a heavy heart, she had to cancel the show altogether and refund ticket holders.
"After having had to postpone twice, I thought I might as well focus on something else," shares Tiara who has now diverted her focus to a different platform for telling stories.
USING NATURE AS A 'CANVAS'
In 2018, she established the Tiarasa Escapes Glamping Resort in Janda Baik, Pahang.
Nestled in the green rainforest, it is located about 43km away from the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, on three hectares of land.
The establishment offers overnight vacationing set-ups at its modern and leisure tent-styled abodes, surrounded by natural greenery and running rivers.
Early last year, she introduced another attraction with Dream Forest Langkawi, located on a 2.9ha site in the Lubuk Semilang rainforest at the foot of Gunung Raya.
Visitors of all ages can walk along a 1.2km path where they can experience audio-visual narrations of Langkawi's legends and mystical stories.
Asked if she's putting a pause on producing entertainment shows, the 56-year-old says she is still involved with producing cultural and arts activities.
"I'm still telling stories, although using nature as the stage now. I love telling stories.
"That part remains deep in my blood. I'm still very much into producing cultural and artistic products. But of course, now I'm using nature as my canvas," says Tiara.
EXPANDING HER BRANDS
For the next two years, Tiara and her team at Enfiniti will be focusing on Dream Forest and Tiarasa Escapes.
"We'd easily spend about one-and-a-half years to produce an entertainment product. And that leaves us no room for anything else.
"Even until now, I've been presented with various scripts. But I told myself that I need to focus on these two brands. At least for now," shares Tiara, who is already planning for other Dream Forest and Tiarasa Escapes getaways.
"They will be in different states and hopefully they'd be ready sometime early next year."
Tiara is also thrilled that there have been a few other states expressing interest in Enfiniti to establish Dream Forest there.
"When I was approached, my response was, 'Why not?'. Each state in Malaysia needs to tell its own stories, with all the new technology we have today."
While the first Tiarasa Escapes is set in the cool greenery of the hilly part of Pahang, not very far from Kuala Lumpur, she hopes to open the second glamping resort in the Klang Valley.
"If not in the Klang Valley, then it'd be in Langkawi," she shares of her expansion plan for the glamping resort which has become popular among Malaysians.
"During weekdays, the resort is usually booked by corporate companies for their retreat or team-building sessions, while on the weekends we'd see families enjoying nature within our compound.
"We have only done our marketing to attract the local market. We haven't even got around to promoting it overseas just yet.
"But we have seen Singaporeans coming over during the school holidays in recent times and that is an encouraging sign for us to embark on our next move (of promoting Tiarasa to potential guests from overseas)."
Currently, Enfiniti is running the 'Waste, Not Art? Exhibition' at the Dream Festival Park, an event space adjacent to Dream Forest Langkawi.
This exhibition by Enfiniti Interactive Xperiences is directed by Tiara herself, in collaboration with artists such as Raja Malek, Charmaine Kamal, Chin Yu and Maroon Art & Design.
"This is a part of the Langkawi Immersif Festival, which will be launched in September.
"The masterpieces by the artists will be displayed throughout the year, serving as a testament to the transformative power of waste that's turned into art," says Tiara.