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Mumbai 4 September 2006: Glamour girl Urmila Matondkar made a mark today
for Maharashtra, when she stood up to support all those unspoken heroes who work
tirelessly behind the scenes to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. Urmila is
the latest in a string of famous film faces to become a part of Haath Se Haath
Milaa – a youth-focussed reality television show produced by the BBC World
Service Trust in partnership with the National AIDS Control Organisation and Doordarshan.
HSHM is about Yuva Stars – young achievers who have made a
mark by their outstanding contribution to HIV/AIDS awareness – and their
dream of wanting to join hands with their favourite Bollywood star. Pune-based
Yuva Star, Asim Sarode, is a lawyer who uses his regular practice to fund his
activism for HIV/AIDS. "Being a lawyer isn’t about wearing a black jacket
and running after money," says Asim. "I always wanted to use law as
an instrument of social change.” In keeping with Asim’s
sentiment about practicing law, Urmila gave him a challenge to raise awareness
about HIV and AIDS, while defeating the myths and misconceptions that surround
the virus – but all through entertainment. Accepting the challenge, Asim
organised an entertainment night, at which young performers presented songs, dances
and scenes from films. Each performer was then asked an HIV related question by
Urmila, in an attempt to shift the balance of the “scales of justice”
from ignorance to knowledge. Urmila will spend the following day
travelling around Pune with Asim, visiting his favourite Ganesh pandal and Pune’s
famous Kayani Bakery. With her support and backing, Asim now feels that he can
take on a much greater role in fighting for justice for people living with HIV.
Asim Sarode Asim comes from a family of freedom fighters
and social activists. His grandfather stood side by side in the freedom movement
with Vinoba Bhave, and his father was a social activist in Vidarbha. Asim decided
to study law to uphold this family tradition. It was while attending
a regional consultation on HIV/AIDS legislation at Mumbai in 2004 that Asim began
to appreciate the welter of social, economic and legal aspects of this health
issue. The fact that HIV positive people are ostracised, criminalised and refused
medical care, jobs and other basic rights, affected him deeply. Under the Human
Rights and Law Defenders wing of the Sahyog Trust, an NGO, Asim started a legal
guidance centre in Pune in 2005, and today single-handedly provides free counselling
and support to the HIV/AIDS-affected from lower socio-economic backgrounds. He
helps his clients, including commercial sex workers, the physically challenged,
sexual minorities (gays, lesbians, transvestites, eunuchs) and the underprivileged,
resist exploitation by exercising their civil rights. Law students
and lawyers are gradually coming forward to help him, but what Asim finds most
difficult is to get the affected people to open up. "There are few who can
talk on HIV and law in vernacular languages," he rues. As a part of his work,
Asim also trains law students on the legal rights and procedures for the representation
of HIV positive people. Haath Se Haath
Milaa - the television series (half hour, weekly, 52 episode series) Thursdays,
10:30pm, DD1 Haath Se Haath Milaa, produced by the BBC World Service
Trust in partnership with the National AIDS Control Organisation and Doordarshan,
is seen by millions of viewers across India. “The whole idea
about Haath Se Haath Milaa is to touch people’s lives. This is an inspiring
programme, which will help younger men and women become more aware about HIV/AIDS,
and will tackle the tremendous issues of stigma and discrimination”, says
Anu Malhotra, the Creative Head of the series. The programme, created
and formatted by Anu Malhotra, known for her award-winning travel shows (Namaste
India, Indian Holiday, et al) and documentaries (The Konyak of Nagaland, The Maharaja
of Jodhpur, among others) has a unique format. In each story, HSHM brings together
a top Film Star and a ‘Yuva Star’ – a young achiever whose work
revolves around raising HIV/AIDS awareness. The HIV messaging in the show is organic
to the story of the Yuva Star, which makes it highly impactful and effective.
Says Malhotra, “We want to create inspirational role models for the youth
of this country by applauding the Yuva Star’s commitment towards this social
cause.” Over the course of 3 episodes, we tell the story of each Yuva Star:
their work, struggles and aspirations. In every episode, the series anchors present
a “face-off” between the Yuva Star and the film star – and they
get to meet and share stories and experiences and set each other challenges. Viveik
Oberoi, Shilpa Shetty, Fardeen Khan, Raveena Tandon, Tabu, Anupam Kher and Dia
Mirza have already filmed for this reality-style series. A series
of this scale is impossible to achieve without support. Yash Raj Films provides
free film clips and songs for the television series. The Naz Foundation (India)
Trust provides expert HIV information and consultation to the HSHM team, and HSHM
joins hands with NGOs and organizations around the country in our effort to raise
awareness about HIV and AIDS. For more information, please contact: Marin
George, Perfect Relations, Mumbai: 9870116643
Rositha Dsouza, Perfect Relations,
Mumbai: 9820471522
Priyanka Dutt, BBC World Service Trust, New Delhi: +91 9899883836
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