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MUMBAI: Ashley Judd, acclaimed Hollywood actress is in Mumbai to
understand the issues surrounding HIV in India. She comes in her
role as Brand Ambassador to Population Services International -
an international non-profit working in the area of HIV. Ashley also
has a personal mission on this trip. She is hoping to raise funds
for a care and nutrition program for women who are HIV positive.
PSI and National Geographic Channel come together for a documentary
film on her trip to India. The film is being produced by Miditech
and will premiere on NGC on World Aids Day, 1st December 2007.
 Vice-President
Programming, NGC India, Joy Bhattacharjya comments, "Our enduring
partnership with Miditech has given us the opportunity to together
create international quality documentaries which manage to retain
a uniquely Indian sensibility. This is just one of the many examples
where the best Indian talent has been harnessed to create a world
class product. This film will be telecast on all the National Geographic
channels around the globe."
The film follows Ashley as she embarks on the HIV trail in India
to see how this deadly disease spreads from Mumbai, the AIDS hub
of the country to other places across the country. She is joined
by Bollywood stars Sushmita Sen and Akshay Kumar who hope to create
some kind of positive change through their public personas. Shahrukh
Khan who also appears in the film invited Ashley to his film set
and promised to help in the fight against AIDS.
While Ashley and Sushmita interact with Sex workers in Kamathipura,
Akshay connects with the Truck Drivers in Jaipur to understand the
real state of the disease and its victims in India.
As they interact with high risk groups, and other people whose
life has been changed by HIV, the film will explore the rapid spread
of AIDS in India and complex concerns like stigma, sexuality and
behaviour patterns that surround this issue.
 The
filming was done under difficult conditions but director Chandramouli
Basu feels, "Everyone we met and interacted with for this film,
had a heart wrenching story to tell. I was amazed at their genuine
warmth and understanding despite their difficult circumstances that
aptly showed during the filming. Ashley had a beautiful connection
with everyone she met. Sushmita too struck a chord with the sex
workers who were touched that a Bollywood star had taken time out
to meet them."
Today India is at the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic - there are
an estimated 5.7 million adults living with HIV, higher than the
entire population of the New Zealand. And many of the victims are
women infected by their husbands or partners and struggling to survive.
Ashley hopes that through her interaction with these women, she
will be able to raise awareness about HIV related issues.
Dana Ward, Operations Director, PSI says "Women in India are
increasingly at risk from HIV/AIDS from their partners who indulge
in sex with commercial sex workers while living with their wives.
This puts women and the entire family at a great risk. Thus, empowerment
of women is essential to prevent the disease from spreading into
the general population and to prevent the stigma associated with
it. The film is about empowerment of women and HIV/AIDS and we are
grateful that Ashley, Sushmita and Akshay have agreed to be a part
of this film. We are positive that this will help us to communicate
the message we want to."
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