Catholic Church Joins Hands With Bollywood To Spread Message On HIV/AIDS
By SAR NEWS NEW DELHI, (SAR NEWS) -- A Delhi-based Roman Catholic priest has joined hands with the Hindi film industry in Mumbai to make a commercial film highlighting the dangers of unsafe sex. Spokesperson of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, Father Dominic Emmanuel, said that this was "the first ever instance" of India's Catholic Church producing a commercial film. "There are people who have made video films more along the documentary style, but this is purely a Bollywood formula with songs and dances," the priest added. The Hindi-language film, titled 'Aisa Kyon Hota Hain' (Why does this happen?"), includes an HIV-positive character and is set for release in July or August. Bollywood heroine Rati Agnihotri plays the lead role of a woman who single-handedly raises her son after finding her husband cheating on her. The film is low-budget, costing just 13 million rupees, but the filmmakers have been helped by maverick Bollywood producer-director, Mr. Mahesh Bhatt. His company, Vishesh Films, will be responsible for the launch and publicity of the film. Says Father Emmanuel, "Mr. Bhatt's involvement was aimed at ensuring the film does not become preachy ... but retains its place in the genre of entertainment." The film, shot in Mumbai, will be dubbed into Tamil and Telugu languages of the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh respectively, which are home to many of India's 5.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS. "Profit certainly is not the motive of making this film. It is just using the vehicle of entertainment to put across a message," says Father Emmanuel. Director of the film, Mr. Ajay Kanchan, said: "The film communicates hope without preaching.People should know the HIV virus has moved from high-risk groups to the common population. Even families as a whole can watch the film without any feeling of awkwardness."
