The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Film on TB awareness

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 20, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Film on TB awareness

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JAN. 19. A 15-minute film focusing on tuberculosis, featuring actor Suriya, was released here today by L.S. Chauhan, deputy director general, Central TB Division, Ministry of Health.

Directed by Janaki Viswanathan and starring Suriya, the movie `Inaindha Kaigal,' highlights how a person affected with TB copes with the disease with the help of his employer.

Suriya plays the employer who offers to be the Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS) provider for his driver, helping him recover from TB in six months. The film has been produced by Reach, a non-profit organisation in Chennai working to spread awareness of TB and the Revised National Tuberculosis Programme.

Reach has also produced two short advertisement films `Yen Endru Kelungal' featuring actress Kushboo and television personality Vijay Adhiraj, directed by Jayendra of JS Films to remove the stigma attached to the disease. These shorts have been aired on TV channels.

For all States

Dr. Chauhan hailed the efforts of Reach in spreading awareness of TB. The movie could be dubbed into other languages and released in other States as well, he added. Information, Education and Communication was an essential part of public health programmes and had a big role to play in the control of the highly infectious TB, he said.

The DOTS programme would be extended to cover all the States in the country soon, he said.

Dr. Chauhan earlier released the first anniversary newsletter of Reach.

The Director of the Tuberculosis Research Centre, P.R. Narayanan commended the efforts of Reach in establishing institutional partnerships and enabling the crucial public-private mix that has ensured the success of the DOTS programme. He released the first `Doctors for DOTS' diary and handed over the first copy to Mahendran Chetty, pulmonologist

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