Other States - Punjab   

Bollywood actor plans to fight drug menace in Punjab

Screening religious films to educate the youth: Mangal Dhillon

CHANDIGARH: Religion, according to Karl Marx, may have been the opium of the masses but Bollywood actor Mangal Dhillon disagrees and plans to screen some religious films he has made to fight drug menace among the youth of Punjab. "While travelling extensively in different parts of Punjab recently, I have been trying to reach to the root cause of the drug problem among youth. Apart from socio-economic causes, I find that in most cases our youth have been weaned away from their religion, which is a great guiding force and a source of strength," he says.

"The films `Khalsa, A Day at the Golden Temple,' `Parkash Sri Guru Granth Sahib' and `The Inseparables -- A Sikh and his Turban' will be shown at different places in Punjab soon. The purpose is to educate our people, in particular the youth, who have gone astray, about our history and religion," he says.

"We will hold screenings of our films in Gurdwaras in cities and rural areas as this problem is not limited to any particular segment. The youth are taking smack, using syringes, tablets and capsules and we are going to show them that they can either end up in disaster or choose good health, self respect and their family," he says.

Dhillon, who has acted in 35 feature films including `Janasheen', `Akela', `Nagmani' and `Yugantar' and popular TV serials like `Buniyaad' and `Junoon,' says various Gurdwara committees are being contacted all over Punjab to help them in their effort.

"The screening of films will be a first phase of our effort and if that does not produce results to our liking then we will hold screening of films like `Sarvanash' where the youth will be shown the dark side of living on drugs," he says.

"Our present generation is drifting away from their religion and its philosophy and that is why they are losing direction. It is this directionless situation that creates confusion and frustration, which eventually leads to drugs."

"This is one of the main causes for the drug menace in Punjab besides economic and unemployment problems. I feel one can fight any battle of life, if one has strong foundation of faith," the actor says. -- PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Cold storage to be set up in Ludhiana
Bollywood actor plans to fight drug menace in Punjab
Haryana plans to sell securities

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu