And... action!
MALA KUMAR
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HIV awareness and Rituparno Ghosh's next movie keeps Sanjay Suri busy
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ACTOR ACTIVIST Sanjay Suri
It's good to see actor-producer Sanjay Suri hale and hearty in flesh after seeing him on screen as the HIV-affected protagonist of his film My Brother Nikhil.
Excerpts from an interview Was My Brother Nikhil your effort to "sensitise" the world?
I heard the story of Dominic Gonsalves, the HIV positive activist who was jailed in Goa in 1989. My friends Vicky Tejwani, Onir and Raj Kaushal, my wife and others read the story and we just felt we had to do it. Onir wrote the screenplay in 10 days! More than a story, the script had a soul that touched all the actors we approached. The film had a homosexual as the protagonist, and we steered clear of making him a stereotype or a caricature. We wanted to show that even a healthy person like a champion swimmer could contract HIV.
Has this film made any impact on the public?
Yes, definitely. Unfortunately, it has had more screenings at festivals abroad than in India. We recently showed it in the Shillong Film festival where 10, 000 Assam Rifle personnel saw it... in the North East where people are talking about HIV/AIDS there is a greater chance of it being combated. It is in conservative societies that push such issues under the carpet that the problem aggravates.
Your father was killed in a terrorist attack in Srinagar. Has this somehow pushed you into making serious films with a message?
Well, we fled Srinagar after that incident and came to Delhi. The sudden displacement pushed me into modelling, and that led me to Mumbai and films. So, in a way, my being a terrorist-victim did change my life and my beliefs. I'm happy if I can take the middle path — mainstream movies to pay the bills and films like My Brother Nikhil for my satisfaction. You'll see me in Bas Ek Pal scheduled for release in July, Speed in August, and Sunglasses with Rituparna Ghosh soon.Are you an actor or an activist?
After My ... Nikhil, I can't differentiate the two parts of me. I've learnt more about HIV/AIDS than I would have ever learnt as just an actor.
As an actor, I'm happy to be getting the attention of people so that I can spread awareness of such issues. We need more celebrity endorsements on HIV/AIDS and other social problems.
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