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Heroes take on a new villain
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A battery of southern filmstars become involved in Richard Gere's Heroes project. SHONALI MUTHALALY reports
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PHOTO: SHAJU JOHN
TOGETHER FOR A CAUSE Richard Gere with Kamal Hassan and Kalanidhi Maran
It's a time for heroes.
For, heroes fight monsters. Heroes move mountains. And heroes save the world.
Just when you think that good-old fashioned heroism is going out of style, it's heart-warming to see the crew of well-muscled actors that oomph on your TV screen prove that they aren't just a bunch of pretty faces — even if they do get their noses powdered between photo calls before they wipe out the bad guys with some fancy wrist work.
Because, today, the country's creative community is enthusiastically throwing itself into the work of The Heroes Project, a three-year initiative seeking to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS by awareness education. Started by Hollywood actor Richard Gere and socialite-activist Parameshwar Godrej, the project is taking on one of the most deadly villians ever — AIDS — by mobilising Indian heroes, both the everyday variety and the ones from the tinsel world. So, when the South Indian part of the campaign was kicked off with a grand `infotainment' show in Hyderabad, the project brought together Richard Gere, Kamal Hassan and a battery of Southern stars including Mammootty, Chiranjeevi, Vikram and Nagarjuna.
Touching hearts
"I have found that in my country too, the creative community can communicate with people in a direct way. They touch the hearts of the people," says Gere, explaining why actors can often accomplish what government bodies and NGOs cannot. "They have a mysterious relationship with culture. It's much more deep, much more emotional. And it's long term. Politicians come and go, but actors, singers and poets stay for generations. They become family members." The present-day battle isn't just about fighting HIV/AIDS. It's more complicated. Because it also involves taking on the obstinate mindset, irrational fear and superstition that shroud the illness.
"Social stigma: That's the biggest challenge we're facing," says Kamal Hassan, who is spearheading the South Indian campaign. "Especially in Tamil Nadu. It's easier in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh."
Explaining how AIDS can affect anyone, Kamal says, "I am not a drug addict." He then adds with a chuckle, "And I'm not as sexually active as I'm perceived to be. But... I don't know. Anything could happen. Maybe I'll have an accident, and need a blood transfusion."
"It's important to create awareness," agrees Kalanidhi Maran, chairman and managing director, Sun Network, talking about how and why his network is getting involved in the campaign. Saying they reach "somewhere around 21 crore people" though their television channels, and more through the radio, he talks about how AIDS is raging through the South, especially in Andhra Pradesh. Since the network has a tremendous amount of influence, both in urban as well as rural areas, he says it's being used "as a channel to target every segment."
The Sun Network is presently using Public Service Announcements to educate people, and they'll be bringing out the heavy artillery in a month or so, when they introduce AIDS patients into a couple of their more popular, primetime serials.
This, they hope, will help teach people not only about this disease which can be prevented, but also show them that it cannot be acquired by touching, hugging or eating with a person suffering from AIDS.
"India is growing at an extraordinary pace — it will soon become one of the world's leading nations. There's no doubt about that," says Gere. "But a social problem like AIDS needs an enormous amount of work here. And the actors could be a catalyst to set it off."
Stating that they have divided their campaign into two sections for the North and South of India, Gere says, "I don't pretend to know all the answers. But I find that the South is very different — in the rhythms in which people talk to each other, the actors they admire, and the way they deify those actors." And then, there are the fan clubs, which do substantial social work. "You wouldn't find that in America... And there's much more social responsibility among the actors in the south."
Gere has been coming to India "for close to 30 years now, initially on a spiritual quest... I think there is something deep inside me that connects here." That's just one of the reasons he stays. The other is to engineer change. "I have seen the mistakes my country has made, and I want to find a way to keep India from making the same mistakes."
Fact file
* The world is in the 3rd decade of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. More than 60 million have been infected, including the 2 million who have died. (Kaiser, 2004)
* India's first AIDS case was detected in Chennai in 1986. Today, nearly 10% of the world's HIV positive people are Indian.
* Almost 90 per cent of the cases reported fall within the most economically productive age group of 15 to 49 years.
* There are 500,000 new infections reported every year. "At this rate, at least one Indian is getting infected every minute even as you read."
From `HIV/AIDS: Know it to beat it,' brought out by the Heroes Project. Statistics from the National Aids Control Organisation, NACO, 2003
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