ARTS SPECIAL

BOLLYWOOD BRINGS IT home

Also, actors in India are held in great esteem by the public. We broke the ice for them too with this film. I believe we have opened

their eyes to the reality and humanity of HIV. If actors come forward they could have a huge impact. The poor people of India make Bollywood’s actors rich and it’s time they put something back. It costs you about 500 rupees (£6.50) to get an HIV test - and about 300 to go to a Bollywood movie. Unfortunately many would rather spend the money on the movie than the test!”
How did you get the film made so cheaply?
“Most of the actors and production team gave their services for free. I think they were challenged by the idea. We thought about making it in the UK too, but it would have cost about £78,000 and I knew it just wouldn’t have the same impact as doing it in Bollywood, which is the place, of course, for making great low budget films.
When you think how the sub-Saharan epidemic has begun to filter over here, it seemed a very cost-effective kind of prevention tool. Despite the inter-relations between Asians living here and in India, there has been little transfer of HIV to the UK. Let’s keep it that way by making sure people are informed.”
The story of the film is a romantic one, how did you come up with it?
“We know there is growing promiscuity among the young, and extra-marital affairs are very common in Asian families. Women are the hardest group to reach in Asian society because they often stay at home while the men are out mixing socially.
We wanted an emotional story that would engage the whole family in the privacy of their home. It is vital that we eradicate the image that HIV and Aids has of being a disease which only affects prostitutes or gay men.

The film is set in a wealthy area of Bombay and we chose a handsome middle-class family man, Sanjay - an accountant who is well-respected in his community - as the one to first bear the brunt of having HIV.

Sanjay has a lover who he unwittingly infects too and when she learns of this, already pregnant with his child, she commits suicide.