Mira Nair launches AIDS awareness project

Indian-born film director Mira Nair has launched an AIDS awareness project called Jaago to highlight the spread of the disease and its danger to society.

Washington, July 6 : Indian-born film director Mira Nair has launched an AIDS awareness project called 'Jaago' to highlight the spread of the disease and its danger to society.

The project, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will use the powerful medium of Indian cinema to inform people about AIDS and its impact. It will involve the showing of short films on the impact of the disease during movie screenings.

The internationally acclaimed filmmaker said that she had proposed the idea to get the message across to people.

"I proposed that I would get together the most cutting-edge, commercial, populist film directors from different regions of India, who would each use iconic movie stars who are recognized in our country, who would each make a dramatic tale of 15 minutes in length," Contactmusic quoted Nair, as saying.

Each director in the project was given 'the freedom to do what they needed to do'.

The 'Salaam Bombay' director added that the films can translate everywhere, and that if the project is a success, she plans to get four more directors to do another series.

"They can really translate anywhere, China, Africa, anywhere. If these four films succeed, then next year we can get another four directors (to do another series)," she added.

ANI