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Whenever people faced a calamity or a crisis, be it a famine, drought, an earthquake or floods, film celebrities came forward to help the masses, writes M. L. Dhawan Some time back, actor Aamir Khan had expressed concern over delay in relief and rehabilitation of the Narmada Dam oustees. However, it is not for the first time that an actor rose to the occasion for a social cause. In the past, whenever people faced a calamity or a crisis, be it a famine, drought, an earthquake or floods, film celebrities came forward to help the masses by contributing from their own pockets or by organising processions or friendly cricket matches and collected huge funds for the relief of those affected. Sunil Dutt was one of the first persons to volunteer aid for social or national causes. He had formed the Ajanta Arts troupe to entertain and boost the morale of our jawans serving in rugged, hostile conditions. Nargis, Suraiya, Meena Kumari, Mala Sinha, Talat Mahmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, etc put up shows for our jawans in the border areas. After Nargis died of cancer, Sunil Dutt arranged medical equipment worth over $5 million from abroad and installed it in different hospitals for the treatment of cancer. One of the wards at the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in Mumbai is named after Nargis. When Sanjay Dutt started doing drugs, Sunil Dutt not only got him treated but also spread awareness about drug abuse. For Lata Mangeshkar, social service is something she always wants to do. Her earlier circumstances may not have permitted her to do so, but now she regularly shares a big chunk of money with the people who need it. She tours the world and collects funds by performing at concerts for a medical hospital at Kolhapur that provides free treatment to the needy and the downtrodden. A trust called Master Dinanath Smriti Partisthan gives awards to talented upcoming singers. Another name that comes to mind is that of Shabana Azmi who is known to help in the rehabilitation of slum dwellers. Anupam Kher has devoted himself to the cause of differently abled children. During the Indo-China war in 1962, the humiliation and defeat suffered by our jawans created a sense of loss in the mind of every Indian. The nation wanted to be with the families who had lost their loved ones on the border defending the motherland. Kavi Pradeep paid a glowing tribute to the soldiers in the song Ae mere watan ke logo zara aankh mein bhar lo pani... The lyrics of this soul stirring paen to our soldiers not only reflected Pradeep’s sentiments but his nationalistic thinking at large. A less known facet is that Lata Mangeshkar did not charge a single paisa for crooning this song nor did the late composer C. Ramchandra charge anything for composing the tune. Even the musicians got no remuneration. The owner of the recording studio also refused to accept his normal recording fee as did the sound recordist and other technicians. It had been decided beforehand that the royalty from the sale of records by HMV would be handed over to the Defence Ministry for distribution amongst the war widows and the dependants of the martyrs. The filmmakers, through their films, focused the attention of the government and the people on burning issues of the day. In Shri 420, Raj Kapoor dealt with the problem of housing for the poor and gave a solution also. He popularised the concept of co-operative housing societies. In Jis Desh Main Ganga Behti Hai, he preached to the dacoits to surrender before the law-enforcing authorities. In Pyaasa, Guru Dutt focused on brothels and the dwellers of red-light areas. In Subha Ka Tara, V. Shantaram took up the cause of widow remarriage. Do Aankhen Barah Haath saw him propounding the idea of reforming the prisoners. Prisons became ‘reform houses’ after the film. In Do Bigha Zameen, Bimal Roy pointed out the consequences of indiscriminate industrialisation at the cost of agriculture. Recently, in Veer-Zaara, Yash Chopra gave the sublime message that India and Pakistan should break free from the shackles of their bitter past. Exceptions apart, sadly
today the trend of charity drives by our stars is almost over. Their
concern for people seems to be on the wane. Recently when parts of
Mumbai were flooded due to heavy rains, the victims were left high and
dry not only by the government, but by the film fraternity also. It
seems that the passion and zeal of the yesteryear stars and other
artistes for social causes have not percolated down to present-day
stars.
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