Bollywood's first AIDS
film
by J.A. Lopata
India, with the world’s second largest HIV-positive
population, has never had a mainstream film dealing with
AIDS, until last month, according to the AP.
A far cry from the stereotypical belly-wiggling Bollywood
fare, “Phir Milenge” (“We’ll Meet Again”) pits two of
Bollywood’s notable stars, Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty,
against discrimination brought on after catching the
disease.
With 5.1 million infected with the virus in India, public
discussion concerning the epidemic has been notoriously
scarce.
“It is up to all of us to challenge stigma,” said Khan, who
traditionally plays masculine romantic leads. “I hope I’ve
played my part by taking on the role ... when some other
actors were perhaps a little reluctant.
“It’s an emotional movie,” he continued. “I said yes as soon
as I saw the script because I feel the disease is spreading
fast and something needs to be done.”
This
piece first appeared in "In Newsweekly: New England's
largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
newspaper."
September 9, 2004 |