Art has the ability to influence, and cinema is a prime example of this. Many people enjoy movies, and they are frequently moved and motivated by them to think about their own lives, whether personal, romantic, social, or environmental. On the occasion of World AIDS Day 2021, which will be commemorated internationally on December 1st, we look back at some of the outstanding Bollywood films that have contributed to raising awareness about the disease and eradicating the disease’s unjust stigma.
1. Phir Milenge: Phir Milenge,’ based on Tom Hanks’ ‘Philadelphia,’ star Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan. The storey follows Shilpa’s character Tamanna, who tests positive for HIV and is sacked from her job as a result of the disease’s taboos. Revathi, who also played Tamanna’s doctor in the film, directed it.
2.Dus Kahaniyaan: The film ‘Zahir,’ starring Dia Mirza and Manoj Bajpayee, is based on the issue of HIV/AIDS and is part of the ‘Dus Kahaniyaan’ collection of ten short films. The short film is directed by Sanjay Gupta and follows the storey of a Sia (Dia) who befriends her new neighbour Sahil (Manoj). Sahil makes efforts for intimacy after the two become friends, but Sia resists. When he and his pals go to a pub one night, he notices Sia working as a bar dancer. He comes to her apartment, frustrated and inebriated, and rapes her despite her attempts to converse with him. Sia was later discovered to be suffering from AIDS.
3. Positive: Farhan Akhtar’s directorial ‘Positive’ was a component of short films developed for increasing awareness about AIDS. Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani, and Arjun Mathur play key roles in this film. The film seeks to convey the emotional turmoil that a family suffers when confronted with such traumatic events.
4. 68 Pages: The film is centred on an HIV/AIDS counsellor and four of her clients: a commercial sex worker, an intravenous drug user, a homosexual, and a transgender bar dancer, directed by Sridhar Rangayan. The film depicts how HIV/AIDS patients are stigmatised and shunned by society.
5. My Brother Nikhil: This film, starring Sanjay Suri as Nikhil and Juhi Chawla as his sister Anamika, is about a swimming champion whose life is turned upside down after he is diagnosed with HIV. He’s been thrown off the swim team, and his parents aren’t behind him. ‘My Brother… Nikhil’ was a landmark film because it addressed the stigma surrounding HIV and homosexuality.