World AIDS Day 2021: From Phir Milenge to My Brother Nikhil, 5 films that spread awareness about the disease

Art has the power to influence and cinema is a strong proof of that A lot of people love movies and are often inspired and moved by them to reflect on their lives whether personal romantic social or environmentalOn World AIDS Day 2021 observed worldwide on December 1 we recall some of the remarkable Bollywood movies that have helped raise awareness about the disease and break the baseless stigma around it1 Phir Milenge 2004Inspired by Tom Hanks Philadelphia Phir Milenge stars Shilpa Shetty Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan in the lead rolesThe film revolves around Shilpas character Tamanna who tests positive for HIV and is fired from her job due to the taboos surrounding the disease She decides to fight a legal case to keep her job but no one accepts to represent her Finally Abhishek who plays the role of her lawyer takes her case Salman Khan plays the role of her college sweetheart who was himself infected with the deadly diseaseThe film is directed by Revathi who also played the role of Tamannas doctor in the film2 My Brother Nikhil 2005Starring Sanjay Suri as the protagonist Nikhil and Juhi Chawla as his sister Anamika this film is about a swimming champion whose life falls apart when he gets diagnosed with HIV He is kicked out from the swimming team and his parents do not support him eitherHis strongest support in these trying circumstances is his sister Anamika who stands by her brother in the times when he needs to be supported the mostDirected by Onir My Brother Nikhil proved to be a landmark film as it dealt with the stigma associated with HIV and homosexuality The film is set in the late 1980s when awareness about the disease was significantly low Purab Kohli also played a pivotal role in the film3 Dus Kahaniyaan Zahir 2007Dus Kahaniyaan is a collection of 10 short films and the film Zahir starring Dia Mirza and Manoj Bajpayee is based on the subject of HIVAIDSDirected by Sanjay Gupta the short film tells the story of a Sia Dia who befriends her new neighbour Sahil Manoj After the two become friends Sahil makes advances for intimacy but Sia refuses to consent One night when he visits a bar with his friends he sees that Sia works as a bar dancer Frustrated and drunk he visits her apartment and despite her attempts to have a conversation he rapes her Later it is revealed that Sia was suffering from AIDSThe story is narrated by Sahil who reveals that Sia passed away two years back and he is now waiting for his death4 Positive 2007Farhan Akhtar directorial Positive was a part of short films made for creating awareness about AIDSStarring Shabana Azmi Boman Irani and Arjun Mathur in the lead roles the film is about a boy Arjun who knows about his fathers Boman extramarital affairs but keeps it hidden from his mother Shabana When after a point he cannot stand his fathers choices he leaves for abroad to study Later he gets to know that his father is ill as he has contracted AIDS With only a little time left he has to make the conscious choice to forgive his father for cheating on his mother and comfort him on his death bedThe film tries to bring out the emotional conundrum a family faces when hit with such shattering circumstances5 68 Pages 2007Directed by Sridhar Rangayan the film is based on an HIVAIDS counsellor and four of her clients a commercial sex worker an intravenous drug user a homosexual and a transsexual bar dancerThe movie tells the story through the counsellor Mauli Ganguly who avoids emotional attachment with her clients but is still moved from their pain She writes her experience in 68 pages of her personal diary The film portrays how society stigmatises and shuns those diagnosed with HIVAIDSOn World AIDS Day 2021 lets look forward to more films from Indian cinema that portray the subject to raise awareness and break taboosThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever