The Role of Popular Narratives in Stimulating the Public Discourse on Hiv and Aids

Bollywood's Answer to Hollywood's Philadelphia

Bibliographic Data

ID12713610
AuthorsArvind Singhal (0000-0001-7058-3932, Ohio University, corresponding author), P N Vasanti
Year2005
Volume3
Issue1
Pages3-15
Publication date2005-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSouth Asian Popular Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1474-6689 • E-ISSN: 1474-6697
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14746680500118533
OpenAlexW1512639177
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited13

The purpose of the present article is to analyze the role of a popular Hindi film, Phir Milenge (We Will Meet Again), in stimulating the AIDS‐related public discourse in India. Starring mega‐actors and directed by an award‐winning director, the Bollywood Hindi film Phir Milenge exemplifies what is commonly referred to as the entertainment‐education communication strategy. We discuss the entertainment‐education strategy in HIV/AIDS prevention, including the role of popular mainstream feature films in stimulating the public discourse on HIV and AIDS. Our multi‐pronged research design to gauge Indian audience responses to Phir Milenge is described, and the results presented. Our findings suggest that popular, mainstream films starring megastars can help break the silence about AIDS, and move the discussion of HIV/AIDS from the personal‐private to the public‐policy sphere. Acknowledgements We thank the following co‐researchers of the Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi, India for their assistance in data‐collection: Alok Srivastava, Dipti Kulkarni, and Kalpana Bindu. We also thank Revathy, the Director of Phir Milenge, and Professor David Gere of the University of California in Los Angeles for their encouragement in researching art initiatives to combat HIV and AIDS. Notes Much like Hollywood, Bollywood has been gun shy of producing issue‐based feature films. In recent years, Bollywood had produced, as a rare token, films dealing with gay issues such as Mango Souffle and Bombay Boys, and a film dealing with female sexuality called Girlfriends. Another Bollywood film, Nidaan, tried to tackle HIV/AIDS but not with the kind of megastars that Phir Milenge had

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Linguistics · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Public discourse · Public health · Sociology · Community Health and Development · Gender Studies · Medicine · Nursing · Philosophy · Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes · Virology