Tag Archives for Shabana Azmi

SJ’s Oprah Khan earns 30 million per gig!!!

It’s not unusual to hear about stars adopting the alter ego of social crusader. In India, actor/director/ producer Aamir Khan is being applauded for calling attention to some of the country’s longstanding challenges in his new show Satyamev Jayate (Truth Alone Triumphs).

Khan’s show, which debuted Sunday after a massive promotional campaign, began by tackling one of India’s darkest secrets—the traditionally taboo subject of female foeticide.

He explored how the nation’s longstanding preference for male heirs led to the tragic practice, which still occurs today in remote villages that are poor and hard to govern. During the show, Khan interviewed several young mothers who candidly shared their painfully raw and emotional experiences.

So far, critical reception has been overwhelmingly positive. The Hindustan Times newspaper went as far as to compare him to American talk show queen Oprah Winfrey due to his mixture of social activism and intimate, personal style.

Khan used data graphs and statistics to make his case, before urging the public to support progress and change. Satyamev Jayate ended with a powerful Bollywood-style song meant to maximize emotional impact.

The show immediately became a trending topic on Twitter. Actor and social activist Shabana Azmi tweeted “Aamir Khan’s show can bring a revolution.” She added it “forces us to re-examine ourselves.”

 Actress Preity Zinta told her 1.5-million followers: “I love this effort from him and thank him as a woman!”

Khan will reportedly earn 30 million rupees, about $564,000, for each of the 13 episodes, which will air on Sunday morning—a prime slot typically reserved for soap operas in India.

Such efforts have garnered considerable attention, which can only benefit the cause, but the actor remains humble: “I can only keep the issues in front of everyone,” Khan told reporters after the show. “One person cannot improve or bring solutions to an issue.”

Female foeticide in India has led to a huge gender imbalance. According to the 2011 census data, there are just 914 girls for every 1,000 boys across India – behind the global benchmark of 952.

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Aamir Khan (satyamev jayate) can bring a revolution in India

Dr. Mitu Khurana, a pediatrician & the mother of the 5-year-old twins guddi & pari, is the first woman in New Delhi to file a complaint under India’s PCPNDT Act, which bans sex determination tests.

Dr. Mitu Khurana, a pediatrician & the mother of the 5-year-old twins guddi & pari, is the first woman in New Delhi to file a complaint under India’s PCPNDT Act, which bans sex determination tests.

 Rachna Srivastava writes in Bollygraph:

Shabana Azmi: Watching Aamir Khans TV show on female foeticide. SUPERB. Bravo Aamir.. What a huge service u r doing. Bless u. Jeete Raho. Khush raho. Aamir Khans show can bring a revolution. Thoroughly researched covers all aspects touches emotional chord n forces us to reexamine ourselves

A sure exposition brought before us which acts as an adjuvant , in unearthing the human in us.” Satyamev Jayate” unraveled all emotions in the very first episode itself, leaving us expecting more out of it every week, taking the journey around in India along with the superstar Aamir Khan. We all have inflated respect for this Khan even more now.

The eyes were left misted when we heard the dolorous story of Mitu Khurrana, who comes from a very well educated family and was also married off in a family well settled and well educated. Her case impinged all souls and left everyone with an array of unanswered questions and mixed thoughts.

Post the show twitter was flooded with tweets from the celebs, like:

Preity Zinta: Watching Aamir Khan on Satyamev Jayate discussing Female Foeticide ! I love this effort from him & thank him as a Woman !

Poonam Pandey: #SatyamevJayate reminds of the Sunday Time Slot whn use to watch #Mahabharat as a teen evn by skipng some sunday mtchs Bravo “Aamir Khan”

Neha Dhupia: #nowwatching @aamir_khan address the unreal problems of real india … I’m a fan as always! #satyamevajayate. Respect @aamir_khan #satyamevajayate !

Farhan Akhtar: Satyamev Jayate. A show with a heart.

Mandira Bedi: A reality show in its truest sense. Some stirring & troubling realities of our times.. I applaud @aamir_khan

Zoya Akhtar: #AamirKhan proves that being a real hero is about affecting change and not about 6 packs and sexy backup dancers. Respect. #Satyamevajayate

Vishal Dadlani: Aamir coulda made 3 Cr. a day for any kinda TV show. He CHOSE to make his airtime worthwhile. May his tribe increase. #satyamevajayate.

Satyamev Jayate is very well researched and well grounded in terms of numbers and figures. Aamir surely has double-checked his homework. He also broght along two audacious journalists,Meena Sharma and Shripal Shaktawat from Rajasthan,who had conducted a sting operation seven years back in clinics and hospitals across India  on the barbaric cases of infanticide, bringing to the actual front the real faces of the doctors that were involved ,who can just for some amount of money, kill the child in the womb. The cases are still lying open in Rajasthan court and has been divided to different sub-divisional courts and since years the accused doctors have their licenses intact and they are continuing with their practices.

Through the show Aamir has brought the issue in front of the public and has promised to write a letter to the Rajasthan Court, pleading them to constitute fast-track courts and the cases should be brought in the limelight and be resolved as soon as possible. Aamir, has also seeked public support which can be expressed via sms or feedback on their web portal http://www.satyamevjayate.in

On the ending note, Aamir talked about a “magic wand” which lies in the hands of common people and every individual who had witnessed the show.He showcased a small success story of a small district in Punjab named Nawanshahr, where people with their continued efforts saved around 2000 girls.It is a pledge that we need to take in order to stop injustice that is spreading its roots and would some day,if not controlled, devour our whole country,leaving it in ruins.

Read the full report:  Satyamev Jayate – Aamir wins hearts !!

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