Paresh Rawal, Swaroop come together for song

Star couple Paresh Rawal and Swaroop Sampat have come together for a song, "Saamne aa", for the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign.

"Saamne aa" is written and directed by social storyteller Reeta Gupta, and sung by Sona Mohapatra. Composed by Siddharth Sharma, it will release on August 2.

This is the first song the actors have shot for together as the lead.

They worked together in the 1984 film "Lorie", which starred Shabana Azmi, Farooq Shaikh and Naseeruddin Shah.

"Paresh was offered 'Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi', which he refused," Swaroop told IANS.

"Acting is a matter of life and death for Paresh. He uses films, drama and theatre as a pure creative form and survives on it whereas for me, I just enjoy and love being in front of the camera. I use drama and theatre to educate," added the actress, who has taught many teachers and children in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Her work revolves around using drama in education to enhance life skills in children.

Talking about the song, Paresh said: "The lyrics are very powerful and I was happy to be a part of this project."

Throwing light on the project, Gupta said: "In India, we lose 2000 girls every day to 'son preference' both before and after birth. This happens in the most elite of families."

"'Saamne aa' speaks up against son preference and encourages us to raise our boys and girls as equals. 'Saamne aa', literally means come forward. The anthem calls all men and women to come forward and embrace gender parity; and ensure that no one is killed in the name of gender," she added.