Heal the world: Celebs for AIDS

Fifty Bollywood stars and 10 television stars will join hands to shoot for a music video Haath Se Haath Mila contributing to the cause of AIDS awareness.

Says Javed Akhtar who has penned the lyrics, "This song attempts to bring out a sense of caring for other fellow beings. It tells people that you are no different from anyone else. There is just some distance that separates us from each other." Haath Se Haath Mila, which will be released as an album by Music Today has been set to tunes by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, and sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal.

Rohit Bal has designed exclusive T-shirts for the music video. Swarovski is providing red Swarovski studded AIDS ribbons for these T-shirts. Hemant Trivedi and Ashish Soni will also be contributing ensembles for the stars. Amit Roy (of Sarkar, Ishq Vishq fame) and Shiamak Davar have been assigned the reins of photography and choreography, respectively.
Make a difference

"There are still some big names to join in, but I am keeping it as a secret. Our attempt is to have as many youth icons as possible to contribute to this effort, and to make it an inspiration for youth around the nation," says director Anu Malhotra, known for her award-winning travel shows (Namaste India, Indian Holiday et al) and documentaries (The Konyak of Nagaland, The Maharaja of Jodhpur).

She further adds, "The video is not just about AIDS awareness. It imparts a message that together we can make a difference."

The video, which is being produced by BBC in association with Yashraj Films, will be followed by a television series by the same name, to be aired on Doordarshan. Malhotra works as consultant with BBC.

It was difficult

In today's times, when it isn't easy to get combination dates of four actors in the same film, it has been a daunting task for Malhotra and her team to bring over 70 stars together from the entertainment industry under one roof on the same date. Says Malhotra, "I owe it to my team who has been relentlessly working on this, since the past two months."

According to Nigam, "Pyaar se aur sadbhavana se hum yeh message ko pahuncha rahe hai ki apas mein openness badhani chahiye."

Tulsi-Jassi saath saath

Interestingly, Smriti Z Iraani (Tulsi of Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi) and Mona Singh (Jassi of Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin) have never shared screen space except for an award (Hero Honda ITA, Best Actress 2004). "I am looking forward to work with Smriti," Singh adds.

Smriti Z Iraani tells hitList, " I did a similar thing for the UN, two years ago. Of late, I have been very busy with my Gujarati play and my political commitments. I have been shuttling too much between Mumbai and other places. For Haath Se Haath Mila, I will be specially flying down from Ahmedabad."

The video will be shot in Mumbai on January 12 and 16 followed by a worldwide premiered on MTV.