TV stars 4 a cause:Jaya[Payal of KSBKBT]

Bollywood stars have been doing their bit to create social awareness. And now it's our telly stars who are have taken up a world-wide cause - child molestation. A short film, Chuppi, dealing with the concept of child abuse features telly actors Jaya Bhattacharya, Ravi Gossai and Kabir Sadanand and is produced by Madhav Panda.

Tarla's (Jaya Bhattacharya) daughter Kushi (Simran Zaveri) is molested by her uncle, Jeet (Ravi Gosain). Jasmine (Nandana Sen) is Jaya's sister gets to knowabout this and discloses it to Greg (Kabir Sadanand) her lover. Kabir dissuades Nandana from confronting the matter due to lack of having substantial proof and tries to overlook the incident. However Nandana makes it a point to do everything so that justice is done. The story traces the agony faced by a parent of a molested child, the trauma which the child goes through and how society instead of raising its voice against this evil, just attempts to suppress it and behave indifferently.

"It's high time that we come out of our closets and speak up about issues which are still being considered as a taboo. Child molestation is a rampant thing in oursociety. What is more alarming is that the culprit is most likely someone whom we know very closely.

But sadly because of the fear of being punished and the social stigma attached, neither the child nor the parent comes out in the open. But if we continue to show indifference and take things for granted then we are compromising on our children's security. Through this film we have tried to explain this very scenario. Unlike documentary films, this film will not leave the audience in a lurch of seeking the answers themselves. The attempt is to send out a hard hitting message that it's high time we change our attitude and respond back in an appropriate manner" holds Kabir Sadanand.

For Ravi Gossain his role in Chuppi was a very challenging. He states; "It was a tough decision which I had to make. But I gave in for a novel and humane cause. In this film, molesting doesn't mean I am raping the child. It's about how I touch her."

Jaya Bhattacharya exclaims in unison, "This film is about heeding… listen to your child, what is being said and most importantly, what is not being said by them. For it is the psychology of Indian parents to restrain their kids when such a thing takes place, rather than punish the actual culprit."

Producer and Director Madhav Panda winner of United Nations Career award comments, "Child molestation is an issue which is not being spoken about. On my behalf it's a small initiative, to see what impact it will have on its audience. In one word Chuppi could be defined as an attempt to break silence."