The general lack of awareness and sensitivity towards child sexual abuse in India has failed to garner the right attention towards this issue. So, despite the legal provision found in Indian legal system, there seems to be a less buzz for the issue in the Indian society. Hence the key to driving the society or activities towards this issue can be carried out with creating a decent awareness about the same in the media. Even though discussing about this issue has been a taboo in Indian society but with growing number of cases in the country, one can find something about this issue, yet it is miles far from being given the due importance to the subject.
At such junctures, the Indian media particularly the film industry can play a vital role in creating the awareness about the issue and allowing the society to have a better understanding about it. Ironically, we have adults who do not want to raise this issue, while the kids who want to say about it or raise the issue in the media do not how to really do the same. There are few activists inside the B Town who talk on this issue which include filmmaker Anurag Kashayp, Kalki Koechlin and Aamir Khan who raised this concern on his TV show called Satyamev Jayate produced and marketed by himself.
Now our big question, can the B Town films be used to create the awareness about the same and curb the problem. The answer is a big yes for the reasons that it has a wide outreach and an easy access to the people. In fact, there are some films in B Town, which have been made by different filmmaker. The classic example is Imtiaz Ali film called Highway when Alia was molested during her childhood and she took long to speak up. Also the movie by Mira Nair called Monsoon Wedding wherein this issue was raised. Then you have movies like Banwari, Chandni Bar and Onir’s I Am which somewhere narrated the saga of child abuse in the Indian society.
Wrapping up
Well we can call movies to be a potent force when it comes to creating a good awareness about any issues. In fact, it goes beyond awareness to create a movement against the menace and bring the revolution as well in the media. The Aamir Khan’s film called Taare Zameen Par released in 2007 is a classic example of creating a good understanding and awareness about dyslexia.
