Actor Aamir Khan on Sunday recommended sports for the feeling of high, instead of drugs. Rippling muscles popping out of the epidermis-clinging shiny black tee and the sombre grin complementing the thoughtfulness of his deep bright eyes gave the initial impression that Aamir Khan was out on the sets of another Bollywood blockbuster, as he walked into a five-star hotel in Chandigarh on Sunday afternoon.
But as the “good man” of Bollywood, conversed over different aspects of the sports and the “changes” it can make, it became clear that the star-turned-propagator of a social movement in the country meant business; and the problems afflicting this part of the region too were on Satyamev Jayate’s radar. After highlighting the sensitive issues concerning Punjab, including female foeticide, honour killing, high pesticide use, alcoholism and drugs, Aamir on Sunday, among other things, focused in his show on how Punjab’s sportspersons were losing the game of life to drugs.
His assertions come at a time when Punjab’s generation next is in the deadly clutches of intoxicants from a tender age, though it was once frontrunner in sports. The state, now battling with drugs, has produced the likes of ‘flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh, wrestler Dara Singh, cricketers lala Amarnath and his sons Mohinder and Surender, Bishan Singh Bedi, Navjot Singh Sidhu, hockey players Ajitpal Singh, Balbir Singh Senior, Dhyan Chand, and golfers Jeev Milkha Singh. The list goes on…
Appearing on the show aired on Sunday morning, ace cricketer Yuvraj Singh inspired the state’s youth to give up intoxication and pick up sports. He pointed out that Punjab has given a lot of sportsmen to the country, and the youth should be inspired from that.
Undoubtedly, Punjab has a high rate of intoxication. The people, including schoolgoing children, are known to take one or the other form of intoxication. Despite state government’s efforts, the situation, on the face of it, has remained unchanged.
But, for Aamir, it’s “mumkin hai” or possible. “Intake of drugs by the youth is a matter of concern…We will come out with an episode in future to keep children away from drugs,” said the actor, while interacting with the media later in the afternoon. The 49-year-old actor stressed on the need to make sports an integral part of school curriculum. “Children should be taught sports just the way they are taught Maths or English,” he said.
“There is a strong need to reach out to children of weaker sections of society for teaching them sports…These days, children play games on computer alone where they are cut off from the rest of the world, while the outdoor games help in connecting with people besides physical development,” said Aamir.
As the show’s tagline constantly reminds that “change is possible”, Aamir maintained that he was making his contribution to the society to bring about “change”. “Each individual had the capacity to do something, and must contribute towards bringing change in the society,” he said
“I am not saying that I can change India, but my ability is in making people aware, telling them by way of stories how change can be brought, touching their hearts…but it does not mean that if one can’t solve a problem, they should sit idle and be a fence-sitter, this country belongs to all of us and we all should make our contribution and take a step towards change,” said Aamir.
But that is not all! The show’s “responsibility” does not end here. “We have written to the civic bodies, and also to the Chief Ministers on the issue of introducing generic medicines in their states…we do make efforts but that was not out primary responsibility,” clarified Aamir, who had approached the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2012 to highlight concerns of manual scavengers engaged in cleaning excreta.
Aamir had also made a presentation before a parliamentary panel on FDI in the pharmaceutical sector, after his show spoke about malpractices in the medical profession.
“After our episode on disables, building have been made accessible to them, nearly four lakh people are buying generic medicines, child sexual abuse bill is awaiting to be tabled in the Parliament, there’s law on manual scavenging, child sex ration has improved in Maharashtra from 890 to 940, while highlighting child helpline number has generated 40 lakh calls,” pointed Aamir, who was flanked by show’s director and his schoolmate Satyajit Bhatkal, and research head Svati Chakravarty.
And for all this, he does not take any credits. “I am not the hero of the show. In fact, I introduce people who are heroes in what they are doing, people who have been doing good things in their life,” he said.