IT’S ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT WITH DEEP SOCIAL MESSAGES: VATS

In an industry first, Viacom18 has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and BBC Media Action to create a Hindi general entertainment fiction series called Navrangi Re! putting the spotlight on the issue of faecal waste disposal. Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18 tells us that the network will continue to bring social issues to the fore via entertaining formats

ON THE NEW SHOW NAVRANGI RE!
Our new show Navrangi Re! conveys a message that aims to drive behavioural change through a more entertaining format. The show is laced with lots of humour and drama, an attempt to avoid sounding too preachy. That said, I am certain it will encourage viewers to pay attention to the serious issue of faecal waste disposal.

ON ENTERTAINMENT WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE
70% of urban India’s sewage is left untreated, an issue that needs immediate attention. We have seen viewers identify and resonate with such content very well as seen before with our film, Toilet: EkPrem Katha. We have always worked to bring out entertainment with deeper, social messages. That is something we will continue. The issue of sanitation is something that I am especially passionate about especially in a country like ours. As a company too, we have focused a lot on sanitation. We started this with the Global Citizen partnership, and have also been part of the BMC’s drive to make Mumbai defecation free. It is a very logical thing to now look at what is the last thing to address in the sanitation value chain, which is faecal sludge management.