HYDERABAD: Last year, an American tabloid broke the news that popular Hollywood and TV star Charlie Sheen was affected by HIV.
Sheen was then forced to respond with an interview where he revealed he had HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and not AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). AIDS is the last stage of HIV infection (characterised by a weakened immune system), and not everyone with the virus will develop it.
That’s just one of the misconceptions people have about HIV. If celebrities like Charlie have to bear the brunt of stereotypes, you can imagine what a common man would have to go through in his daily life.
Diffusing such myths about HIV, Bhushan Gaur has come out with a movie titled There Will Be Tomorrow. The movie targets the social stigma attached to HIV. It also deals with the issue of HIV patients having an uninfected baby. Recently Gaur and his team screened the movie at the HIV Congress held in Goa on March 18-20 and were felicitated for their contribution in raising awareness about the disease.
Bhushan wanted to ditch the mainstream love stories and other concepts and wanted do some thought provoking concept.“Urge for progeny is basic for any human being. Millions of HIV patients world over lose hope in life.
They believe their end is near and there is nothing much that they can do to their lives or to the world. I read an interesting story somewhere about an HIV infected man having his own uninfected baby and it lead me into a prolonged research. What resulted was a beautiful and very relatable story for just anyone,” he tells with immense confidence.
The research for production took him about one and half year. He met many doctors and researchers and a few families who were victim of this deadly virus.
“There were some really heart wrenching stories there. I wanted to depend on a lot of primary sources before writing a drama. The idea was to spread information but not by just stating facts and figures,” Bhushan informs.
Hundreds of actors were auditioned for the film before Sahil Salathia and Nimisha Mehta were finalised for the lead roles. Bhushan says that among many other issues he faced was that many patients were not willing to open up and share their identities. It is also illegal for doctors to share any information about the patients. “I had to research hundred times more than what had to be on screen,” he adds.
The film won an award for outstanding contribution to the society at HIV congress 2016 at its very first public screening. The film is tying up with a pharma company to take its reach to the bigger audience group, especially doctors across the world.
“I am starting to work on a film based on Hepatitis B and C with a pharma company. Next to it is another big project with a global organisation on hypertension,” Bhushan tells about his future projects.