KOCHI: Malayalam’s own megastar Mammootty will deliver an anti-drug message to school students all over the state this Republic Day. The programme Vazhikatti (Guide), a joint venture of the State Home Department, Education Department and Mammootty’s Care and Share Foundation, will be telecast live on state government’s Victors channel during the Republic Day celebrations at all the government schools.
The idea and screenplay of the nearly 30-minute long programme Vazhikatty is by Fort Kochi Circle Inspector T Rajkumar.
“The idea became a reality with the help of the senior officers and the entire Police Department. This is a collective effort of the Police Department.
We are presenting three real-life incidents- based on children and drugs- in a docu-fiction format along with the anti-drug message by Mammootty,” says Rajkumar.
Besides Mammootty, DGP Lokanath Behra and other officials of the police department will appear in the documentary. Directed by Baiju 2D, the programme will be screened live at 12,000 schools in Kerala on Republic day.
“We hope to bring the anti-drug message to over 30 lakh students through the film. We will also collect feedbacks. Using these feedbacks, we will identify 20 students from each school. In this manner, we will be able to create a pool of 1,40,000 students who will later volunteer for anti-drug campaigns and awareness programmes,” he added.
Apart from Victors, some prominent channels in Malayalam have also expressed interest in telecasting the programme. “The presence of Mammootty will add to the celebrity value of the programme and moreover, will help in attracting more students to the awareness programme,” a statement issued by Care and Share Foundation chairman K Muraleedharan stated.
Care and Share will also implement similar projects in the coming months. Apart from Education Department, the Santhigiri Ashram in Thiruvananthapuram and other NGO units are joining hands with Care and Share Foundation to organise such programmes. “This is a first of its kind initiative in Kerala. Student Police Cadets too have lent us a helping hand,” he added.