New Delhi: You may soon see the jiving star of the famous number Khaike paan Banaras wala… chhora Ganga kinare wala from Bollywood blockbuster Don getting up close and personal once again with the much-revered river. The government is planning to rope in B-town celebrities, including Allahabad-born Amitabh Bachhan, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream Ganga cleaning project, Namami Gange, as its ambassadors.
Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, who has taken the initiative to get high-profile Bollywood personalities for the project, is already in talks with Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, and party MP and former actor Hema Malini. Singer Kailash Kher and lyricist-scriptwriter Javed Akhtar are also being considered. The government plans to involve them in several promotional drives to publicise the Namami Gange project.
But what made the government think about adding glamour to it?
With the NDA government trying to reach out to more and more people urging them to support the campaign, Bharti felt it needed popular faces who would be able to connect to the masses.
“As of now, there have been informal discussions on this matter, but things are seriously moving ahead. These people will work for cleaning up the Ganga and will also highlight the work done by the government to make this project a success. The future roadmap will get a visibility with their involvement,” a source in the Ministry of Water Resources said, adding that the involvement of the celebrities will also help generate donations from across the world.
Bharti wants to get Chopra on board not just for her glamour quotient, but also for her youth connect. In the past, she was a part of the campaigns related to saving environment, which was indeed a success.
Bachchan has been involved with several government-run campaigns. He recently accepted Maharashtra government’s offer to become the ambassador for Save the Tiger project. Many other Bollywood stars, including Aamir Khan and Vidya Balan, have also worked with the government in supporting various causes.
Sources at the ministry also admitted that the Ganga cleaning project has not been that popular among the common people as Modi had wanted it to be. Thus, the step to appoint brand ambassadors for the Namami Gange project is an attempt to bring the programme in limelight again.
While the hunt is on for the faces of the gigantic Central government-funded project, Akhtar and Hema Malini have already approached the ministry showing interests in adopting ghats in Varanasi and ensuring their maintenance and upkeep. Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has even visited the office of the implementing agency National Mission for Clean Ganga and is making Paani, a film based on a theme of war over water.
“The Ganga can never be cleaned until we get everyone’s support. These ambassadors will encourage people to come forward and support the government however they can to clean the river,” the sources said.
Not just Bollywood personalities, the government is also seeking the helping hand of religious groups and famous personalities in other fields. The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 20,000 crore for the next five years for the Namami Gange project, which integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga in a comprehensive manner.