Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday joined hands with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and state government as a brand ambassador for their anti-tuberculosis campaign. Photo: Viral Bhayani
Amitabh will be seen next in the film 'Piku' where he stars alongside Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan.
Mr Bachchan also seconded Dr Jagdish Prasad’s idea of adopting slums in their area. “I would like to adopt a slum as per the regulations of the campaign to ensure the eradication of the disease. I will also request my friends from the industry to
Inaugurating two television ads and a radio ad, Mr Bachchan said that he believed in the campaign and that the disease would be eradicated soon.
According to civic data, over 30,000 people suffer from the disease across Mumbai. BMC’s TB control office’s data reveals that since 2010, of the 6,701 multi-drug resistant patients put on treatment, 1,033 (15.4 per cent) have succumbed to the
The 'TB Harega, Desh Jeetega' campaign is a series of multimedia content to extensively disseminate key messages for TB prevention and control through TV, print, radio, online and outdoor media.
This is the first time that the actor has spoken openly about his illness. He also went on to say that TB can happen to anyone but awareness about this disease can help us fight it and eradicate it completely like polio.
"I wanted to become the face of the campaign the moment the idea was introduced to me,” said Mr Bachchan. He added that if he — who was consuming nutritious food — could contract the disease, anyone could get affected by it.
"I was detected with the disease back in 2000 when I had initiated shooting for Kaun Banega Crorepati. I wondered why I was feeling weak and faced a loss of appetite. After the tests were conducted, it was revealed that I had tuberculosis," he said.
The actor who was previously treated for the disease, said that he would adopt a slum in the city under the campaign.
Amitabh Bachchan joins government's fight against tuberculosis