The Third Eye a program run by a partnership between Asian Centre for Entertainment Education (ACEE) and Hollywood Health & Society (HH&S), USC, Annenberg, and funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is empowering the creative leaderships of the media and entertainment industries of India with accurate information on key health, legal, gender and social issues through expert advice, is tracking change and measuring impact of content across all traditional and new media platforms.

Following the success of its first briefing for creative communities, where Garry Lyon, Professor for Script Writing at the University of Leeds, UK, interacted with creative leaders on writing for society in January, 2014, The Third Eye in its second edition of SUPERNOVA, a series of interactive sessions between creative communities in the world of films, television and advertising and a panel of experts, held an interactive session on Maternal & Child Health Care issues in India with special focus on Pre and Post Natal Care today.

  

Each month, a contemporary and pertinent issue is taken up for debate and discussion.

The panel was moderated by Filmmaker and Writer/Columnist Vinta Nanda, MD, ACEE and Director, THE THIRD EYE. There were three panellists for the session.

As an introduction to the discussion Vinta Nanda said “Change in behaviours and attitudes towards best practices can be achieved through the power of the stories that we tell, and information can be reached to the farthest corners of the country because of the growth of media across every state in India. This is the moment in which creative communities can engage with experts from different fields and enrich their narratives with real stories and accurate information through their works, which when consumed by audiences, can accelerate social change like never before.”

Anuradha Tandon, a Senior Advertising Professional and a Documentary Filmmaker, spoke on the challenges faced while presenting the issue in the world of advertising. She said, “The power of the visual medium is phenomenal. It can open up a reality that could change people’s perspectives. A farmer in rural India who gets to see an event like the moon-landing is exposed to a phenomenon that expands his idea of the world like nothing else can. In this context, it is important for filmmakers and writers to realise their capacity to convey messages to the public which could alter people’s perceptions about life.”

Ms Kalpana Lajmi, Acclaimed Film Director, elaborated on the portrayal of women in Indian films in the context of the topic and the need for a new vision keeping in mind the contemporary social reality. She lauded the fact that contemporary mainstream cinema was now beginning to portray social messages in a direct way.

She said, “The sensitive way in which an issue like sperm donation is handled in the Hindi film ‘Vicky Donor’ is laudable. We have come a long way in addressing socially relevant issues like pregnancy and childbirth in films and television in contemporary times where the characters speak directly instead of using euphemisms. There is, however, scope for even more positive change in this direction and scope for accurate information to make its way to mainstream entertainment like films and television.”

Dr Nikhil Datar, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Lawyer and Health Activist, spoke on the situation of pre and post natal care of women in rural and urban communities, and the important issues that need to be brought to the attention of society. He clarified doubts and elaborated on specific problems and gaps in knowledge which would go towards ensuring dissemination of accurate medical information.

During the discussion he said, “Pregnancy and child birth is not a pure medical event but also a family event and a social event. Representation of pregnancy and childbirth in media has a great impact on the society at large. In Indian society riddled with myths and beliefs, scientifically correct representation is vital. In fact, visual media should be used very powerfully to deliver right health messages and empower people.”

The session was started by a brief introduction of THE THIRD EYE by Deepa Bhalerao, Program Outreach Manager, where she informed the audience about the FREE-ON-DEMAND service offered by the program to provide expert advice on issues to ensure accuracy of information in works of media and entertainment. Hans Kapadia, Business Strategy and Development, Shiv Bhalla, Creative Director and Pratik Panjabi, Content Strategy, of THE THIRD EYE interacted with guests about the various ways in which they could work with the organization.

The discussion was attended by film maker George Matthews, Writers Trupti Kappu, Lawyer and Writer Simran Puri, Sophy Sivaraman, Director, Indian Documentary Foundation, Journalist Frenny Maneckshaw and other writers and directors as well.