Recently, top stars from the Indian film industry had come together for a 4-and-a-half-minute, made-at-home short film titled Family that included Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh, Priyanka Chopra, and several others.
The short primarily stressed on the importance of social distancing and the need to stay indoors but also went on to announce that the stars have raised a fund with the help of sponsors and Sony Pictures to help daily wage workers of the cine industry. The fund which has collected about 12 crores is being divided among the industries.
On Friday, Megastar Chiranjeevi took to Twitter to thank Amitabh Bachchan for the initiative revealing that the Badla star had made arrangements to help the daily wagers of the Telugu Film Industry. He mentioned that the industry had received 12,000 Corona Relief Coupons worth Rs. 1500 each that could be exchanged by the workers at Big Bazaar stores for groceries and other essential items.
Amit ji @SrBachchan has arranged 12000 Corona Relief Coupons of Rs1500 each to be distributed to the Daily wage Film workers in Telugu States from the proceeds of #Family.A BIG THANK YOU to ‘BIG B’ for this wonderful initiative.These coupons can be redeemed at #BigBazaar stores pic.twitter.com/XK0vjL38MT
— Chiranjeevi Konidela (@KChiruTweets) April 17, 2020
Meanwhile, the Tamil Film Industry has reportedly received 2.7 crores from the initiative. 18,000 workers belonging to the Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) are to receive Big Bazaar coupons worth Rs. 1500 each.
#Family short film featuring @SrBachchan, @rajinikanth @KChiruTweets, @Mohanlal, @mammukka and others fetched 12 crores.
This @SonyTV & Kalyan Jewelers initiative donated 2.7crores to the Tamil Film industry. 18,000 FEFSI workers will be given 1,500 rs worth Big Bazar coupons.
— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) April 15, 2020
Family has been virtually helmed by Prasoon Pandey, a popular ad filmmaker known for his One Black Coffee ad for Ericsson. The short and the fundraiser for the workers have been supported by Sony Pictures Networks India, Kalyan Jewellers, and actor Amitabh Bachchan. It is noteworthy that the actor is the brand ambassador of Kalyan Jewellers.
Earlier, a statement shared by Sony Pictures Networks India said, “Given the unprecedented nature of the situation we are in, an initiative undertaken by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, ‘WE ARE ONE’ has been supported by Sony Pictures Networks India and Kalyan Jewellers, through which the monthly ration of 1,00,000 households across the country will be funded.”
It added, “Through a commercial tie-up with a leading chain of hypermarkets and grocery stores in India, digitally barcoded coupons have been distributed to a verified list of workers from the All India Film Employees Confederation. Furthermore, monetary help has also been extended to those in need.”
Watch the made-at-home short Family here.
