portrayals in cinema without debate provide strength to patients and care givers to not tire in their pursuits .
Cinema on the other hand should be seen as a double edged sword whose influence can be both positive and negative . For example , smoking in films by film actor ’ s has definitely influenced a justification to many initiating into smoking . Film scenes depicting intense situations with characters taking to smoking or drinking in ‘ reel ’ life , has been found to have a profound effect on people ’ s response to similar situations in real life . As quoted in an American super hero feature film , with power comes responsibility .
Films and Indian cinema are no different than Spiderman , binding the highly fragmented society in its web with the choice of communicating positive or negative health and social messages . Traditional forms of health communication in the present day and age is limited to research publications , conferences and at most to newspaper articles . Though their peculation and more so absorption lies limited to academicians and the intellectual .
Messages with mass appeal that are simple to understand for the uninspired common Indian whose health is equally an important national good lies unaddressed . This is where cinema , seen as a messiah for forgetting everyday burdens and miseries of life can fill the gap in health communication . And help patients and care givers find inspiration to lead a healthy life of dignity and strength in the comfort of their homes and cinema halls .
Dr SaNghamItra PatI
a physician turned public health researcher , Dr Sanghamitra Pati , is presently serving as the Director of regional medical research Centre at Bhubaneswar , Odisha under the aegis of ICmr ( Indian Council of medical research ). her special interest include portrayal of health and illness in popular media and medical humanities . her work on depiction of cancer and diabetes in Bollywood films got published in the Lancet Oncology and Lancet Diabetes on respectively .
Dr KartIK Sharma
Dr Kartik Sharma works at the Population & Community Development association ( PDa ), Bangkok in the area of public health & dental service delivery . Previously he has worked with tata Institute of Social Sciences ( tISS ), mumbai and Public health Foundation of India ( PhFI ), New Delhi as a researcher in health economics and financing . his interests lie in exploring social and behavioural sciences using arts and films for addressing and raising awareness on health and community issues .
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