AdhaFULL: TV show on societal issues launched

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"AdhaFULL" -- a new TV show aimed at questioning various societal issues such as under-age marriage, gender stereotyping, girl education and gender-based violence, was launched here on Tuesday.

The show was launched in the presence of Unicef India representative Louis-Georges Arsenault and A. Surya Prakash, Chairman of Prasar Bharati.

The 78-episode action-drama series, which would be aired on Doordarshan National starting Friday, will feature actors Richa Soni, Ahsaas Channa, Harsh Mayar and Neelanshi Singh among others.

An initiative by Unicef India and BBC Media Action India, "AdhaFULL" tells the story of three adolescents -- Kitty (Ahsaas), Tara (Neelanshi) and Adrak (Harsh), who form the 'AdhaFULL' gang to solve cases in their journey of growing up in a small town.

Also present at the launch were Priyanka Dutt, Country Director, BBC Media Action, and Supriya Sahu, Director General Doordarshan.

"We have been talking about this show for quite some time now. India has around 243 million adolescents. The idea of bringing sensitive issues in front with a show like this is very innovative through the minds of children," Arsenault said at the launch.

"The show discusses existing social norms and showcases transformation from a culture of silence to a culture of change and freedom," he added.

During the launch, a video message by popular Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra was shown to the audience in which she wished the team luck and expressed her desire to play the role of Kitty.

"Sorry I couldn't make it to the event, but I would like to congratulate the whole team. If I was 16 years old, I would have played the role of Kitty. Best of luck to the entire cast," Priyanka, who is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, said.

Speaking at the launch, A. Surya Prakash said: "The show is a very valuable and critical addition to our content in Doordarshan. It is going to bring in a lot of young viewers to us. We are hoping the best from it."

The show will be supported by a 78-episode radio show called "Full on Nikki", a mobile game, an inter-personal toolkit, graphic novels and DVD omnibuses.

--IANS

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