'Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon' breaks all records

We come across stories everyday where women face different kinds of violence which hampers their development. But what about such hindrances within the four walls of their homes? India has the maximum number of child brides in the world and even today, 47% of girls in India are married before they turn 18. In such situations, not only their childhood suffers but also their lives are put at a great risk. But sometimes all it takes is proper guidance to encourage young girls to stop being victims of such illegal and unethical practices.

Munni Kumari, a young girl from a small village in Ratlam had a similar life story until Doordarshan’s Main kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon brought a twist in her life. Munni had to quit her education and drop out of the school in order to get married. But after she watched Main kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon, she successfully convinced her parents to let her study rather than getting her married and joined her school again. But the wave of revolution didn’t just stop there. Munni’s elder sister-in-law Kalavati was married in her family at a very early age. She had left her education mid-way just like Munni was going to. But when Munni resumed schooling, Kalavati enrolled herself in Class 10th as well.

“I witnessed the importance of education in one’s life and how it can change everything. After watching Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon, I decided to fight against everything and everyone who stood between me and my education. It was tough as it was not just my family but also the society that I was fighting against. I managed to convince them. After they realised their mistake, they made sure my sister-in-law gets her education too which she was deprived of at an early age.”

Now Munni and Kalavati go to the school together and hold the power to change their destinies.

Poonam Muttreja who is the executive director of Population Foundation of India, the producer of the show says, “The show and its impact has greatly surpassed our expectation, it definitely reiterates that media is the best and most effective medium for challenging deep rooted social norms. In fact, the data from an independent impact assessment of Season one also showed that PFI got the audience right: 40% of the respondents who watched the series were in the age group of 15-24 years, and half of the married women who watched the series were in the age group of 18-24 years. The series was watched by men (48% of respondents) as much as by women (52% of respondents).”

Adds creator and director of the show Feroz Abbas Khan, “When I first spoke to Population Foundation of India’s executive director Poonam Muttreja, we were both quite certain that we wanted to create a narrative that is simple, non-preachy, entertaining yet effective. We wanted to initiate the change in mind-sets of our viewers without being in their face.”   

The show has set a new record for edutainment shows by managing a whopping reach of 400 Million. With the prodigious response that the first and the second season of the show has received, Doordarshan along with PFI, is now looking at the next season which is equally awaited by the audiences.

Entertainment
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment

More in Entertainment