Star Plus, Ogilvy, Intel and HP come together for 'Girl Rising'

Star Plus will telecast the internationally acclaimed film in Hindi and English on Saturday, August 29. Ogilvy is creating a mass media campaign to spread the word.

Star Plus will telecast the movie 'Girl Rising - Woh Padhegi, Woh Udegi' on Saturday, August 29, 2015 in the hope that it will inspire a billion people to empower girls. The 2013 film by Academy Award nominee Richard E Robbins will be shown on Indian television for the first time, in both English and Hindi. Scheduled at 1.30 pm, the film's Hindi version will see participation from leading actors such as Priyanka Chopra, Freida Pinto, Nandita Das, Madhuri Dixit, Sushmita Sen, Alia Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra and Kareena Kapoor, and voice narration by Amitabh Bachchan. Chopra and Pinto are also the producers of the film as well as 'Girl Rising' ambassadors.

In collaboration with HP and Ogilvy & Mather, 'Girl Rising' is also developing a mass media campaign to help girls complete secondary schooling. Nationwide, 25 per cent of girls drop out by Class 5 and over 40 per cent never make it to Class 10.

The global campaign has nine shorter films on the theme of girl child education that has been designed by USAID. The film is the centerpiece of Girl Rising's national campaign for girls' education and empowerment that uses the power of storytelling to raise awareness and encourage people to take action. The campaign is powered by partnerships with USAID, HP, Intel, Star TV, and Ministry of Women and Child Development's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Abhiyan'.

Uday Shankar, Star India's CEO, says, "Star Plus has constantly worked to redefine the role of television as an agent of social change. Our aspirational content has especially resonated with the women of this country and has influenced their changing role in society. On this Raksha Bandhan, Star Plus will be presenting 'Girl Rising - Woh Padhegi, Woh Udegi', a ground-breaking film designed to inspire a billion imaginations. We believe that the happiness of a nation depends on how we treat our daughters."

The film tells the story of eight ordinary girls and their perseverance to study. The film uses the power of storytelling to say that educating girls can change the future of not just the girls, but also of families and societies. In Rajasthan and Bihar, community programmes are being launched in partnership with Save the Children. Screening kits of the film will be available online for companies, schools and non-profits to spark community conversations about girls' education.

Talking about the role of technology as an enabler for change, Debjani Ghosh, vice president, sales & marketing group, and managing director, South Asia, Intel, says, "India can achieve sustainable inclusive growth only if girls and women are able to come forth and contribute effectively to its economy. As a founding partner of 'Girl Rising', Intel has worked with policy makers across the world to talk about improving gender equity in education. 'Girl Rising' in Hindi will spread the important message to Indian citizens that together we can empower girls and help them become agents of positive change in their communities."

Lloyd Mathias, head of marketing, Personal Systems, HP India, adds, "We understand that when girls receive the same secondary school opportunities as boys, the prospects of the entire family and, thereby, the village changes for the good of the country. Girl Rising's initiative is a perfect fit for HP's #BendTheRules campaign, the platform we have provided for young millennials to chase their passion and make it happen. Through this association, we aim to highlight the importance of school education for girls and urge the millennials to #BendTheRules and be the change by helping them pass class 10."

The microsite for 'Girl Rising' lists various ways a person can get involved to support the education of girls. Other than monetary help, mentorship, encouragement, community participation etc have been listed as things one can do to support the initiative.