Nat Geo pushes water agenda with four short films

The films, exclusively created for the channel by Imtiaz Ali, Hansal Mehta, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, and Madhur Bhandarkar, will premiere on the campaign website and Hotstar today.

Infotainment channel National Geographic, in partnership with Water Aid Foundation - a non-profit organisation - has launched an initiative, 'Mission Blue' to address the cause of water scarcity in India. It aims to spread awareness and empower people with knowledge on what they can do to help impact the lives of the millions who are deprived of this precious resource. Mission Blue underlines the need for collective action to ensure a better tomorrow.

In line with the brand's objective to lead with purpose and help sustain the planet, the initiative was announced in Mumbai to mark the occasion of Earth Day. Popular Bollywood director and actor Farhan Akhtar is a key partner and also the face of the campaign.

In addition to the main campaign (featuring Akhtar) which will run across media, National Geographic will also disseminate the message through various formats of storytelling to reach and appeal to as many people as possible. This includes special documentaries on the water issue; both global and local, as well as exclusively created short films by award winning directors Imtiaz Ali (Paani Panchayat), Hansal Mehta (Paanipath), Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (Baiju Bulli) and Madhur Bhandarkar (Ek Baalti Paani).

The films, which will premiere online today on
missionblue.in
and Hotstar, creatively bring out the key message through everyday stories from India.

Speaking on the campaign, Swati Mohan, business head, India, National Geographic and FOX Networks Group says, "National Geographic has always been a brand that has stood for driving purposeful change; something we have been doing for over a century now. Today, the water crisis around the world calls for much attention. In India alone, 76 million people lack access to safe water - a problem that is only going to get worse if no immediate action is taken. We are hopeful that this initiative will help enlighten people on what can be achieved by collective action."

Mohan informs that there will be a month of television programming on the water crisis in India and around the world starting May 12.

The dedicated microsite for Mission Blue also has specially created digital tools that will help people get a sense of how severe the water problem is, and what they can do to tackle it. This includes a 'Water Calculator' using which people can know their water footprint which is the amount of fresh water one consumes, directly or indirectly. The knowledge will help reduce misuse and wastage.

As the next logical step to knowing one's water footprint, the website urges people to reduce it in various ways and amounts through a 'Pledge' tool. Further, they can also contribute to National Geographic and Water Aid Foundation's 'MissionBlueMySchool' which provides clean drinking water to schools.

On the microsite are available, interesting water facts such as how many litres of water go into making a pair of jeans or a 2 litre bottle of soda. There's also a #7StepWaterChallenge as part of which one has to walk 7 steps balancing a water bottle on his/her head, share a video of it on social media, and nominate three friends to take the challenge.

The microsite also shares stories of India's 'Water Heroes', Rajendra Singh (Water Man of India), Eco Baba - Balbir Singh Seechewal, The one-man NGO - Abid Surti, Basanti Behen and The Paani Foundation.

National Geographic Channel India was launched in July 1998. Its programming covers adventure and exploration, natural history, science, wildlife and people of the world. The channel is currently distributed to 55 million subscribers in India and reaches to 139 million viewers every month in India on an average. It is available in 5 languages and on all distribution platforms in the country.