Mumbai: Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor is all set to walk the ramp Sunday for the young girls of Shabana Azmi`s ancestral village Mijwan and the veteran actress says the effort will create awareness about their talents.
Thanks are due to Namrata Goel, daughter of Jet Airways` chairman Naresh Goel, who has orchestrated the fashion show being organised in Mumbai for the education of girl children in Shabana`s ancestral village Mijwan.
"Last year Namrata visited Mijwan for the first time. And the visit transformed her completely. She started gathering support for the fashion show on Facebook. Before I knew it, she had the whole show in place. Namrata is the one who got Ranbir Kapoor on board, got him interested in Mijwan," said Shabana.
"Namrata is all of 21. My father (Kaifi Azmi) always said that change has to come from the youth. People like Ranbir and Namrata prove it. My father was only 19 when he got involved with social causes.
"Namrata arranged the ramp show last year and again this year. Last year we had 22 stars walking the ramp for us. This year it has gone up to 25 stars. So our film industry`s participation is growing," she added.
Ranbir has discovered the philanthropic side to himself. Not only is he going to walk the ramp, the young star is also keen to participate in other activities and events connected with the betterment of the girl child.
Apparently Ranbir has also expressed a keen desire to visit Mijwan and Namrata plans to take him there soon.
Namrata recently visited Mijwan with Shabana. "She accompanied me this week. Manish Malhotra and his three assistants also went," said the actress.
Namrata has been fund raiser for Shabana from the age of 15. "Namrata has spent most of her life in London. She did a school play at age 15 to raise funds amounting to 16,000 pounds for Mijwan and since then was after me to take her to Mijwan."
Shabana is proud of the development in her ancestral village.
"In Mijwan we run a school, a college, a computer centre and sewing and chikankari centre. The work they do is so stunning that Anita Dongre has been giving them work. Now Manish Malhotra is also giving them work. The ramp show will create awareness of their fine craft.
"Someone said about the embroidery work of my girls in Mijwan, ‘So beautiful is their needlework that butterflies would be tempted to sit on them.` Because their work has to do with the garments and embroidery this fashion show makes a lot of sense."
Shabana recollects her father`s (Kaifi Azmi) passionate involvement with Mijwan.
"Mijwan is such a tiny village in the back of the beyond. It used to be frozen in time until my father took over. There was no road, school, nothing. After his paralytic stroke, he dedicated himself to bettering the village. I never paid attention to his dedication to Mijwan while he was alive. Mujhe iss baat ka bahut dukh hai (I regret that).
"The first time when I visited Mijwan at the age of 24, there was no transportation. I had to be carried in a doli! I wondered how I could connect such a tiny hamlet to Mumbai and the film industry. Namrata Goel put it all together for me. And now there is Ranbir joining her," said Shabana.
IANS
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.