`Satyamev Jayate` gutsy, sensible show: Viewers

Mumbai: From filmmakers to clinical psychologists to professors - everyone has given the thumbs up to Aamir Khan`s television show `Satyamev Jayate`, saying it is a gutsy, hard-hitting and sensible programme that strikes an emotional chord with the audiences.

Equipped with well-researched instances and case studies on female feticide, Aamir`s one-and-a-half hour programme was simultaneously telecast on Star Plus and Doordarshan Sunday and caught the audiences` attention. Mumbai-based Neha Patel, a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, said the show caught the interest of the common man because of the relevance of the issue. "Aamir is doing a wonderful job on the show. It takes a lot of guts to do a show like this and I am sure he has taken care of everything. The research done is also amazing. I really liked the show," said Patel. "Everyone knows that these things happen. A show like this proves that something needs to be done. At least sometime, someone will speak up. Of course, a lot of people say that the change will be for some time only and then people will go back to their lives, but someone has to take action," she said. The maiden episode is regarded as an eye-opener as it highlighted how unethical medical practitioners are hand in glove with families wanting to kill the female unborn baby and how educated people are also involved in it. "The show is extremely hard hitting. It`s strange that the most well educated people carry out the worst of crimes like female feticide and domestic violence. First, people pay to get the girl child aborted, and then they pay to buy girls in order to fulfil their sexual needs and to give birth to their sons. Where is the common sense in all this," asked Ravinder Kaur, a professor. Kaur was referring to the fact that as many as 15,000 women from Bihar, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh have been brought and sold to families in Rajasthan because of a dearth of girls in the region. According to the 2011 Census, the rate at which the unborn female child totals 10,00,000 a year. The report also highlighted that there were 914 girls for every 1,000 boys. "What Aamir Khan is doing is fantastic. He has shown all aspects of the issue - the minuses and what could be done to prevent it. He has not left it hanging in the middle. He has shown the total picture. He has done it in a way that it will touch the hearts of people," said Ranjita, a Delhi-based counselor. The series started with the case of Amisha Yagnik from Ahmedabad who said she was forced to abort her unborn female child six times in eight years, while Parveen Khan, from Morena in Madhya Pradesh was brutally beaten by her husband for having given birth to a girl child. Delhi-based doctor Mitu Khurana was asked by her orthopedic surgeon husband and in-laws to abort her girl twins 20 weeks of conceiving. Said Devika Menon, project assistant, Jagori, NGO: "The show is just awesome. Finally, there is a show that makes sense. They have actually made the effort to go out and make something sensible. He is talking about solutions in the show, which other people don`t do. At least now there is something good to watch on TV. Otherwise most of the serials are so trashy that they make no sense." Filmmaker Ritesish Sidhwani, who postponed his film "Talaash" for the show, told IANS that Aamir has lived up to the expectations of his fans and that every episode will focus on a new issue. "I have already seen his show and I believe it is very relevant. It will be fantastic as it will bring more issues which have been ignored all this while. Each episode will unveil different issues. It will get a positive feedback as it is simultaneously being aired on Doordarshan as well." "Aamir already has a peculiar kind of fan following. I don`t watch TV, but I got hooked on only because it was Aamir`s show. People know that when Aamir is coming up with something, it will be unique," he added. IANS