Khed Shivapur, Sept 07: IT’S been many years since Khed-Shivapur saw some action. The last it did was in the early 1970s when part of the film Bobby was shot here. Now about 15 women have woken up the town by launching an anti-liquor campaign. Their way of reforming alcoholics: tying them to public poles and pouring confiscated country liquor over them. The village is just 30 kms south of Pune on the Mumbai-Bangalore Highway. Its landmark is the Bobby New Grand Hotel. The Bobby was added after the film shooting. The connection has lingered.


One of the villagers, Arvind Konde who has seen Bobby eleven times, remembers the action scene that was shot between Rishi Kapoor and Prem Chopra in ‘‘the Bobby hotel’’. But last fortnight’s action scenes have left Konde a changed man. ‘‘Since the last one month, I have not touched alcohol. I am a reformed man now. No, I was not one of those who were tied to poles but these women are very strong.’’

This non-descript village which has no unique landscape to attract film directors has had a ‘‘proud history of film shooting’’ as housewife Shashikala BhZave points out. ‘‘Tangewala was shot years back with Prem Nath and Raj Kumar and Anil Dhavan’s Tan tera, man mera was also shot here. About ten years ago, a Marathi film featuring Ashok Saraf was shot in this public chowk where men were tied last fortnight to the pole.’’
Amit Konde, a teenager, says watching Bobby is almost a ritual here.‘‘Rishi Kapoor had come again here for the shooting of Hum Dono in 1998 along with Nana Patekar. But, Bobby is the biggest thing that happened to this village and we remember Rishi for that.’’

But at present it’s the real life drama that’s the talk of the village. The anti-liquor campaign is being applauded by some and denounced by others. Villagers say the movement may have not wiped out alcoholism but it had brought it down by 75 per cent.
What makes the women’s movement here remarkable is that it spread without any assistance from any non governmental organisation. It began one day when a young woman with three children, harassed by her alcoholic husband, walked out of the village. Says Manda Konde, who spearheads this campaign: ‘‘When I saw her walking on the highway I became very disturbed. Alcoholism being a major problem here, I thought soon there will be many women leaving the village.’’
Thus began a movement and 15 women—ironically their husbands are not alcoholics—raided liquor dens in July. Says Ashwini Konde, one of the active members: ‘‘We stormed into the shops, brought out all the liquor bottles and plastic bags that contained liquor and furniture and made a bonfire.’’
Last month they caught hold of two alcoholics and brought them to the Khed- Shivapur Police Chowki to lodge a formal police complaint. Says Sindhutai Konde, an activist from Pune who joined the campaign when villagers approached her: ‘‘On Raakhee Poornima day, instead of tying a raakhee around a brother’s wrist, we tied two alcoholics to the pole in the main chowk of the village and beat them.’’

They are now planning to approach the Pune district collectorate with a signature campaign to shut liquor shops in the village.