Actress Indrani Halder: Raising questions

Child abuse is finally being given prime-time attention.

Starting April 17, Ki Je Pelam, a fictionalised serial based on real-life tales of exploitation of young girls and boys will be aired every Sunday at 7 pm.

Conceived by Sanlaap, an NGO working with victims of trafficking, the show on Zee Bangla will present stories about children victimised by circumstances and society. Each episode is based on a real child?s life, but has been fictionalised to better hit home with the viewers.

Ashahay is the first story to hit the small screen, directed by Biplab Das Gupta (who has also co-scripted the episodes with Pritam Mukherjee). It is about child marriage.

Eighteen half-hour episodes have been commissioned so far, and will tell of the trauma faced by minors forced into prostitution, abused domestic helpers or victims of other forms of violence and abuse.

Like Karabi?s story. The girl in her early teens comes first in class, for which her mother promises her a new cycle. But her father has other plans. She is forced to marry, and soon after, gets trafficked into a red-light area.

Another episode is about a girl who is sold young. A man falls in love with her in the brothel and helps her escape. But faced with opposition, they have not yet been able to marry.

Actress Indrani Halder plays the part of host, appearing at the end of every episode to raise questions, driving home the point that incidences of abuse happen in everyday homes all around us.

?What right does the father have to stop his daughter?s education and marry her off? Has the mother no rights just because she does not earn? What can we, the public, do?? ? these are the kind of questions Indrani will raise, explains the director. A helpline number will also be provided, to allow people to break their silence and report such stories.

While Sanlaap?s core area of work is girls and women trafficked into prostitution, the south Calcutta-based organisation has broadened the area covered in the serial to help viewers relate to the problems.

Some may believe that issues of trafficking and prostitution are removed from mainstream society, explains Anindita Roychowdhury of Sanlaap. So, problems regarding education, child marriage and child abuse within the home are also being presented to strike a familiar chord.

?Instead of mindless mega-serials that are losing viewership, raising relevant issues will not only provide food for thought, but revitalise bored audiences,? feels Das Gupta.