People know Priya Dutt as a politician. But not many know that she is a philanthropist as well. Tomorrow Priya will roll out a new initiative as part of the Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation, an organisation founded on her mother’s name. She will take up the cause of student suicides in a big way and has approached the makers of 3 Idiots, who also champion the same cause and raise fingers at the contemporary education structure, to partner with her in this initiative.
Priya says, “The number of student suicides in our country is alarming. All these show that something is not right. I have even spoken in the Parliament about why Class 10 examinations should be the deciding block for students as to which career they want to pursue? We are rolling out this initiative to guide parents about child care. I do associate with organisations like Children’s Hope and so this cause for children is a very special one.”
She adds, “We have chosen Republic Day to roll out this project. We will talk to parents from the middle income group. We feel children hailing from this group are most taxed as the expectation level is huge from their families. These students are pushed into things which they might not even want to take up. Parents should be guided at not adding to the stress that children already face outside their homes due to cut-throat competition.”
Priya also reveals to us why she chose to team up with the makers of 3 Idiots. “The movie echoes the same thoughts that we are voicing. It explains how stress leads youngsters to commit suicide and shows that running for success isn’t the right thing; excellence is the key to success. So, I thought that the makers’ decision to come forward and partner with us was a great thing to happen to our project.”
She ends saying, “Because of this development, we feel our project will travel wider. It is a pity that Aamir (Khan) will be out of town on the 26th and so he won’t be able to join us, but Raju Hirani and Sharman Joshi have given their word to be there.”
