Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 3, 2017)

Before a movie starts in the theatres, a short film is played out to remind you of the hazards of tobacco use. Now, one more awareness video will become part of your movie-going experience.

Vivek Oberoi, the anti-tobacco spokesperson for World Health Organisation, has lent his support to a social campaign for a short film, Hawa Badlo, on air pollution. It is also something that will make you question your behaviour towards traffic cops. For this initiative undertaken by his charity foundation, the actor has joined hands with industry colleagues Kalki Koechlin, Vir Das and Swara Bhaskar.

Vivek says, “Nobody cares about the traffic cops, ulta sab log unhe gaali dete hain. People have zero respect for them. The amount of polluted air that goes into their lungs is equal to smoking 40 to 50 packets of cigarettes a day. About 59 per cent of them suffer from respiratory problems due to constant exposure to toxic air. Can you imagine what they put themselves through everyday?”

Directed by Karmik Varma, the video clip will start playing out in theatres from February 18. But a film without follow-up action may not go far. So, the Hawa Badlo team plans to gift respiratory masks to 10,000 traffic cops in Mumbai next week.