Bhumi Pednekar is the perfect example of how a celebrity can use his/her soft power to bring about change. Only months after she launched her online community of COVID Warrior, the actor has now thrown her weight behind another urgent cause — vaccination. She is part of the Sleeves Up campaign that is targeted at youngsters.

Proud to collaborate with the Bhamla Foundation that started the campaign in Bandra and Khar last month, Pednekar says, “Mr [Asif] Bhamla is concentrating on vaccinating the country’s youth. They are at great risk because of their lifestyle and jobs; they are also the wealth creators of the country. Vaccination is the only solution to the problem that the world is facing.”

She is glad to join Sachin Tendulkar, Arjun Kapoor and Disha Patani in spreading the good word. “Using our soft power rightly for the betterment of society is our responsibility.”

This week, Pednekar will launch the immunisation drive in Dharavi where those belonging to the age group of 18 to 44 years will be vaccinated, free of cost, with an added emphasis on those below 22 years.

According to Bhamla, the campaign has caught the attention of its target audience because of the star power. “A section of the 18+ youngsters were initially skeptical about getting jabbed. [To change the mindset], Arjun and Aditya Roy Kapur kicked off the campaign, initiated by my daughter Saher, on July 13. We intend to vaccinate at least 10,000 people in the 18+ age group.”