India’s top filmmaker Aditya Chopra, who has directed iconic Bollywood movies such as 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' (1995), 'Mohabbatein' (2000), and others, has launched the ‘Yash Chopra Saathi (Partner) Initiative’ to provide financial and essential aid to daily wage workers in the industry.
Aditya, who is the chairman of Yash Raj Films (YRF), will transfer INR 5,000 ($68) to women and senior citizens in the industry through this initiative, started under the 'Yash Chopra Foundation'.
In association with an NGO, ‘Youth Feed India’, daily essentials and dry food (ration kits) will also be distributed to daily wage workers with a family of four for the entire month.
"The pandemic has pushed the backbone of our industry, the daily workers, to a breaking point, and YRF wants to support as many workers and their families who are in need due to the loss of livelihood. Yash Chopra Saathi Initiative is aiming to provide support to the pandemic-hit workers of our industry who we urgently need to focus on," Akshaye Widhani, senior vice-president, Yash Raj Films (YRF), says.
#AdityaChopra launches Yash Chopra Saathi Initiative to support thousands of daily wage earners of film industry who are in crisis due to loss of livelihood... Will transfer ₹ 5000 to women and senior citizens... Also give ration kits to workers [family of 4] for an entire month pic.twitter.com/aE8S0RzjGY
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) May 7, 2021
The beneficiaries will have to apply online on the website of 'Yash Chopra Foundation' named after Aditya's father, the late veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra.
Aditya has also taken it upon himself to offer vaccination to around 30,000 registered cinema workers for free for which he has written to the Maharashtra chief Uddhav Thackeray to allow him to purchase 60,000 coronavirus jabs.
Last year, YRF productions backed many industry workers by providing them with financial aid and distributing daily essentials during the nationwide lockdown in India.
