India Uses TV Sleuth to Deliver AIDS Message

"Jasoos Vijay," or "Detective Vijay," is India's newest fast-paced television detective serial with a twist: The hero is a private investigator who doubles as an AIDS educator. Backed by the national AIDS organization and aired on the country's government-owned TV network, the show represents a new level of acceptance of the threat AIDS poses for India -- not just to traditional high-risk groups but to the public at large. It is India's first television drama aimed at teaching ordinary people about the disease.

Launched this month, the show takes viewers to remote villages where Detective Vijay must confirm the purity of brides- to-be, investigate bribery scandals and solve murders and kidnappings while delivering succinct messages about AIDS and sexual health. It runs several times a week during prime time and targets viewers in northern India, where the number of HIV/AIDS cases has so far remained relatively low.

While India's AIDS program has funded non-governmental organizations that work with members of high-risk communities, it has been less willing to throw its weight behind educational initiatives for the public. "The idea that AIDS is affecting regular people -- in addition to high-risk groups -- is a reality that's just beginning to sink in," said Shaleen Rakesh, a project coordinator with Naz Foundation Trust, a Delhi-based AIDS prevention group. "Detective Vijay" and several other new AIDS-related programs -- including a reality show for teenagers -- are part of a $6.2 million project funded by Britain's Department for International Development and produced by the charitable arm of BBC World Service.

Filmed on location with cliffhangers at the end of each episode, it is meant to grab the attention of viewers accustomed to a dizzying range of shows and extravagant films. In the first episode, during a murder investigation, a turbaned villager tells Vijay that he has heard AIDS can be spread through mosquito bites. The detective explains that the virus spreads mostly through unprotected sex.

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