Spreading cheer through Entertain Kids

There is more to a child’s life than food, education, shelter and clothing and this is something that business analyst and
philanthropist Anjali Goyal understands. And being someone who practises what she preaches, Anjali has come up with an initiative — Entertain Kids — that addresses the other key needs of children. “The initiative concerns itself with providing entertainment options to underprivileged kids. Haven’t all of us enjoyed watching films or plays? Same would be the case with our less fortunate young friends. So, through this project I intend to arrange for such children to watch films. Plays and circus shows are next on the agenda,” say Anjali and her husband Ankur Jain, who is supporting her cause.

As part of her first project, Anjali will be taking 180 kids attached to NGO Sprash to watch the Kannada film, Care Of Footpath. “The film, directed by Master Kishan, shows a young rag picker work hard to educate himself. It is a very inspirational film and something that they would easily relate to, hence I zeroed in on this flick,” says Anjali. And why did films emerge as her first choice of entertainment? “When I was in Baroda, I used to visit an orphanage regularly and play animation films on my laptop for the children to watch. Over a period of time they expressed their desire to see films in theatres just like their privileged counterparts. But before I could make that happen, I had to shift to Bangalore. I am trying to complete that unfinished task here. More than anything I feel films are an affective medium of communication. For instance, this film will be a good way of driving home the importance of education,” she says.

The film will be screened at Galaxy Theatre, Jallahalli Airforce Campus. “We are paying a reasonable rent to the theatre. This is their way of supporting the cause. Shrikanth, the producer of C/o Footpath has agreed to provide the reel for free,” she adds. Shrikanth says he was more than happy to contribute to the project.

“Kishan may even be interacting with the children after the screening,” he adds. Kannada actor Jayalaksmi Patil will be attending the screening. The show will take place on April 1 at 9 am and you too can work towards making it a fun-filled Sunday by watching the film along with the kids. Tickets are priced at Rs50. Funds will be used to cover transportation and refreshment costs and the theatre rent. For more details log on to www.entertainkids.org