Women's safety first: Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani ensure safe late hours drop home for women crew in his Dil Dhadakne Do

In his own way, Farhan Akhtar has worked towards raising social awareness about crimes against women. Just last year, he launched the Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD) campaign and even now in his own small way, he along with co-producer buddy Ritesh Sidhwani continue to practise what they preach. The two have ensured that the girls in their unit are dropped home safely if the shoot goes on beyond 10.30 pm.

A unit member on Dil Dhadakne Do, currently shooting in Mumbai at Mehboob Studios Bandra, shares, "There are around 12 girls in the crew. A few stay in far-off areas, away from the set and when, on some days, the shoot would go on beyond 10.30 pm, Farhan and Ritesh would express concern asking the girls how they'd get home so late. Following a short discussion, arrangements were made for cars to drop the female crew home safely if they ever got late on the sets."

That's not it, though. The source adds, "An extra safety measure is in place. Only trusted drivers who've been with them for some time and entrusted with dropping the women home at odd hours. This ensures the least possibility of any mishap."

Farhan confirms this, "If we pack up later than 10.30 pm, there are cars on set, so everybody reaches home safely. We ensure the girls and their families are not worried about their ride back home. It is important to take necessary safety measures at an individual level."

Time for other Bollywood producers to take note and follow suit soon!

WHY FARHAN STARTED MARD
A 25-year-old legal adviser to Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment, Pallavi Purkayastha was murdered in her flat by her building's watchman, Sajjad Ahmed Mughal. Shortly after, Farhan started the MARD initiative because he wanted "to see an end of crime against women." On March 9, 2013, he tweeted, "If you are a man who respects women... her rights, her dignity, her independence, her mind, her body, her life... you are a #MARD". The idea was to drive home the message that women need to be respected, and he promoted this message through Twitter and in schools and colleges. He also promoted the cause at a concert in Bangalore and at the IPL 6.