Doctor comes up with Punjabi movie ‘Ghar Aaja Jeetu’

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 17

This doctor is on a mission. After penning down two books of short stories highlighting various aspects of rampant drug abuse in society, Dr Jaswinder Singh Gandhi, has now come up with a movie based on one of his short stories “Ghar Aaja Jeetu”.

Dr Gandhi is a medical officer (anaesthesia) at the local Government Medical College. He has been associated with an NGO Amrit Drug De-addiction and Research Foundation for past 12 years in weaning out drug addicts from the deadly trap of drugs.

Death of a health worker at a Primary Health Centre due to acute alcoholism and drug abuse over a decade ago forced Dr Gandhi to do something in this direction. Though, he (health worker) was given proper treatment available at that time, he could not survive. “Ghar Aaja Jeetu” is based on this real life story.

Dr Gandhi did not know about film making. It took around three years him to make the film. A two-and- half-hour long Punjabi film “Ghar aaja jeetu” is result of utmost dedication, passion, help and well wishes of a number of people and volunteers associated with the project. Dr Gandhi is planning to release it in an international festival.

He says, “This is not a commercial movie. The only objective of the film is to spread awareness among the masses about the ill effects of the scourge of drugs on a family and on a society as whole. Besides giving the message of drug de-addiction, the film also emphasis on rehabilitation of the addicts.”

While talking to The Tribune, Dr Gandhi said, “The basic thing we should realise is that drug addiction is a disease. It can only be controlled with the efforts of various people associated with the patient.”

He said the recent drive launched by the state government was a welcome step, but the addicts could not be weaned away from drugs by using force. “There is need of strong rehabilitation plan and that is where we are lacking at the moment,” he added.

He said another thing which was the need of the hour was to spread awareness against drugs from the school level so that the coming generation would know its ill effects and could be saved from its peril.

Recently, Voice of Amritsar (VOA), an NGO in association with Punjab Naatshala organised a critic’s review show of the movie, which was appreciated by the participants, which include doctors, lawyers, charted accountants, educationists, Rotary Clubs and other members of society.