Bollywood Connected to the United Nations

India first shook hands with United Nations on the eve of 30th October, 1945. Since then, India has been involved in various peace-making operations and charity agencies. Along with it's campaigns, Bollywood is also being noticed by one and all across the globe as various known celebrities make their way to become Brand Ambassadors to a variety of UN agencies that seek to promote welfare and raise awareness in preventing a number of diseases. As the World United Nations Day approaches, BollyCurry is here with something different; to showcase those B-Town celebrities who have given their precious time to do something commendable with the UN.

The blue-eyed beauty was appointed as the Brand Ambassador for the United Nations' AIDS Agency. It was founded for the sole purpose of promoting awareness of AIDS in India and 21 other African countries which, according to statistics, rated high in terms of HIV victims. Being a mother herself, Aish stated in a UNAIDS interview that "I can relate to the joys and concerns of a mother, hence I would like every child to be born HIV free." She has spoken in various public assemblies and has also attended a number of charity events in order to promote information and awareness about this disease to a large audience.

The legendary Big B has always been keen on spreading knowledge and awareness and thus was appointed as a Brand Ambassador for violence against children campaign. In an interview, he mentioned that "Just because you cannot see violence against children, doesn't mean that it is not there." Since he has a huge fan following, Mr Bachchan uses his social networking connections to spread the word rapidly. The trend of #ENDviolence was initiated by UNICEF and then adopted by Big B in India, which created huge waves on social networking sites. The awareness of violence against children has been a priority of the UN in India ever since the December 2012 gang rape of a 22 year old girl in Delhi.

Now a mother of two, Kajol was appointed the Brand Ambassador position for UN's hand-washing campaign. The UN has been working on reducing the number of infection-causing diseases which resulted from not using hand-washing soaps. Kajol traveled to the United States of America where she attended many high profile events and promoted the hand-wash campaign in numerous cities. She also went on to become an advocate for the "Help a Child Reach 5" campaign. She attended a global conference alongside influential UN authorities, where she got the chance to lend her voice in speaking about the awareness of using hygienic products to promote better healthy living standards.

Mr. Perfectionist has always been in the limelight for his public awareness events. From promoting his flick - 3 Idiots - in numerous villages across India, to setting press conferences where the importance of rural areas was defended, Aamir has always been keen on developing India to make it a better living place for it's people. Therefore, he was appointed as the Goodwill Brand Ambassador by the UN and there's been no looking back. Aamir has attended meetings with the Prime Minister and other state ministers of India where they exchanged opinions of social justice and empowerment of people. He also went ahead to produce the much talked about TV show Satyamev Jayate, which focused on bringing to attention the major plights and problems that local people in India faced including dowry, sexual assaults, child abuse and various other real life cases.

Following Amitabh Bachchan's footsteps, PC was appointed as the Brand Ambassador for Child Rights and Adolescence by UNICEF. She attended a media panel discussion to promote child rights and also recorded a series of public service announcements that raised awareness for the right to education for girls in India. UN officers praised Priyanka's enthusiasm and commitment in which she gave her time to improve the lives of children, raise funds for UNICEF programs and spread awareness about the same through popular social networking sites. 

Writer: Sonia R.

Editor(s): Saraa K. & Jenifer Y.

Graphicer: Aanchal V.