The BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) is to launch an ambitious new FM radio drama series in India, designed to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Life Gulmohar Style, a 156-part Hindi-language radio drama, will broadcast beginning Wednesday 7 October, three times a week for one year.
Telling the story of five young people in search of their destiny, Life Gulmohar Style is funny, romantic and serious. The drama deals with a host of issues facing women today, including their sexual and reproductive health, violence, and their roles and responsibilities in a changing India – all in an entertaining way that stimulates listeners to question negative attitudes about women.
Directed by the BBC’s award-winning producer Pervaiz Alam, Life Gulmohar Style will be broadcast on all five of All India Radio’s FM Rainbow stations: Delhi, Mumbai, Jalandhar, Lucknow and Kanpur, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 7:30-7:45 pm.
Commenting on recent media trends in India, Pervaiz Alam said: “It’s a sad fact that the genre of radio drama is declining in many countries, including India. But with the launch of Life Gulmohar Style, arguably, India’s first FM Radio drama in the form of a long-running serial, we are trying to tap the newer and younger audiences who are tuning into FM radio.”
We want to create a thought-provoking and entertaining drama that explores the reasons for the devaluation of females and demonstrates ways in which social pressure can be challenged
Yvonne MacPherson, India Country Director, BBC WST
The drama serial is the outcome of research conducted by the BBC WST that examined how the media can be used to address the rising rates of sex selective abortion in India.
The research concluded that a fictional radio drama is an appropriate and effective tool to tackle the complex issues surrounding gender inequality.
“Our research shows that if the entertainment media were to depict the positive aspects of modern women, then it could be a force for change in increasing their value,” said Yvonne MacPherson, India Country Director at the BBC WST.
“We want to createa thought-provoking and entertaining drama that explores the reasons for the devaluation of females and demonstrates ways in which social pressure can be challenged.”
Over the course of the year, the BBC WST will be tracking audience reaction to the drama on a dedicated website www.lifegulmoharstyle.org and through research it will measure whether the show has had an impact on changing attitudes towards women.
