Farhan Khan plays "Jasoos Vijay"

Jasoos Vijay(Detective Vijay) is an action packed series which has won a mass audience on India’s state-run TV, Doordarshan with its ambitious stunts and high production values.

Embedded in the programme is extensively researched and carefully crafted messaging on HIV awareness and prevention.

Vijay is himself portrayed as HIV positive, and the programme addresses issues of the care and treatment of those with the virus as well as tackling stigma and discrimination.

New Cast

Now back in production the programme has a new cast, with Farhan Khan playing the lead role, and Poorva Parag as his wife, Gauri.

The distinguished actor, Om Puri, continues to host the interactive element of the series, where viewers try to beat Vijay to the draw in solving the crime in question.

The newly filmed episodes of Jasoos Vijay will be broadcast in Hindi and six other languages from August 2005.

In the run up to then, all the earlier series of the programme are being shown again on Doordarshan – the first repeat was broadcast on 4th April 2005.

Raising Awareness

The Trust and its two partners in the mass media project, Doordarshan and the Indian government’s National AIDS Control Organisation, have signed an agreement to produce the new episodes of the detective series.

Fresh editions of the Trust’s youth programme, Haath se Haath Milaa (‘Let’s Join Hands’) which aims to make youngsters more aware of HIV/AIDS are also planned, and the Trust will make more Public Service Ads for Indian TV on HIV/AIDS.

TV programmes and social advertising made by the Trust have been seen by almost 200 million viewers in India, and research has demonstrated that they have had a real impact in changing attitudes and behaviour.