Mumbai doctors struggling with the high number of drug-resistant tuberculosis cases say Indian cinema star’s intervention is crucial to reducing its stigma
If there’s one voice India recognises it is that of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, an actor whose deep baritone has placed him in the spotlight as one of the country’s greatest stars. And Bachchan hopes that Mumbai residents have listened to his own experience of suffering from tuberculosis, so helping to reduce the stigma surrounding the disease and encourage sufferers to seek treatment.
The fear of TB and its association with death was arguably inflated by the Bollywood movies of the 60s and 70s, which regularly featured characters coughing up blood and dying shortly afterwards. As a result many TB sufferers still hide their illnesses from friends, neighbours and employers for fear of being ostracised or losing their jobs, further increasing the risk of spreading the disease.
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