Every celebrity supports one cause or the other just by their mere presence or by attending events. However, there are hardly a few of them who are going out there and doing real field work. Cinematographer Shanu Singh Rajput talks about the trend and the causes he feels for.
“Supporting a cause in any form is equally important. Look at it this way. In a very stereotypical household, a father isn’t usually around as he is busy earning money for the family, whereas the mother is the caregiver. So you can’t say less of either. There are people doing ground level charity work. Supporting the caregivers is equally important. What is important is to make sure that the money is utilised for the right purpose,” explains Shanu, known for his work in ‘Avrodh’, ‘Code M’, ’21 Sarfarosh’, ‘Me Hero Bol Raha Hun’ and so on.
If every celebrity supports a specific cause and constantly works on the field, then they can influence a lot more people to join in. And, together, it would make a huge impact because just donating money or attending an event or doing PR does not really make a difference.
“I think everyone has a role to play. If a warrior suddenly stops guarding the nation and becomes a saint, we will be in danger. Isn’t it? So let everyone do what they are best at. I personally don’t glorify or demean any work. We all can go about our day-to-day lives and still contribute to making the world a better place,” he adds.
Shanu feels an effective way to bring about a change is to follow the saying ‘Charity begins at home’ and work accordingly. “Other most effective ways are kindness and harmony. If you really want to see the world change, surprise people with kindness and empathy even where it’s least expected,” he says. So what is that one cause which is close to his heart? “Education for every child, because education is the key to a better society,” he ends.